Tricks to taking food photography?
 

Could people please share with me how you're able to take good pictures of food, particularly indoors like at a restaurant. I'm talking about amateur pictures using a digital camera with different modes, etc. to document what you eat when you travel, etc.

My pictures usually turn out blurry even or too bright with a flash. I've seen many of you take decent pictures of food, and similarly good ones on food blogs, etc. What are your tricks? Do you have to use a tripod? I want to do it relatively quickly.

Thanks.

Hello,

If you have a point and shoot with an optical zoom, stand as far back as you can and zoom in on the food. This will hep with the flash being to bright. If you are photographing just one plate of food, use the portrait mode, if you are photographing a table full of food, use the depth of feild mode (the pic of the mountain). This will make everything in the photo in focus.

If your camera is small and you have a tabletop tripod, use it. Just be careful when you press the shutter that you dont shake the camera. If you have a self timer, use it.. It will help with the blur. If you are able to set the film speed (ISO 100, 200, 400....) set it to about 400. This makes the sensor more sensative to light (I know it is a digital and not film camera).

If you have a DSLR you can use the same techniques and add a white balance setting of incandescent or tungsten depending on the lighting in the restaurant.

Try to fill the frame with the food and exclude any extra stuff like glasses or napkins. Keep the composition of the pics simple and they will turn out better.

Hope this helps, Donna

[email protected]

I can't imagine setting up a tripod in a restaurant... I'm usually kind of embarassed to take pictures during dinner, but I want to. I even act like a sneak-thief when I snap a photo of an enticing shop window.
Any tips to get me over this inhibition?

Also try a shot with the flash turned off--many digitals do very well in low light situations.

I WOULD SET MY ISO HIGH LIKE 800 OR MORE AND LET THE PICS FLY

use macro. (the little flower)
mine has 2 diff flashes, and one no flash setting in macro.
i usually do the auto focus (clicking down but not exposing--hard to explain), to get the clearest pic.

test it out at home so you know how to use it and what works best.

Thanks. Any more pointers?

I too always use the macro mode when photographing a plate of food or perhaps a special dessert and I never use flash. However I was a professional for over 50 years so I am used to hand holding the camera steadily which is necessary, otherwise, I do have one of those mini tripods, about 6 inches high which is not conspicuous and in fact I often take self portraits while traveling with it since I am a widow and often no one with me. My family in turn think I am occasionally a little silly, however I notice they always enjoy the pictures of the very special and tempting desserts, piled high with all the whipped cream, etc. Happy snapping and also, you can snap those delectable airplane meals? Halfpint

Using direct flash at a close range cause a harsh picture, and not using flash means you're subject to shakes (and the pics usually turn out yellow under tungsten lamps that you'll need to correct with software later on).

People with lots of equipment can use umbrellas, bounce flash, etc. But one simple and cheap alternative is to carry with you a small white card. Very white one, perhaps 3" x 5". Shoot your food at an angle, and hold the card at the 45-degree angle in front of you. [Make sure it's not in the picture.]

Use flash to take the picture, and the white card should act as a simple reflector to get more even and diffused flash illumination onto the subject.

Well, at least that's the theory... :)

I'm with kc the bum. I use my macro and no flash. I don't want the whole restaurant to stop and stare at me. But, sometimes they do andyway. LOL Also the auto focus and VERY STEADY hands are good.

The real trick is figuring out how to take pictures of all your food in restaurants without disturbing everyone around you. I am so tired of being blinded by flash as people are snapping pics of their dishes as well as pictures of each other eating it. And I've been bumped by people standing up and backing up to get a full shot of the table.

What on earth do people need with pictures of everything they eat? Sorry, some people thing I'm obsessive because I write down what we ate and where -- but I really can't imagine the purpose of taking pictures of everything -- especially if you have to use a flash or bump into people.

Sorry, I meant to add:

With so many restaurants now requesting "no cell phones, please" I wish they'd add "no flash photography, please". I actually think the flashes while I'm trying to have a nice dinner are as disturbing as hearing a phone ring -- which is horrible enough in itself.

