Saturday, May 28, 2011

Making Food Look Good On Film

By Joseph Garcia


Images of food are everyplace. We cannot walk down any major shopping street without being bombarded 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.

When you first take a look into the domain of food picture taking you may feel that you can never take photos like the pros but you could surprise yourself.

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.

Natural light is great for food photos supported by flash bounced off a nearby wall to remove strong shadows can work wonders.

If you are going to be doing a lot of food picture taking then think about setting yourself up 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 shutter speed is what you need when you are working with food pics. Mount your camera on a sturdy tripod and remember to use a shutter release cable so you do not move the camera. The slightest movement will create horrible blurring.

Choose your props very carefully to suit the end results that you are looking for. The props will make or break your photos. It's usually the props that set an amateur pic aside from a pro shot.

Do not skimp on your equipment if you want to do good food photography. Having a top quality SLR camera with a good lens will make all the difference. You must have full control over all the settings - shutter speed - aperture setting - zoom - to be able to create top shots. Using good quality lighting will also pay massive dividends.




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