Ebook Publication

By Taylor of Food Faith Fitness

So you’ve got the love of eating delicious food down right? But NOW you want to move onto bigger and better things like actually taking BEAUTIFUL photos of the delicious food you create? Well, then this E-book is for you! In this E-book you will find 12 AWESOME tips from top food bloggers who know how to take a mouthwatering, need-to-eatit-right-now food photo! They’re be letting you in on the their top secret tips – from the importance of lighting to the basics of setting up the shoot, and even some of the tools you’ll need to take a stellar food shot! Are you ready to jump in and take your love of food from your plate to your camera? Well then get reading and learn the top tips from the pros!

12 PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS FROM TOP FOOD BLOGGERS

2

“

Shoot with your Camera tethered to your com pu ter! Th is has reduced the amoun t of photos I take, as I can see them right away instead of taking 10000 of them, to make sure that I get a “good one.” Th is also reduces the amoun t of time I spend on the ac tual shoot!

Tethering also allows me to see the light in the photo a lot better than on the tin y image on the back of m y camera, so I can spend more time making it perfec t during the shoot, and A LOT less time in post-processing the photos! You can’t ou t-edit a bad food photo and make it magically awesome, so tethering helps so much.

- Taylor

Food faith fitness

“

Follow Taylor on Instagram to see her gorgeous photos!

12 PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS FROM TOP FOOD BLOGGERS

3

“

Embrace shadows and play with light! Too often, people confuse ideal food photography conditions with too much light. When you have too much light, food can easily look washed out or one-dimensional, and ingredients tend to lose their nuances and charac ter. Experiment with your light sources (time of day, set-up distance from window, etc.) and put down your bounce card once in a while, you’ll most likely be surprised by the results. Gloom y and cloudy days are m y favorite days for photographing for a reason!

- laura

BLOGGING OVER THYME

Follow Laura on Instagram to see her gorgeous photos!

12 PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS FROM TOP FOOD BLOGGERS

4

“

“

Lighting is key! So get th is down and you can dic tate the mood and feel of your photo, and of course, it wi ll also effec t the end qualit y of the shot.f ind your preferred lighting, shoot at differen t times of the day in differen t locations with var ying light. Make sure you use the same set up and with the same camera angle and you’ll see how differen tly the photo wi ll look - NAOMI

BAKERS ROYALE

“

Follow Naomi on Instagram to see her gorgeous photos!

12 PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS FROM TOP FOOD BLOGGERS

5

“

Always, ALWAYS shoot a couple photos that seem to be slightly underexposed, because sometimes when you get in to editing, a photo that seemed perfec tly exposed can end up being way too bright and harsh.

It’s almost im possi ble to correc t an overexposed photo, bu t an underexposed photo can easi ly be f ixed in Photoshop or Lightroom.

- nicole

cooking for keeps

“

Follow Nicole on Instagram to see her gorgeous photos!

12 PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS FROM TOP FOOD BLOGGERS

6

“

KNOW WHO/WHAT YOU ARE SHOOTING FOR Th is is m y number 1 tip. What does your audience like? Are you shooting for the Pin terest audience? Or the food bloggers that rock photos like no one else? Are you shooting with hopes that BHG takes notice and h ires you for a cover shoot? Knowing your audience and how the photo wi ll be used is going to play a huge part in how you com pose that image. Pin terest audience dislikes props, loves brightness, hates seeing just one brownie on a plate.

In fac t, Pin terest audience LOVE to see LOTS of food on that plate. And they like all of that up close and personal. Normally, professional photographers wi ll tell you to use less food on a small plate, bu t take notice of Pin terest; a full sau te pan or a big serving bowl f i lled with pasta is the way to go.

SETTING UP Minimize clu tter. Using a napkin, a fork, and maybe a drinking glass is enough. Again, know who you are shooting for; if the photo is for your blog, remember that MOST of those readers are there to get the rec ipe, and the more that the food stands ou t, the better chances of them coming back. Yes, people love gorgeous photos, as well, I’m not saying not to take a beau tiful photo, bu t tr y to focus on the food, not the props. Also, tr y to use colors and textures that com plemen t the food. Notice that red food (i.e. tomatoes) pops ou t much more when there’s a red napkin next to the plate. You can also cover your wh ite foam board with differen t cloth remnan ts and use it as a backdrop.

- KATERINA

diethood

Follow Katerina on Instagram to see her gorgeous photos!

“

12 PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS FROM TOP FOOD BLOGGERS

7

“

Don’t forget to adjust the Noise Reduc tion when you edit your pics. If you take a super close up shot espec ially in low light the background can appear grain y. The noise reduc tion slider wi ll take that away and should leave it nice and smooth.

