How to Capture Amazing Food Photos During the Holidays

[Reyed Mia (Apprentice, DIU)]

How to Capture Amazing Food Photos During the Holidays

The holidays are coming and food is everywhere; it's glistening, it's colorful, it's iced and diced and dipped. How can you savor your beloved holiday food moments the whole year through? By taking extraordinary food images.

Don't have a DSLR? Composition, styling, propping, and lighting still play a key role in enhancing your imagery. Even if you only have a point-and-shoot camera, these tools will take your photographs to another level.

This time of year is about capturing mood, moments, and all of the things that truly express the excitement and spirit of the season. If you don't have a professional camera you can still use some simple techniques to enhance your imagery, and if you do have a DSLR then these food photography suggestions will make your photographs look like a pro's.

Lighting is one of the most important aspects of food photography.  With bad lighting your food could have been prepared by a Michelin starred chef and it still wouldn't look appetizing. Photographers have different preferences on lighting for food photography; some prefer to use artificial light, while others prefer natural light.  Natural lighting will be the easiest approach if you are just starting out, and is a preference of many professionals.

Things to think about to help tell a food story:

Was the food prepared at home? What does that space look like? Was the person who made the food wearing a traditional outfit from a specific culture? A chef hat? An apron? Showing the torso of someone in an apron holding a finished dish is a wonderful way to illustrate food.  This pairing tells more than just the ingredients of a dish, it also tells a bit of the background story.

Do you love holiday cookies made by your grandmother? You can tell an entire story of your time together in a short, memorable photo series to cherish forever. Photograph a close-up of her hands preparing the dough. Photograph her icing the cookies and use a wide-angle lens (or move yourself back far enough) to fit the entire scene in your image. Get in closer and photograph the tops of the cookies, the baking sheet coming out of the oven.  You can create a series of beautiful images from just this one experience, and you can do this in an hour or less.

When you are working with people to tell a food story try the following ideas:

Have your "models" stir the pot, and crop the frame to show an arm and hand with a long wooden spoon. Show a hand pouring steaming gravy from a beautiful serving dish onto a fluffy mound of mashed potatoes. Photograph a drink being mixed with a straw, apples being cut on a board, pie crust taking shape. Think about photographing hands kneading fresh cookie dough. Let motion and human elements interact with your food. Crop into the image and isolate the hands for some of your shots, and then pull back and photograph your subject from the waist up.

If you are photographing a 3/4 shot of a prepared dish, arrange the dish with a place setting, drinks, and even candles as you would at a real table. This will draw your viewer into the scene and will tell a bit more information than simply the ingredients of a dish.

Source:http://learn.usa.canon.com/resources/articles/2016/gershman-holiday-food-article.shtml