Saturday, May 28, 2011

Food Pics

By Joseph Garcia


Images of food are everyplace. We cannot walk down any leading shopping street without being barraged by them from the windows of all the food shops. We open a magazine and there they are again thrusting their mouth watering delights at us.

If you think that food picture taking is very difficult and that you could never snap like the professionals you could surprise yourself. Like most types of other photography, a lot of the results come from technique which can be learned.

Light as always with photography is King. Get it right and you create magic. Get it wrong and we all know the result! Treat the food you're photographing as you would any other still life subject and ensure that it is well lit. Most of the bad examples of food photography you will come across would have been drastically improved with adequate lighting.

Using natural light from a window can be perfect for food photos because it gives food that natural look. Support this with bounced flashlight and you can get a simple yet perfect result.

If you are going to be doing a lot of food photography then consider creating a food light box to make your job easier and quicker. This consists of a framed area covered in diffusion screens with lights behind on stands or attached to flexible tubes so you can move them easily into position. The food sits on a plain smooth single coloured background cover that is usually white so there is no background to remove with Photoshop later. Make sure the cover is easy to wipe in case of food splashes.

Slow is great with food so use a slow shutter speed which will allow time to capture the depth of the image. Put your camera on a solid tripod to stop movement and use a shutter release cable.

Use the right props with your pictures and they will bring your photos alive. We eat food literally with our eyes first so feed the eyes with lots of variety and colour.

Use professional equipment when you do food photography and you will see the results. Using good quality lighting and a high quality camera are the main equipment your will need. You have to use a SLR camera with food photography if you want to get the best results. You will need to be able to zoom in and control the shutter and aperture settings to capture the full depth of the image.




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