You have created your favourite dish or even tried something new and are very proud of the outcome. So why not take a good picture to show off your cooking skills? Or even better: upload your own picture to your own recipe (or any other you have chosen) on www.cooksunited.co.uk!
Maybe you are unsure how to take a picture of that delicious dish you have just created. In case you need a bit of advice how to create the perfect picture before you fall over your plate to eat it all. Here we have listed a few hints and tips on how to take a good picture of your dish - even if you are not a professional.
We've all heard the rumors about the terrible things food photographers do to make food look good. Horror stories about food stylists with their cans of shoe polish, burnishing raw turkeys to make them look roasted. Scoops of mashed potatoes glistening atop ice cream cones, covered in chocolatey-looking motor oil. It takes a little doing to make food photogenic, but it's easy once you know how.
But it takes a little doing to make food photogenic and then it's easy once you know how.
Some questions that may come to mind before pressing the shutter:
I am always a bit unsure which format to use: Portrait
or Landscape??
Pictures presented in the portrait format have the tendency to look more
dramatic. If you can't decide: just take at least one of each and then decide
later. Most landscape formats can be cropped to portrait formats if your
resolution is high enough. Please note: any pictures that you would like to submit with your recipes here on cooksunited should be taken using the landscape format.
I find it impossible to consider all tips about food photography at once
just to take one simple picture. What
can I do?
Don't worry. Just remember the most important points such as good
lighting, no confusing backgrounds and a little detail to focus on something
nice and appetising.
And how do I move on from here?
Just go and take lots of pictures. Practise, practise, practise!
Are there any ways to help out and get better to take good pictures of food?
Of course, there are plenty of books about food
photography, courses to take, professional studio lighting, backgrounds etc to buy.
The photography industry knows how to make your wallet lighter and your credit
card be maxed out. But at the end of the day it comes down to knowing your
camera and also have a bit of a feeling for the right picture. So you have to
choose what's best for you, either to go on the learning-by-doing-way or buy
all the literature you can find and book x amount of photography classes.
Any
other tips?
Don't take this subject too seriously. It should also
be fun and not make you a professional if you never intended to be one. But
photography is a very interesting and very creative genre. Keep on practising
and try new things. You are your own boss and your own student!
The most important thing is "making a beautiful image".