Food Photography 101- A guest post

Even after so many years of blogging, my blog still lacks good quality pictures and I know that. It is not very hard to take a good picture. But, making it great requires some techniques.  Below are some simple yet effective photography techniques discussed by Biswashree Dey from ITasveer.

Nowadays, it’s becoming increasingly popular for chefs and recipe bloggers to take mouth-watering clicks of their creations. So what does a newbie do to get started? So here is a simple guide to help you kick start your journey.

What do you do when you come across a culinary masterpiece and have no camera at hand? Well now with IPhones and Apps, you need not worry. Here are some apps that help you transform your mediocre photos.

 Apps to use:

• Instagram and Hipstamatic : They are great for photographing produce and people
• Filterstorm: A great app you can use for color correction
• PerfectPhoto : Also for color correction
• Snapseed : It’s like Photoshop for your IPhone
• Color Effects : This app enables you to first turn your entire photo to black and white and then use your fingers to return color only to a portion of your photo or change it completely.

Next let’s look at some basic tips to keep in mind when taking a photo.

1. Lighting –

It is very important that the lighting is right. The best place to photograph is near a window                             with lots of natural light diffused with a white curtain. Direct light can be harsh. Best position for light source should be from over your shoulder. Don’t ever use the camera’s in-built flash. It makes the photo look harsh and creates shiny spots. You may use a reflector to bounce off light to cut out shadows and make the lighting better balanced.

2. Colour Balance-

When adequate natural light is unavailable, photos can come out with a yellow or blue glow which makes the food look unappetizing. You can correct this, by correcting the white balance of your camera. Food looks best in a slightly orange glow. Check your manual on how to fix the color balance of your camera.

3. Macro –

Use the macro setting of your camera, so that you can get closer to your subject and create a shallow depth, which allows you to blur the background and focus on the main dish.

4. Position and Proximity –

Experiment with the angle from which you shoot the food. You don’t need to always shoot from above or at eye-level. Try to move closer and farther away from the food.

EQUIPMENT NEEDED :

Camera : A good Canon or Nikon DSLR eg: Canon G15 , Canon 5D Mark III

Lens : Canon 100mm f/2.8 Macro, Canon’s 24–105mm f/4L

A good tripod

You can print out all your food photos and recipes on ITasveer photobooks and turn it into a treasured recipe book. 

photo credit :  http://mattikaarts.com/blog/technique/food-photography-2/