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Blessings Captured.
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July 6, 2022 at 12:05 pm #71282
Blessings Captured
ParticipantLately I’ve been having fun doing food photography. As a bonus, if I’ve created the recipe I can submit them to Nature Friend and a lot of time they’ll publish them.
I’ve been trying to get more creative with adding props.
What do you think? How could I have placed the props or the light better?
Thanks!
HananhJuly 6, 2022 at 1:23 pm #71287Hannah F.
ParticipantHannah, how fun that you are into food photography! I’ve done it too, but mainly for desserts. Considering that I don’t know all the props you could use or have, my comments are merely suggestions and may or may not work.
Here’s some small details to check: On your first photo of the enchilada-looking dish, I would try a landscape shot. By doing so, perhaps you can include more of the chopsticks. It looked a bit odd to me that the chopsticks were merely in the corner and seemed chopped off (funny pun). Anyway, others might say that it looks fine as is.
I love your ice cream shot! So delicious. I love how you chose a white background, because it results in a light and airy atmosphere. However, a small detail to consider is that the ice cream is melting quickly.
So, I’ve been seeing two types of food photography. There are the type of food photographers who want all their food to look perfect and advertisement-worthy. However, the other type of food photographers want to portray their food to homeowner’s and so they make it look artfully messy. This would include strewing the ingredients–ones that you used to create your food–around the main dish. Considering that second type of food photography, you would want to zoom out a bit when doing your overhead shots, because otherwise, it will look too scrunched.
Anyway, back to the ice cream, the first type of food photographers would want the ice cream to remain completely solid, allowing no drips. Oh, I would recommend sprinkling mini chocolate chips around your ice cream, since I see you have the chips in the ice cream.
The second type of food photographers would most likely want the ice cream dripping, and even dripping down off the side of the bowl. This is for real and I have seen it.
On the third food item of the meat in the iron skillet, I don’t know how easy it would be, but I would recommend zooming out from the skillet because it did look a bit scrunched.
Last of all, for the 4th photo, which I’m guessing is a rhubarb/raddish canning or jam, I would put a bit more space between the veggie and the jar so that way there is something in the foreground and background.For food photography, there is a rule of odds. So, in your ice cream photo for example (which I love!), you have 3 elements which are the ice cream in the bowl, the mint, and the board. For my attached example of my food photography, I used an odd-number stack of oatmeal cookies and put some space in between the other stack behind it.
This got rather long, but I hope that it was a bit helpful if at all. Thanks for sharing your food photography! Enjoy!
Note: I also know of Nature Friend and hope that yours gets picked!
~ Hannah F.July 6, 2022 at 1:27 pm #71288Allison Estabrook
ParticipantWow @blessingscaptured, those pictures look great! I like the lighting in the third one the best. I think the last one could maybe use more light. A thing I did notice was how the second and last photo both have a white background, and the contrast stuck out to me right away. Since the rest of the props have a more natural look with the darker earthier colors, maybe it would look more natural with a different background?
I think these pictures would look great in a magazine!
July 8, 2022 at 9:43 am #71338Blessings Captured
ParticipantI should have given the names of the recipes!
-Sweet potato eggrolls
-Mint chocolate-chip Ice cream
-Corned Beef
-Canned BeetsThank you @hannah-f and @musicgal for your comments! It’s good to get a different perspective.
I’ll have to keep working on my prop and background choices.
That’s also an interesting note about the main two types of food pictures.July 14, 2022 at 10:33 am #71371Lydia Bennett
KeymasterSo fun! My first impressions overall were positive! I love the colors and lighting overall; it has a very natural feel to it. Was the ice cream homemade?
If I’m going to get picky, just a couple comments:
– Watch “horizons”. The ice cream bowl seems like it needs to be straightened, and maybe the canned beets, just a hair.
– Angle of the eggrolls seems a little odd, and I’m trying to figure out why. I think it has this “mid-air” feeling caused by a combination of two factors: 1. Not particularly a low angle, but not a high, flat-lay angle. More like a normal head-height angle if I was sitting at the table. 2. The bowl in the background is obviously not on a flat horizon, so it feels tilted. Both of these factors aren’t necessarily “bad” things, if done intentionally and artistically, but combined they do give a slightly off-kilter feel to the image as a whole.
