1 – Never neglect the white balance in food photography
The Food Photography white balance is an element to take into account from the start of shooting, you must have light sources with the same color temperature for a nice homogeneity of your light. The white balance will also allow you to give a certain atmosphere to your image, because, if for example, you take pictures of fish, you can give a colder atmosphere to your image by lowering it. Your white balance towards the blues, c ‘that is to say by lowering the kelvins. Conversely, if you have an exotic preparation, you can increase the heat of the white balance to give a more sunny and warm atmosphere while going up in the Kelvins. If you take landscape drawing photos in raw format, you have the choice between setting your white balance as soon as you shoot or doing it in postproduction directly in Lightroom.
2 – Which lens focal lengths to use for food photography
Food photography will be done with certain types of lenses and more difficult with others. It will be depending on the focal length it will be difficult to do food photography. Would find itself lost with the scenery given the very wide viewing angle then, conversely no longer need to enter. The product, to focus on the subject, that’s why we no longer use focal lengths from 35mm (for APS-C ) or 50mm (for full-frame ) and beyond, i.e. 85mm, 100mm, up to 200mm afterward.
3 – Fill in the frame of your food photo
How the view previously with the focal lengths, in landscape drawing photography we will need to go into the product so we will favor a lens between 50 and 100 millimeters and rather bright, preferably that is to say, with an aperture of F3, 5, or F2.8 if there is more open that will be good too…;))
All of this to tell you that it’s important to fill in the frame because a well-filled image will more easily tell a story pleasing to the viewer and promote eye-walking through the image. Every detail matters, and if you manage to keep your subject well detached and props surround. It is appropriate, but without obscuring or harming. The mission will be accomplishing.
4 – Attention to detail to avoid Photoshop
When shooting to pay attention to the smallest detail, pay attention to crumbs, involuntary droplets, in short, anything. That can harm the story you want to tell. It is important to take care of it as soon as you shoot to avoid tasks that can be tedious on Photoshop in postproduction afterward. Realize that it is easier to clean up an unwanted element right away as soon as you take a picture. Then to spend long minutes struggling with the stamp tool in Photoshop.
5 – get inspired by food photos from other food photographers
Food photography, like any photographic discipline, is a field where we learn constantly and every day whatever our level and our experience and if we want to progress quickly, it is important to be inspired by the work of others. To capture this know-how, various media will help you in this quest for information.
The first will be the Internet with specialized sites that you will find thanks to search engines or others like Flickr, 500Pix, Pinterest…
You can also go to your favorite bookstore or on Amazon, Fnac and browse or buy a few food photography books or richly illustrated cookery recipe books.
6 – eat what you photograph
Finally, important thing and not least, I encourage you to eat the fruit of your photographic work. It is obvious that you will have to keep it edible to be able to enjoy it. But it is a way to end in apotheosis. A whole artistic journey, gastronomic and photographic.
For my part, it is personal satisfaction to be able to savor what I have just captured in a photo. If once in 10, not to say every time I have to give it a little heatstroke by what enters. At the end of the preparation and the end of the shooting, our preparation, unfortunately, had time to cool. It is not a dessert or to melt for ice cream. you also learn about the magazine.
