Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Food Photography

I have a penchant to take photographs of food! When food arrives, the first thing I pick up is the camera, not the chopsticks. I can only do this when I am in the company of good friends; this is definitely a 'no no' for business lunches and company dinners.
While I understand that the best lighting for food photography is natural light because it reproduces the colors of the subject most faithfully blah blah blah. But more often than not, we are unable to get natural light. In restaurants that are dimly lit, I have no choice but to abuse the ISO in order to get a faster shuttle speed and we always ended up with grainy photos (who will actually bring along a tripod to dinner?)

Useful tips that I have picked up from the workshop
1) Positioning the light
One of the best places to photograph food is by a window where there is a lot of natural light (but not direct light)! Natural light is best in the morning or late afternoon.

NEVER use a direct flash.

2) Composition, "Rules of third" and Focus Point.
It is not necessary to capture a full shot of the dish. Try to free the background from clutters. Be creative, try out new ideas and shoot from different angles.

3) Color Temperature
Avoid fluorescent lights as they cast a blue color on the subject. Quote from Dr Leslie – nobody likes to eat blue food!

Lens : EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
Settings : f/5.0, 1/25 Sec, ISO3200, 45MM, WB Auto, Flash Off

IMG_2330, originally uploaded by Technical Tango.
The best encouragement is when friends tell me that they have a craving for this dish after seeing my food photos!

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