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Thursday, March 18, 2010

Food Photography Top Tips

By June Smith

Were ever your look you will find food photography. We are enclosed in a sea of it. Open a magazine or newspaper and it will be there throwing its mouth watering images out at you moving your taste buds into action.

When you see some of the pro pictures of food you may think that you may never be able to take such good photographs but you could surprise yourself. Much of food picture taking is about technique and tips and tricks.

Light is the King when it comes to photography. When you get it right you get the results and when you mess it up we have all seen the results. Like any other form of still photography taking the time to get the lighting right will pay huge dividends in the results.

One of the best places to photograph food is by a window where there is abundant natural light - perhaps supported with flash bounced off a ceiling or wall to give more balanced lighting that cuts out the shadows. This daylight helps to keep the food looking much more natural.

If you are going to be doing a lot of food photography then think about creating a food light box to make your job easier and quicker. This consists of a framed area covered in diffusion screens with lights behind on stands or attached to flexible tubes so you can move them easily into position. The food sits on a plain smooth single coloured background cover that is usually white so there is no background to remove with Photoshop later. Make sure the cover is easy to wipe in case of food splashes.

Slow is great with food so use a slow shutter speed which will allow time to capture the depth of the image. Put your camera on a solid tripod and use a shutter release cable.

Choose your props very carefully to suit the end results that you are looking for. The props will make or break your photos. It's usually the props that set an amateur pic aside from a pro shot.

Use professional equipment when you do food photography and you will see the results. Using good quality lighting and a high quality camera are the main equipment your will need. You have to use a SLR camera with food photography if you want to get the best results. You will need to be able to zoom in and control the shutter and aperture settings to capture the full depth of the image.

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