Home > Learn > Special Subjects > Photographing food (cont)
Photographing food (cont)
Continued from Part 1 (Props & shooting angles)
Focus
A great shot means getting the focus right. Often when shooting a plate of food, the camera may be quite close to the dish. If your lens can’t focus that close, you’ll end up with a blurry image. Make sure you don't hold the lens closer than the minimun range for the camera.
If you are using a point-and-shoot, make sure it is set to macro mode. If using a digital SLR, get familiar with the minimum focal distance of your lenses and respect its limitations. It’s better to not fill the frame than end up with a blurry subject.
Also, auto focus doesn’t always work well on the uneven, soft shapes of food. If your camera has it, use manual focus to make sure you get the right point in focus.
Lighting
Lighting, of course, is the other key to getting a great food photo.
Like most portraiture, softer lighting helps bring out the right amount of detail while hiding the less appealing aspects of the subject. Side and back light bring out the shape and color where using flash from the front tends to flatten and make the food look dead or oily.
Food is happiest under natural light, so get the food close to a window when shooting. If the light from the window is too bright, it will cast harsh shadows, so soften it by covering the window with white paper or choose a different window.
You may also need to bounce a little bit of light onto the front of the subject, so you don’t end up with just a silhouette. Something as simple as a piece of Styrofoam, or a white napkin draped over a glass, placed just out of frame in between the subject and camera can provide the right amount of additional light.
Use a tripod
Soft light does tend to mean less light, so it’s always best to use a tripod when possible. This not only prevents camera shake but you can use the lowest ISO number. If you can’t use a tripod, increase the ISO setting to a point that you can still safely handhold the camera. The image may be a bit noisy (grainy) but it is better to have extra noise than a blurry image.
White balance
Finally, make sure you set the white balance on your camera. While a yellow glow might be nice to set the mood for some images, color cast is one of the biggest problems beginner photographers encounter, and one of the easiest to correct. At a minimum, change from auto white balance to one of the situational presets your camera has…usually setting like cloudy, interior or sunny day.
Even better, if your camera supports it, do a custom white balance. Take a quick shot of something neutral in color…a white napkin, the grey floor…that is in the light you will be shooting, and then set the camera’s custom white balance to this image. It’s a quick step that will ensure you are getting neutral color with every shot.
Photos by Lara Ferroni © 2007 All Rights Reserved
