Monday, January 11, 2010

Putting Food Onto Film - Some Tips

By John Billy

Were ever your focus you will find food photography. We are smothered in a sea of it. Open a magazine or newspaper and it will be there throwing its mouth watering images out at you exciting your taste buds into action.

When you see some of the pro photographs of food you may think that you may never be able to take such good pictures but you could surprise yourself. Much of food photography is about technique and tips and tricks.

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.

One of the best places to photograph food is by a window where there is a lot of natural light - perhaps supported with flash bounced off a ceiling or wall to give more well-balanced lighting that cuts out the shadows. This daylight helps to keep the food looking much more natural.

If you have to take a lot of food pics then invest in buying or making a light box or tent. This is simply an enclosed area that is lit externally through diffused walls in the tent/box.

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 inhibit movement and stop blurring 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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