FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY

What is it?

Food photography is still life commercial

photography in which images of food are taken to

use in advertisements.

Why is it used?

Food photography can be used for a number of

reasons such as advertisements, menus,

cookbooks and cookbooks.

FOOD PHOTOGRAPHYLighting techniques:The ambient light needs to be white, this means there will not be a tint to the photography. This can be achieved by setting the white balance on the camera

The exposure on the camera needs to be set correctly otherwise the image could be under or overexposed.

Flash tends to make the image have uneven shadows which is not wanted for food photography.

The ISO can be good for allowing more light into an image however adjusting this too much allows for blurry images. However if the ISO is fast, the image most likely wont be blurred but may be too dark.

Natural lighting is the best with food photography however can be hard to achieve a perfect image as you need to rely on the lighting of the day. This could lead to inconsistent colours.

The key light is just the main light source used in photography.

A fill light is the second source light used in photography . The term stems from the concept of filling in the shadows created by the main light with more light. Fill Light is used to fill in shadows as well as increase the brightness of the subject overall

Backlighting a subject can benefit an image in many ways, such as getting rid of unwanted shadows and reflections. It can also help with the colours and seeing the shape of the object.

FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY

Compositional Techniques:

Rotate: Some food looks best when looking directly down on it, while

other food has an interesting side profile that can only be seen

when shooting across the food at its level. Slightly tilting the

camera clockwise or counter clockwise can add some interest to

an otherwise dull photo.

Zoom: Whether you are using a prime lens or a zoom lens, you can

always get in close to magnify a detail of the food or loosen the

shot up to show the food as a component of a larger meal.

The rule of thirds/triangle: In general, the rule of thirds helps to easily

give you compositionally strong photos, and this holds true not

only for landscapes and action shots but for food as well

If you have multiple food subjects available to you (like multiple

cupcakes to choose from), use only the best examples

FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY

The use of colour:

Colour is directly linked to the light source and is

extremely important in photography and

especially food photography. Any type of light

source will produces different colour

temperature. Even the Sun changes its colour

temperature throughout the day.

The use of lighting can alter the colours in the

image. By changing the camera settings, the

way the subject can change dramatically.

Editing an image can be beneficial to a

photograph to improve the colours and to make

the product more aesthetically pleasing.

FOOD PHOTOGRAPHYManipulation:

Photo manipulation is the application of image editing techniques to

photographs in order to create an illusion or deception after the

original photographing took place

Airbrushing usually means to alter a photo digitally. Computer

'touch-ups' are done to existing digital photos, using programs like

Photoshop.

The clone stamp tool on Photoshop is used to copy part of the image

and paste it onto the same image in order to allow the image to look

perfect.

The spot heal on Photoshop takes similar colours around the area

that has been pressed and essentially covers the imperfection with

the colour.

Colour grading is the process of altering and enhancing the colour

of an image. This makes the image looks better and therefore

appealing.

This techniques are all particularly important in food photography in

order make the image look more aesthetically pleasing.