The holidays are upon us and with them comes some of the yummiest and most beautiful food.
And with that come the photos!
You gotta have images of all that hard work right? Camera+ 2 has you covered with tips for styling and shooting all your best recipes.
Tips:
Lights. Your home probably has few light sources going at once. Turn off overhead lights & lamps and block secondary light sources. You can control your light better when the sources don’t compete!
Don’t shoot in direct sunlight. It can be a cool light technique. It’s not totally off limits. But it is harder to get right and softer light is typically more flattering for food so I recommend filtering your light with sheer curtains or a diffuser.
*Camera+ 2 has a clipping feature to help you see the darkest and lightest areas of your scene and get the best exposure! Find it on the shooting screen.
Get closer to the light. In my kitchen, The distance between one side of the counter and the other is maybe a foot. But the light changes drastically! I know from experience to always shoot more to the left side of my counter. There’s a good chance your space is similar. *A great thing about shooting with your phone is that you can see the light live on screen and finding the best spot should be pretty easy!
*add BTS image of shooting near a window or a side by side of images shot in my kitchen…
Bounce your light. Since you are just using the one light source you might find that your light needs a little boost! I like to keep white poster boards stashed with my photo gear to use for this. My reflector is usually too big for food scenes. Just prop one up across from your light source to bounce the light back on your subject.
Perspective. Generally, when I shoot food I like to stick to 3 angles- overhead, 45 degrees, and 90 degrees. Odd perspectives can make for unflattering images. Which angle you choose will depend on your subject.
Overhead is great for charcuterie boards, bigger items, or anything with a detail you can’t miss on top – like lattice work on Grandma’s apple pie.
90 degrees is great for cocktails, stacks of things like cookies, or anything you want to look larger than life!
45 degrees is great for anything where you want both. Where you want to show as much of the item as possible.
A lot of things you will shoot might look good from all three perspectives – so try them all!
*Using Camera+ 2’s different shooting modes would be great here! Use macro overhead for small items or try portrait mode when shooting 90 degrees to make your food stand out.
Props. I could write several blog posts about props! But I’ll just start you off with a couple tips. First, start simple, only with a few pieces and then you can add more if the image needs it.
Most importantly, don’t let them outshine your subject – props should never be the star of the show. Make sure you are choosing the right props for your meal. It’s a good rule of thumb to keep your props pretty neutral. (But for the right piece you can always break the rules)!
Use these tips and you will be on the right track to capturing memories you can savor for years to come.
Cheers to happy holidays and delicious food!
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