Gianfranco47 Loc: Senoia GA

just to have some tips about lenses use and camera size , what you are using medium format digital like Hasselblad or mamiya or normal 35mm digital camera lenses used ?

digit-up Loc: Flushing, Michigan

And don’t eat much, TP shortage being what it is................................RJM

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

I can't help my self:

Phood Fotography. LOL

Does that include edible C. sativa?

foodie65

Practice, practice, practice

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

There's a lot more to it than just practice and learning composition.

Don't plan on eating anything you photograph. That is if you want good food photos. Motor oil makes for better syrup on hotcakes than does maple syrup. Undercooked green beans sprayed with WD-40 appear very appetizing. In fact, WD-40 enhances the appearance of a lot of foods. Mashed potatoes work well for ice cream. Want me to go on? Oh, then there is the retouching skills required in processing the photos.
--Bob

bobbyjohn Loc: Dallas, TX

In our family cookbook (online), we have photos for about 90% of the recipes in the cookbook. In the recipe list at the left, an icon of a camera means that there is an associated photo of that recipe.

See: http://www.rocketpower.org/cookbook/

One thing I like to do is give a colorful background. I use a red checkered table cloth as background in many (but not all) of the food shots...that gives the plate a colorful pop...and is reminiscent of a fine Italian restaurant. I used to use Automatic on camera, but I switched to using aperture priority at F11 to get the entire plate in focus. Even if the shutter speed is kinda slow, like 1/15 second, I support my arms and camera against a chair top (rather than using a tripod)...I've gotten pretty good about holding camera still with the chair support at 1/15 second...I also take multiples just in case. I use either natural daylight from the nearby windows if during daytime, or overhead fluorescent light if at nightime, with AWB.

mwoods222 Loc: Newburg N.Y,

GO TO YOUTUBE THERE ARE PLENTY IF DEMOS ON FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY
ONE GUY USES MOTOR OILON PANCAKE STACKS BECAUSE SYRUP WOULD RUN BUE MOTOR OIL STANDS UP FOR A PHOTO

bbrowner Loc: Chapel Hill, NC

In Chapel Hill, we uses to have a good cooking school (A Southern Season). I once took the (one session) course on food & photography. All I can tell you is that it is very, very difficult. Good luck with it. Sorry I can't really help you improve.

Barry

dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

Having great food is a big help.

Dennis

Tito14 Loc: Central Florida

Youtube has a lot of info about food photography.
That was me at home yesterday practicing. Good luck

(Download)

Tito14 Loc: Central Florida

Youtube has great ideas.

camshot Loc: Peterborough ontario Canada

Not even a Rubin ? It's corn beef.

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

Some feedback and answers for y'all and thanks for you kind comments.

Format- Back in the day, I shot all my food and beverage shots on large format film- 4x5 and mostly 8x10. Transparency film for lithographic reproduction and color negative for Duratrans display transparencies and prints. Nowadays I use a Mamiya RZ67 with a Phase I digital back and custom made bellows rig that enables shifting and tilting of the lens. I will attach a shot of some Middle Eastern food shot with my trusty Canon Mark II and a PC lens. That DSLR format is fine for jobs that don't require billboard size reproduction.

Filters- I do use a clear protection filter if splatter is possible like in food actually cooking in a frying pan or on a grill.

Fakery? There are too many urban legends and old wives' tales about food photography cosmetics. Some of its based on old methods that are no longer used or have been deemed illegal by governmental consumer protection agencies as to food packaging and advertising. Nonetheless, we still have a sign in our studio warning not to eat the food or props. The food may have been handled too much, left without refrigeration to long, undercooked poultry can cause salmonella poisoning and undercooked pork products can cause trichinosis (ugh.) We no longer use potatoes in lieu of ice cream because we no longer use hot lights that cause instant melting, there are thousands of flavors besides vanilla, but we do occasionally dip a scoop of icecream in a dry ice solution so it keeps its shape but eating that can cause serious damage to one's mouth. We have been known to try 30 "scoops" to get the nicest shape!