I avoid using flash in a restaurant (I think it distubs others). Hold your breath and keep elbows in to be steadier. Lean against a wall or something solid if possible.

If/when the picture looks a little dark when I get home, I use Photoshop (actually, Paint Shop Pro) to lighten. A slightly dark picture lightens very well, and looks much better than an over-exposed shot that one tries to darken on the computer.

While I've taken a few food photos in the past, there were more times I have not done so because of embarassment. The flash is very distracting to others and then puts one on the spot. On the other hand I do know of some people who just have to have pictorials of all the meals they've eaten. And not only do they have photos of their meals but also those of their dining companions. Obviously they are not shy about taking photos. I wouldn't mind if the restaurants have a rule about banning the photo taking also.

I don't have to take pictures to remind me of a memorable meal - I keep it with me always - on my hips.

Nina

:)

Any more tips for taking food photos? Hopefully proven ones.

Thanks

*insert rim shot here*

Tell it to say CHEESE!

Oh, I'm sorry... It was one of <b> those </b> days.

I sometimes rest the camera on a water glass or book to get a shot without shaking.

It would never occur to me to take pix of food in a restaurant. It's food. You eat it. You enjoy it. You have anice glass of wine and some interesting conversation.

And you don;t disturb other diners by using flashes or tripods or standing in 14 different postions to get the right angle on the photo of your dinner.

This is just as bad as - if not worse than - the cell phone calls - or blowing your cigarette smoke at someone else.

When I'm paying for a nice dinner I want serene and civilized surroundings. (You can take pix in MickeyD's if you want - but I don;t know if that counts as food.)

nytraveler--OK, then don't take food pictures. Won't bother us at all if you don't.

Maybe because her post wasn't really about HER taking pictures of food, but rather reminders of what those who DO should be aware of.
Helpful post.

&quot;nytraveler--OK, then don't take food pictures. Won't bother us at all if you don't.&quot;
Yes, and it would be nice if those that DO take pictures of their food wouldn't bother the rest of us either. OK?

Oh my, things are getting touchy???

Have you all seen the food pics on www.airlinemeals.net?

When I went to Comer&ccedil;24 in Barcelona and got the tasting menu, I wanted to take pictures of everything, as did my dining partner. So, we talked to the waiter and he told us to come back to this little antechamber and take pictures of the dishes. This worked well because we were out of everyone's way, had access in one fell swoop to all the dishes being served, and the lighting was easy to calibrate.

A close friend of mine (you can check her work at www.zarmik.com) does food pictures and when she is in a kitchen she says that the key is to have everyones permission and no one's attention, set the lighting to the plate color or whatever takes up the most photo space (white means lower the light), and fire away. I wish I could put up my Comer&ccedil; pics, but you will just have to trust me that her advice worked.

I hope there will also be a ban on snapping photos of airline food.

What you're given to eat on airplanes doesn;t count as food - and people can take thousands of pictures of it if they want.

That's hardly the same thing as disturbing the dinners of who knows how many people who have gone to a nice restaurant and spent who knows how much to have a relaxing evening - not be subject to the antics of people who should know better.

(It's dinner - not a public performance - and I'd like to see people do that openly in a theater - before being escorted out. And those little cell cameras are bad enough - but at least less visible if the user has any sense of civility.)

I would think most airlines would forbid the photographing of the &quot;food&quot; they serve. Couldn't those photographs be used in a court of law against them?

LOL

I agree, Neo..I think that site is a riot. Both the pics and descriptions and ratings of some of those airline meals. Not sure which one is my favorite yet.

I'd love to have pictures of the restaurant interiors more than the plated food itself. I rarely get to take those photos since I agree that it can be disturbing to other diners. There are SOME times, though, where one can take such a photo without flash and without disturbing other diners.

Well, I really don't care about the airline food photos themselves. It's the camera flashes which are disturbing.