Photography~Food Pics~FOCUS Help Needed

[Little One]

To get a better photograph, like Queen Mums example, you ideally need multiple external flash units. My canon t3i came with a booklet trying to sell you external flashes, but it had realllly good information and examples of how to use flashes correctly... including how to photograph food! I think this a link to an online version of that booklet??? I can't view adobe flash on my iPad, so I can't tell right now. :/ http://usa.canon.com/CUSA/assets/app/html/flash_class/classroom.html
Also, try photographing the plate at closer to a 45 degree angle, not looking straight down or table level. Hope this helps you out! Share some more examples when you try out the new techniques. (Here's a good site I reference often. http://www.digital-photography-school.com/food-photography-an-introduction )

 

[Queen Mum]

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[redtailgal]

lol, I get smudges too. It's a good practice to keep a microfiber cloth handy and give your lens a quick wipe when you pick it up.

You dont need external flash to take a good shot. I dont have them, and have never used them. I may get one in the future but they are not *needed*. Glass, and liquids, are particularly prone to have a reflective "hot spot" when photographed using flash. Most professional food photographers use softboxes, or a softlight scenerio. This is something that can be easily made at home. You can build a homemade softbox, ideal for this for under 10$. It may take me a couple weeks before I can do it, but I will try to do picture based directional thread on building a softbox. It would help you tremendously and I have been needing one for some of my projects anyway.

Good lighting is a must. You can tak car of shadows by setting up regular table lamps, at 45 degrees to the left and right of your subject. If the shadowing behind will be a problem fo ryou, shine another light toward the back of your subject. Just make sure that each lamp has the same type of bulb in it. Different types of bulbs throw different color light (this color cannot be seen by the human eye). The camera can 'read" the color and will adjust the "white balance" accordingly, so that the white things come sout white, thusly making the rest of the colors correct. If you have multiple types of bulbs, the camera cannot read the color and you will have off color pictures.

For food shots, it is best to take a picture of the food slightly above......similar to position the food would be in if you were looking at it from the table. Yes, a table cloth would help, but for what you are doing I would recommend a white table cloth. This will allow the camera to good a solid reading on the light, giving you the truest colors and definition of the food. The simple color would also be less distracting from the food itself. A simple folded napkin with a shining fork laying on it, will "tempt" the mind into imagining the taste. Allow for a small garnish, but keep it simple, the main attraction should be the food.

I agree that you should play with the lighting, but I think an empty plate is a bad idea. Plates allow for glare, and the coloring in the food will react differently to light than would an empty plate.

I do suggest that you try the food setting. Most of the food setting allow for a vivid color, the differences will be very subtle, but it will help with the shine coming of wetter foods, and give the colors a slightly more realistic tone.

In your pic with the plate with the green rim, can you see the slight glare on the edge of the plate? Your overhead light is doing that, but you can take something small ( a wadded up square of toilet paper)and place under one side of the plate to reduce that, or you can take a light white or creme color umbrella, hold it between the light and the food (so that the light is shining into the part that your head would be under) to diffuse and soften the light a little.

You do still have a focus problem. I believe its the same thing going on as I talked about in this page .
Try taking your hand ( or that of a helper) and placing it palm out over the food and focus on that hand. Hold the shutter release halfway down, wait for the beep, remove the hand and take she shot for a sharp clear focus. In those shots, your camera couldnt decide if you wanted to photograph the food or the background, so it tried to compromise.

 

[Little One]

External flashes or any other light sources from different angles... same principle. Yes, an external flash isn't necessary, but I recently bought one. (Can't help it, I love getting new camera toys.) IMO, it gives much more true to life flesh tones indoors. My favorite advantage is the ability to swivel and bounce the light off walls or ceilings. Btw, I am new to this site, but I love how the hobbies section has so many photography threads.

 

[elevan]

Thanks for the ideas and tips folks.

For what it's worth, I will not be getting any external flashes...just not worth it to me - if I had to go that far, I'll hire a photographer. Also the pictures I intend to have included in the book will feature the food...not the plate, not the table and not silverware...I want close up of the food. I'm not doing an ad for a restaurant but a cook book. Space on pages may be super limited and I want the food to be able to be seen. If I have only space for a small pic, then it's gonna have to be right on the food, not it's surroundings. Yes I'm showing the plate in these pics, but I'm trying to figure out what the heck I'm doing wrong in focus. Trust me that I know how to garnish a plate to make it look good...this is what I do - but again, I know that I have a focus issue and am trying to work through that first.

One step at a time here.

First thing I need to tackle is this dang focus issue. I'll try with the scene setting for food tomorrow and see if that helps.

 

[Queen Mum]

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[redtailgal]

Um, it's worth it to me for you to get en external flash. Just get it and send it to me! Yes? Maybe? No?

I get what you are saying about needing the focus on food and limited space, it makes sense.

Food photography can lead to some difficult focus problems, so stick with it. A plain back ground, even just a white towel, should help bring out colors and help the camera focus. The angle that you shoot from really doesnt matter......it's a matter of personal preference.

Edited to add:

I have created a new thread entitled Photography~General Food Related. I'd love to continue this discussion with all of you, but honestly, I think we are getting a little out of hand here. Elevan asked for FOCUS help and we are bombarding her with PRESENTATION........... the angle she chooses, her lighting, and whether or not there is a fork by her plate does not affect focus. I know it frustrates me when I start a thread about something in particular, and my topic gets thown aside. Elevan, I apologize for not focusing on your topic.

 

[elevan]

Um, it's worth it to me for you to get en external flash. Just get it and send it to me! Yes? Maybe? No?

That would kind of go along with me just making the food, packing it up and shipping it to you to photograph now wouldn't it?

 

[elevan]

Queen Mum - That's a better example of a cookbook type of shot. But for some reason that tablecloth hurts my eyes... :/


White dinnerware - check
Plain backdrop / tablecloth - check
45 degree angle - check
Soft box? - gotta look into or wait for RTG to do a page

I'll work on those things and try to improve the focus issue and come back with some examples.

I have created a new thread entitled Photography~General Food Related. I'd love to continue this discussion with all of you, but honestly, I think we are getting a little out of hand here. Elevan asked for FOCUS help and we are bombarding her with PRESENTATION........... the angle she chooses, her lighting, and whether or not there is a fork by her plate does not affect focus. I know it frustrates me when I start a thread about something in particular, and my topic gets thown aside. Elevan, I apologize for not focusing on your topic.

No need for you to apologize RTG. Maybe my needs weren't stated clearly enough and for that I apologize. I know how to dress a plate and set a table and make things look good - that's not what I'm trying to figure out with this thread, I'm trying to figure out how to get the pic focused where / how I want it focused.

Thanks to everyone who has given suggestions. They are all helpful and useful to a Food Photography subject and I would suggest sharing them on RTG's new thread. But I really would like to concentrate on the problem at hand right now and that is FOCUS. I'll go back and edit my subject to address that.

 

[redtailgal]

When you look thru your view finder, do you see {} anywhere in your viewfinder? Are there more than one set of them? try tapping your directional button on the back of the camera, and see if the {} moves or if a different one lights up.

This is selective focus, and I cant be sure that your camera offers it. The point is, that if you have it, you look thru the viewfinder, and tap that directional button until the {} or the highlighted {} is on your subject.

I dont know, maybe this will help. I just thought of it and wanted to put it out here before I forgot!