Want to take food photos like the ones you saw in my Flickr and my food blog, buurps.com? This article’s for you! (If you haven’t visit any of those sites – please do!)

A Word Of Thanks

Before I proceed, I would like to thank my friends over at lowyat.net photography section and those who support buurps.com and adore the photos I took. It feels very encouraging to know people love the photos taken and they are the inspiration behind this article. (Yes, including that unknown person who approached me on buurps.com, asking what gear I was using. )

My Humble Equipment

From my experience, I find that people tend to think that expensive lenses and camera bodies are needed to capture beautiful food photos – this is absolutely untrue. Here are my gears.

SLR Body = Canon EOS 350D (a.k.a. Digital Rebel XT)

The EOS 350D is really old, anything bought today out-classes it in every aspect, after all it’s an entry-level for the year 2005. A used unit is probably RM 700 or less nowadays.

Lens = Canon EF 50mm f1.8 II

The EF 50mm f1.8 II is the cheapest prime lens from Canon and probably the only lens cheaper than it is the EF-S 18-55 f3.5 – 5.6 (the non IS version).

Accessories = Canon BG-E3 battery grip

This component is optional but I love having battery grip because it is helpful when it comes to getting portrait (vertical) shots.

That’s it. No flash? Yes, no flash were used for the food photos. No tripod either.

Very basic equipment, aren’t they? Any latest entry level model of today still beats the EOS 350D in every aspect. So don’t go around blaming your gear for lack-luster photos! On a side note, I’ve recently have the EOS 500D joining my photography arsenal. Yay!

Making People Hungry

Believe it or not, that’s the IDEA I hold each time I take food photos. If it makes people hungry, it’s good enough for me!

Now, let’s get down and dirty with the details on how I go about taking food photos for my food blog.

Location = Lights, among many other things

I bet many out there are lead by their hunger – I wanna eat, I go, I snap, I finish, I leave………… is it that simple? To me, it’s actually more than that. It’s actually good to know WHEN to visit the restaurant and even to understand the LOCATION of the restaurant.

Normally I prefer to have my visit at a time when it’s less crowded as I’ll have the flexibility when it comes to choosing the BEST spot. The best spot to me is the spot where I get the most amount of light, be it natural or artificial.

The key here is to know what light you have and how to make use of it. Did you know that knowing the geological setting (I hope that’s the right term) of the restaurant helps a lot, for example is the restaurant under the shadow of a tall buildings? Is it facing the clear open sky where you can use the cloud as a huge diffuser? Are there buildings or structures around that reflect sufficient light into the dining area?

That’s applicable to daytime dining of course, for night time dining – it’s all about artificial lights.

Knowing the sources of light is one thing, knowing your position and sitting direction is another! You see, if the light was coming from behind you, then you’ll be casting a shadow on whatever food in front of you. So you’ll need to know how to position yourself in order to manipulate the light to your advantage.

Here’s an example of a location where there’s plenty of natural light.

And here’s one of the photos taken with the natural light, diffused by the afternoon clouds.

And here’s one taken under VERY low light.

Notice how in my photos I use light to highlight the texture of the food.

Another good reason for visiting when there’s lesser crowd, besides the better service and potentially better food quality, is that lesser people mean less potential having movements that change alter the source of light. It also means you have more freedom to take photos without annoying others.

I remember one experience in a group outing, every time this guy sitting across me stands up, the light is altered rather significantly. This is because his body blocks the artificial light from behind him but since he’s wearing blue, he’s now reflecting another spectrum of light. Arrgghhh!

Angle and Distance

There’s no such thing as a best angle or distance. Some dishes are better taken from a lower angle, others are better taken from a higher angle. Sometimes you have to angle the dish! Take this photo for example, the plate was curved and leaving it on table level meant shadow was cast on most part of the food since we’re relying on the light reflected by buildings. So what I did was that I got a friend of mine to tilt the plate.

Whether you decide to place a saucer underneath or get a friend to hold it like what I did, it’s entirely up to you. Just don’t spill!

As for the distance – keep in mind that it’s not necessary to snap the dish as a whole. Often, just a part of it will do. In other cases, you might want to back a little and get a better view of things.

I took the photo above from a distance as the intention was to showcase the artfully decorated dish served.

It’s all about understanding your subject. Observe the layout of the dish and explore the best angle and distance possible.

Modifying The Subject

Take note of smudges around the plate and other things, you might want to wipe them before starting your shoot.

Sometimes if the arrangement isn’t what you had in mind for the shoot, just do a bit of adjustments. Turn the plate around, move the meat further closer to the potatoes.

Background

I am VERY picky with the background. The background should contribute to the composition and should not be a distraction. Snap at a higher angle and you have less background to worry about, as seen in the photos below.

If you’re going for a lower angled photo then there’s likely to be background, so you might need to do some table decoration moving to make it turn out well.

Bokeh

Bokeh is nice but do keep in mind that you should have decent amount of depth of field for the food.

I shoot most of my photos at f/4 and sometimes go as wide as f/2.x range but rarely do I use f1.8 or wider aperture.

Focus It Right

Understand the dish you ordered and compose your shot accordingly. If it was pork ribs then focus on the rib, not the mashed potatoes.

Make It Snappy

If you’re with others, don’t keep them waiting too long. If you’re around many other guests, try not to annoy them.

Actually, the main reason to get it done fast is because some dish actually lose their appeal as it cools. I usually get my shots done within 3 snaps. Get it done quickly so you can enjoy the dish when it’s still fresh.

Don’t Forget The Basic Rules

Don’t forget about the guides for composition such as Rule of Thirds and Leading Lines.

They are helpful with composition as well.

High ISO Is Not A Problem

Use the highest ISO possible if the situation arises. Don’t let the “Oh I hate noise” thing hinder you, it’s foolish to sacrifice stability just for noise.

I use ISO1600 on my EOS 350D often for food photos, people still like them anyway. When you get everything right, noise just doesn’t matter.

Other Accessories

My other occasional accessories are like +4 close-up filter and Raynox DCR-250 macro filter (I rarely use this one for food photography).

They could come in handy, especially when you wish to highlight a particular part of the dish.

For example, here’s one taken with the Raynox DCR-250.

And here’s one with a +4 close up filter.

Post Processing

Don’t be afraid to post process your photos. Even a simple contrast and brightness adjustment could bring out the quality of a photo. Don’t be ashamed to crop the photo or even to remove unsightly things that so happen to be in the photo, like say a smudge on the table cloth that you didn’t notice when taking the scene.

In tricky lighting conditions, it’s good to snap in RAW so you could adjust the white balance and exposure during post processing.

Making People Feel The Hunger

I’m done with my sharing. I hope this article is very helpful, especially to those of you who love eating, love photography and perhaps even love to blog about your meal.

From my experience, the toughest part is the angle. Some dishes are just impossible to get good composition with. Now go out and make your friends and family hungry!

My Food Photography

Here are my other food photos (among many others) for your reference. Some of them are NOT done in restaurant environment.

- goldfries @ shutterstock
- goldfries @ dreamstime

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 20th, 2010 at 1:19 pm and is filed under Improve Your Photos, Photography. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.