So..Motor oil contains additives that may cause a greenish or bluish tint so it would be a poor substitute for syrup. Good old Canadian or Vermont Maple Syrup is just fine and if it ain't thick enough, an hour in the fridge will fix that. The "WD" in WD40 stands for water displacement so it does not make for a good cosmetic dressing agent for vegetables. As for peas, wax beans, string beans, carrots, broccoli, spinach, etc- mild steaming brings up the color and will not wrinkle the surfaces. We are not allowed to use two cans of concentrated soup with only enough water for one can, to exaggerate the thickness of the quantity of the ingredients. We can put marbles at the bottom of the bowel it forces the ingredients to the surface.

There are laws in the United States and Canada that prohibit misrepresentation of the product in food packaging. You can not go the butcher shop and buy a prime or choice quality roast of beef, cook it, slice it up, shoot in and put the image on a package of a froze roast beef dinner. You can, however, cook up the actual product and show it at its best possible appearance. I will, however, admit to mega-fussing over each product by the photographers and the food stylists. It could take all day to shoot n hamburger for an electronic menu board. We won't substitute the ingredients with plastics, wax and who knows what. Its rea mead, real cheeses, real toppings, and real buns. The chef may cook up 10 burgers 'till we select one. We might go through a case of buns, we might melt the cheese with a heat gun-its like a super hot hair dryer used to strip paint and activate shrink-tubing insulation.

Someone mentions that you need good food to start with. Many foods are good and good for you but they don't look too good and are not intrinsically photogenic. It can be easy to shoot a plate prepared by a top gourmet chef- just light it up and shoot it! Oftnems simple foods- hotdogs, burgers, fries, good hardy dinner or truck-stop fare can be extremely difficult. A perfectly yummy dish of Chicken ala King can look like somebody already ate it and well- how should I put this- didn't feel well after lunch (ugh).

Staging- There are many styles. At my shop, we get two major approaches- minimalist and plentiful. Much depends on the cuisine. There is Neuville Cuisine- oftentimes delicate portions artistically arranged on a stylish plate. Sometimes there are vertical shots showing the plate from directly above the dish to show off the graphic design. Many of my current clients, however, are fast-food, ethnic cuisine, delicatessen, food service businesses where folks don't go to "dine" the go there to SCOFF! So..we use lots of fresh ingredients as a background, emphasize quantity, and present the plate as folks see it when it arrives at the table- a kinda 45-degree point of view so they can visually "dig in"! Some years ago I was on a weight loss diet and I stupidly went to my favorite Hungarian restaurant. I examined the menu and told the server that I need a low-calorie entree. She looked me in the eye and exclaimed in her inimitable accent "this place, not for diet"!
Unfortunately, I agreed. The goulash and spaetzle were unbelievable! So much for the diet!

A true story- Some years ago in the film era we were shooting red wine. For some perplexing reason the film would not render the color correctly no matter what we did- filters, precise color temperature adjustments, correction in printing-NADA!!! We finally decided to substitute water with various dyes- fabric dyes, retouching dyes- different mixtures until the client's wine expert was satisfied. It was about 10 PM when we hit the mark with a retouching dye called NEW COCCINE mixed with some Farmer's Reducer (Ferrocyanide). We had to mix the dye- shoot, and process the film each time- what a drag! We finished the shot and the final E-6 run at 4:30 AM and left all of the props, the glass of dye, a block of cheese, etc,- neglected cleaning up and went home to get some sleep. In the late morning, we came back to the shop and noticed the liquid was spilled out and the cheese was nibbled at AND on the floor were 3 dead rats! Pretty disgusting! We were relieved, however, that the janitor or one of our crew did not decide to have a snack and a sip! Seem we had discovered some instant rat poison. At the time were renting a loft near the waterfront- lots of space, high ceilings, cheap rent, and lots of critters!

aellman Loc: Boston MA

Go to YouTube, and search for "food photography." You'll get more info than you could ever use.
If you don't know how to do this, send me a PM. >Alan

Ched49 Loc: Pittsburgh, Pa.

I'll take one of those pizza's with pepperoni, mushrooms and peas.