One of my goals for the next few months is to work on my photography skills. While food photography is obviously a priority, I am not limiting my subjects to only that. The first step is to buy a new camera, which I did last weekend.
After much debating, I opted for the Nikon L830, which is a ‘bridge’ camera that is somewhere in between regular entry-level cameras & DSLRs. I’ve been playing around and trying to get a feel for it. Although I am still exploring every spot in my home for the best lighting, jargon like ISO sensitivity & aperture no longer sound foreign to me. After reading 8 million food photography posts, I’ve picked up a few tricks of the trade. Two ‘tips’ used by professional photographers particularly stood out:
- In cereal shots, Elmer’s glue is commonly used instead of milk to avoid sogginess
- For steam shots (e.g. coffee or soup), heat a tampon or cotton wad & then hide it behind the food/drink.
I’ve also come to terms that certain foods just won’t photograph as nice such as curries, oatmeal, and soup…even more so if they’re green.
Thank the lawd for cute crockery! As ugly as this Pumpkin and Kale Soup looks, I promised it tastes souper..I mean super!
[yumprint-recipe id=’3′]
Any photography tips? Please share!
What’s your favorite soup?
This just gets me excited for pumpkin season! And soup season…although, it’s been cold here the last few days so maybe I can break out the soup early!
As crazy as it sounds, I once read that soup and hot foods have a cooling effect on the body…that still doesn’t convince me to have soup when the sun is out though!!
Oh I am excited for pumpkin season!!
I actually always try to ‘show’ the consitency of the food. Cutting the cookies half, so the inside is visible (even better just take a bite 🙂 ) , place a spoon in soups or dips etc.
Also – daylight! Can’t go wrong there!!
That’s such a good tip, Lucie- definitely something to keep in mind…thank you!
yayyy for new camera. i cant believe pumpkin season is almost here.. about photography, i say always go for natural light and practice…i follow http://www.edibleperspective.com/ she has weekly photography tips. She is pretty awesome.
Ooh thanks for sharing, D! And I have definitely started to appreciate natural light like no other over this past week!
Oh I think you did a fantastic job photographing that soup– personally green stuff always look good to me- be it soup, smoothie or curry! And i LOVE your crockery and silverware!
You’re so lovely- thanks, Charlotte :)!
😆 I nearly died when I read that tampon trick — totally a new one to me! My best tip is to shoot in natural lighting and never, EVER use a flash. Ever. This can be a pain in the butt at times, especially in winter when daylight is so limited, but it really does make the biggest difference. And speaking of winter, I’m getting all sorts of excited for soup season! Curried apple and pumpkin soup here.I.come!
It makes me cringe to take that before last week, I used to think flash was such a handy setting….definitely NOT! 🙂
I’ve actually started making soups even though it’s still summer here. That deep freezer isn’t going to fill itself. I’ll have to add this one to the mix. It’s full of ingredients I love (kale, carrots, garlic, leeks).
I had no idea about the tampon trick. I always try to take my pictures outside so I can get better lightning. I’m taking this 30 day food photography course right now, and it’s intense but absolutely worth it. I’ve learned so much in just a week. Now I need to figure out how to implement what I learned. That’s the really hard part.
Hope you enjoy the soup!! I’m so in envy about your photography skills although for what it’s worth, I’ve always thought you take stunning photos :)!!
LOL at that tampon trick. Seriously dying.
I want to improve my food photography too, but it’s tough. I get so frustrated with it!
I can see why…I keep putting it off because there’s SO much to learn!!
I love that you’re getting more into photography! I hope to learn more from YOU! 🙂
I think the best tip I can share is to work in natural lighting as much as possible!
Ditto- I am sure you are taking some amazing photos with your DSLR ;)!
A tampon?! LOL!
My reaction exactly!
AHH new camera yay!! Buying a dSLR was one of the best ideas I made. I LOVE it. This soup makes me so warm and fuzzy for FALL!
You’ve really learnt your way around the DSLR- your photos are stunning 🙂
[…] still on the fence about adding kale to my smoothies, but occasionally I’ll whip up some Pumpkin & Kale Soup or a massaged kale salad. Lately I’ve been loving kale in its most simplest […]