– Placement of props in corned beef picture feels very balanced, till you get to the right side of the picture. We’ve got something in three of the four corners of the image, but the bottom right corner is empty. And the top right corner two elements in it: the handle and the leaves. If the leaves were in the bottom right corner, it might make things more balanced, but I have a feeling it would almost feel static.
– Canned beets just needs a little more marginal head-room, in my opinion!You did a really great job at making the images feel inviting, and like things I would want to eat! So I think that’s a huge score!
July 15, 2022 at 4:39 pm #71386Blessings Captured
ParticipantLydia, Thank you for your constructive critique! You gave me some good thoughts to consider.
Yes, the ice cream is homemade. My sister made up the recipe. She even figured out how to make it green without food coloring.
July 15, 2022 at 5:31 pm #71389Lydia Bennett
KeymasterNo way!! That’s amazing! It looks delicious.
July 15, 2022 at 6:01 pm #71391Blessings Captured
ParticipantIt’s one of my favorites that she makes! If it gets in Nature friend I’ll have to give you the link.
July 16, 2022 at 6:29 pm #71401Blessings Captured
ParticipantI just did another shoot applying some of your tips!
Some dear friends of our brought us some shrimp from the gulf and gave us their recipe for buttery, garlic, grilled shrimp. Let me tell you it tastes Way better then the grocery store stuff that we get in the Midwest.
On to the technical. 🙂
I did one shot with something in all four corners, but with different amounts. Do you think it looks balanced or static?
@hannah-f I pulled back some so it wouldn’t look “scrunched”. Do you think it’s effective? Maybe it’s my personal taste, but I tend to like the more close up shot. It could also very much depend on with the image was going to be used forThen I added the spatula to add some action.
Thanks for everyone’s advice!
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This reply was modified 2 years, 7 months ago by
Blessings Captured. Reason: forgot to add pictures!
July 20, 2022 at 2:08 pm #71440Lydia Bennett
KeymasterLove it! Initial favorite was the last one. But the more I look at the other two, I’m liking them just as much or even more! On the second of the first two, that bit of added greenery in the top left corner is just great! And the garlic in the bottom right. Really good. The vignette is tastefully done as well.
The “four corners” does not feel static at all! I think it’s because you don’t have the same amount of weight in each corner. The balance is great. There are other things that contribute as well, like visual flow. In the first two photos, my eye travels in a perfect, clockwise circle, starting at the pan with the handle directing me to the left, bringing me up to the garlic and greens above that, then over to the garlic and greens on the right, and that stem bringing me right back to the pan.
Great job, Hannah!
July 25, 2022 at 4:11 pm #71538Blessings Captured
ParticipantThank you for your thoughts Lydia!
I’ve been enjoying photographing food lately.
July 29, 2022 at 7:53 pm #71612James Staddon
KeymasterHad fun critiquing these photos in Tuesday’s webinar, @blessingscaptured! Here’s the replay link. This topic comes up at time 01:35:37.
July 30, 2022 at 3:10 pm #71616Blessings Captured
ParticipantThank you for critiquing them! It was insightful, and good to get a different perspective.
I had wondered why the white backgrounds didn’t feel quite right. Does this photo with a textured background look better? (I used a flash with an umbrella).
Also you’re explanation about cropping off in relationship to weight was helpful. I’d hadn’t thought about that before.
Thanks again!
August 1, 2022 at 11:15 am #71628Lydia Bennett
KeymasterAmazing!! The background looks SO good!
Just to be picky again… 🙂 Feels like it needs just a little straightening. I’m looking at the “horizon” of the base of the dish and the vertical lines in the background for my visual guides on that.
The use of the blackberries, the scoop, the burlap….it’s all so good! So fun to see, @blessingscaptured!
August 4, 2022 at 11:55 am #71655Blessings Captured
ParticipantThank you Lydia!
I’ll have to keep training my eye to see what is straight. -
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