- Gerr y

foodness gracious

“

Follow Gerry on Instagram to see her gorgeous photos!

12 PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS FROM TOP FOOD BLOGGERS

8

“

I approach taking photos of food like taking a portrait of a person. I wan t all the atten tion and focus to be on the food not on the props or the background. With in the arrangemen t of the food on the plate I also like to have a hero that your eye is drawn toward. That one perfec t chunk of ch icken or drip of sauce that makes the reader wan t to eat the food! For me, when I am shooting, I tr y to make m y com position, depth of f ield and lighting pull your eye to that main hero. One of the ways I do that is by minimizing the background. In darker moodier lighting situations, I wi ll sometimes block the light from h itting the background with a sheet of black foam core. I just prop it up on the same side as the window and adjust it un ti l the background is in shadow. It helps to keep your eyes from being drawn to the distrac ting background. Or if I am using backlighting I wi ll really blow the background ou t, and just place some sparkly glass items in the background to evoke a full table, bu t not distrac t from the food or the hero.

- katie

healthy sesasonal recipes

“

Follow Katie on Instagram to see her gorgeous photos!

12 PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS FROM TOP FOOD BLOGGERS

9

“

There were two major th ings I did to im prove m y photograph y and to inc rease m y eff ic ienc y: 1. investing in a qualit y tripod with a swivel head and an extendable horizon tal arm for overheads, and 2. Shooting tethered. With these changes, I can take a single shot, see how it looks with some quick edits, adjust a c rumb, and take the exac t same shot. Once I’m satisf ied, I flag the f inal image and delete the rest. Withou t the tripod, I would adjust the c rumb and then take 20 more pic tures to make sure I got just the right one again and would end up with 300+ photos from one rec ipe that I’d have to sort through. Talk abou t ineff ic ien t! Now I end a shoot with no more than 25 photos.

- sarah

snixy kitchen

Follow Sarah on Instagram to see her gorgeous photos!

12 PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS FROM TOP FOOD BLOGGERS

10

“

“

If you f ind yourself in a photo ru t, don’t be scared to move th ings around. Sim ply changing the angle the light is coming from or even moving to a differen t room/ spot in your space can make a world of difference. When I f ind m yself hating ever y th ing I’m doing, I move from m y dining room to m y fami ly room, a sou thern exposure to a northern exposure and it com pletely changes the feel of the photographs.

- gina

running to the kitchen

“

Follow Gina on Instagram to see her gorgeous photos!

12 PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS FROM TOP FOOD BLOGGERS

11

“

Light is ever y th ing. Shoot your food indoors next to a window with sof t, indirec t light. Plac ing the food 1-3 feet away from the window so that the light h its the food from the side or back.

Th is should c reate lovely shadows and h ighlights on the food, giving it dimension and accen tuating texture.

- Alanna

The Bojon Gourmet

“

Follow Alanna on Instagram to see her gorgeous photos!

12 PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS FROM TOP FOOD BLOGGERS

12

“

Never underestimate the power of negative space. Photograph y is abou t drawing the eye towards a subjec t and the best way to do that effortlessly is with c reative negative space.

Th ink of it as less is more. You don’t wan t your subjec t to be surrounded by clu tter. You wan t to c reate a space around the subjec t that allows the eye to be naturally drawn to the subjec t. It’s kind of like an invisi ble breadc rumb trai l. A good rule of thumb is to place your subjec t in the photograph f irst and then f i ll in extras as needed. Sometimes, all you need is your subjec t to make a breathable space.

- Lauren

climbing grier mountain Follow Lauren on Instagram to see her gorgeous photos!

“

12 PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS FROM TOP FOOD BLOGGERS

13

“

One of m y favorite th ings to photograph is the dreaded POUR SHOT! It can be tricky, bu t there are little th ings you can do to make it work more of ten than not. 1) Always use a tripod 2) Keep your shu tter speed as h igh as possi ble withou t the pic ture being too dark. You wan t to stop that pour in it’s tracks and get it on camera! 3) Don’t let your F-Stop be too low for pour shots. I always have mine around 4 when tr ying to catch motion. 4) Make your focus poin t at the top of where the pour wi ll be h itting the food. 5) Prac tice makes perfec t! Have fun with the process and get c reative. Trial and error is how we all f ind ou t signature st yles!

- Becky

The cookie rookie

Follow Becky on Instagram to see her gorgeous photos!

12 PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS FROM TOP FOOD BLOGGERS

14

“