Photography~Food Pics~FOCUS Help Needed

[elevan]

Ok, so my camera is a Nikon Coolpix S3100

I need to be able to take good food pics, but for some reason the focus isn't where it should be (see pics below). I've played with different settings but can't figure this out so I keep setting them back to auto because my tries are worse

Please help me figure this out. Thanks.

 

[Queen Mum]

,

 

[redtailgal]

You do have a focus problem going on.

Elevan, do you have something that you could use as a tripod? Are you pushing your shutter release halfway and waiting for that beep?

Also, is the food hot when your are photographing it? Some camera's can get "confused" and try to focus on the steam coming up from hot food.

I noticed also that the blurry part is in the same section of each picture, sounds silly, but check your lens for a smudge. It really looks to me like perhaps you have a smudge or maybe the food is starting to steam your lens a little (if its hot). A simple wipe will take care of the smudge.

Once you have these things worked out, see if that helps.

You next step would be to cheat a little. Take something larger, perhaps a slice of bright yellow cheese, and lay across the top of your food and focus on that cheese. Then, while still holding the shutter release halfway, remove the cheese and take your pic.

Let me know if you need more help.

 

[elevan]

Son of a gun RTG!!! You're right, I had a fingerprint smack dab in the middle of my lens. *smacks my forehead* I never thought about that.

I do hold the shutter release down halfway and wait for the focus icon to turn green (no beep but the icon goes from red to green) before depressing completely.

Also the food is cold.

Thanks for the tips Queen Mum. I'll use some of them on my next try.

 

[elevan]

Much better. I also adjusted the white balance for the type of lighting (incandescent).

I noticed that my camera has "scene" selections to allow for preset options for different scenarios. One of them is food. What do you think of using the scene settings?

 

[elevan]

I'm still having trouble focusing from table level:

 

[SmallFarmGirl]

How about trying to fix your lighting ?
Some times you can do without flash , how about you try that ?
Hope it works ! :

 

[elevan]

How about trying to fix your lighting ?
Some times you can do without flash , how about you try that ?
Hope it works ! :

The pic in post #5 was done without flash. And I'm happy with that one. But it's an overhead shot. I NEED to be able to take good side shots of food. I'm writing a cookbook and would like to include lots of photos and would prefer to take those myself.

 

[elevan]

Maybe I should just fix the food - pack it up - ship it to RTG and collaborate my cookbook with her doing photos :/ I am so not a photographer

 

[SmallFarmGirl]

Well good luck !!! I love to cook . I'd love to have your cookbook someday .