Julie Andrews had it right.
The beginning is a very good place to start.
I wish we could jump right to part 2 and talk photo flair. (Ribbons! Flowers! Glitter!)
In the above picture: Chocolate-Peanut Butter Fudge.
I often skip through the first few steps while reading directions. (I’m especially notorious for skipping directions when assembling something. Does anyone else do this?)
Unfortunately, skipping directions in an attempt to save time can occasionally backfire, leaving me confused and even costing time in the long run.
So let’s start at the very beginning…
Food Photography: The Basics
Good news!
You do not need to have a fancy digital camera to take advantage of these tips. I haven’t taken any photography courses, and therefore it would be ridiculous for me to offer you technical tips on how to work your digital camera.
What I can offer are some basic photo-styling tips you can use with any camera. These tips are all ideas I’ve learned from experience; trial and error.
Photo taken with natural light: Peach Breakfast Cobbler.
Tip #1: Listen to Nelly Furtado
Turn off the lights! That goes for your camera’s flash too.
When photographing food, keep the flash off at all times. Walk around and try to find the area in your home that has the most sunlight. I take photos almost exclusively in my living room, and usually somewhere around 11-4pm, because this is where/when I’ve found the best lighting conditions. Sometimes I take photos outside, too. Overcast days are great for this; too much sunlight can cast ugly shadows and make your photos look harshly overexposed.
Photo taken in my living room: Healthy Starbucks Frappuccino.
Tip #2: Keep it Steady!
You’d be surprised at just how much havoc a tiny shake of the camera can wreak on a shot. It baffles and frustrates me they’re doing away with viewfinders in point-n-shoot cameras, because holding the camera right up to your face allows you to be much steadier than if you hold the camera way out in front of you, without anything to brace it.
If you have a tripod, use it. (Do as I say, not as I do. I have a tripod—somewhere—but am too lazy to set it up, and therefore never use one.) If you don’t have one, or if you’re lazy like me, make sure to keep the camera as steady as you absolutely positively possibly can.
Above, on a white plate: Creamy Chocolate Fudge Pops.
Tip #3: White makes Right
Also known as the KISS principle (“keep it simple, stupid”)
When I started out, I made the mistake of thinking fancy = better when it comes to dishware. In reality, if you look at the pros, they often use very basic dishware so that the food, not the plate, holds center stage.
Above, Flourless Chocolate-Chip Cookies.
Questions of the Day:
Are you interested in photography at all?
And do you ever take pictures of your food? What are your favorite things to photograph: Food? People? Nature?
I’ve always admired your food photographs; thank you for sharing some of your tricks and secrets. And yes, I often do photograph my food, especially around the holidays. It’s great to break up a string of Halloween or Christmas photos in my album with a photos of food memories (like my handcrafted and utterly messy/rustic caramel covered apples or a plate of reindeer shaped sugar cookies made by my son).
thanks so much for sharing your tips! My biggest problem with photos is the lighting situation, especially once the clocks go back. I work 9 hours a day and am stuck in the office during prime food photo lighting! I may look into getting a light box…
This was a greatgreat post! I loved the tips! Thanks 🙂
Thank you so much for the tips! I would love to get better at my photography and right now I can’t even begin to afford a DSLR
Ugh I know, they are so expensive! I got mine when Costco was having a huge sale… normally, the prices are crazy high!
Great tips Katie! Most of my shots are done in the early am or late pm (dang 8-5 job!) so I use my light box a lot. Your photos look spectacular. I think I new to invest in a few mote white plates. They really make the colors splash.
Awesome tips! Somtimes I find myself getting a little frustrated when it comes to taking photos of food. This definitely helps.
Thank you SO much for this!! Seriously, I NEED some photography tips- mine is not so great! 😛 Yours is AMAZING and I love all your photos!! Especially your cookie dough pie one which I know I say every time but it is my absolute favourite photo in the WORLD!! I’m considering making it into a poster to hang in my room, but I know I’d get hungry all the time! 😛
LOL oh my word you are too funny.
I have more pie pictures to post today (not the cookie pie, but a chocolate bar pie). I hope you like them!! I do… but then again, they’re chocolate so of COURSE I like them ;).
I love, love, love photography. We just got out first assignment in AP Studio Art today and I am so excited (my portfolio is probably going to be just photographs and I might do my concentration on food). I love those tips. Very simple and basic for people whether they have taken a photography class or not. 🙂
I love photography and even though I am still not very good, I know I am light years away from where I was when I started. I was an artificial-light-loving, flash-abusing, crap-producing photographer wannabe who wondered why the final result was never even close to the initial idea.
I think I am best at photographing nature but I still take a lot of food pictures and pile them in a folder on my computer 🙂 .
I mostly take shots with my cell phone camera (which takes some pretty good pics, really). Mostly these are flower photos. I’ve never been too keen on taking food photos. They usually just look like messy slop, and I do not have the patience to correct it. I do have to tell you that your photos are the most amazing things ever. They really are what makes me want to make some of the stuff you post about now as opposed to just saving the recipe for later.
Aww Sarah!!! Thank you so much! Honestly, sometimes I don’t even want to make recipes… I’d be happy just photographing someone else’s recipes! 🙂