When using a cell phone for food photography there are certain facts that can help you understand the way a phone camera works. "Remember that its lens behaves as a wide-angle lens, with great depth of field that you can only use compositionally if you position the phone very close to the subject," (Gissemann 11). This can be somewhat of a disadvantage because phone cameras don't have adjustable apertures. However, using the phone also has it's advantages like being convenient and it's easy to transfer photos.
Using manual settings instead of auto mode can improve the quality of the picture and make it look more realistic. When creating an appetizing photo of food, the built in camera flash must be avoided. "Built-in flash illuminates the subject frontally, which usually produces unappetizing food photos," (Gissemann 31). To compare the differences between flash and no flash, I took a picture of ice cream using the same angle. The photo with flash illuminates the front part of the object, creating a bright glare in the center, making it look unprofessional. Without the flash, the whole photo looks more natural and appealing.
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Photo w/flash
Taken with an IPhone 7
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Photo w/o flash
Taken with an IPhone 7
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There are dedicated apps for processing images with your phone that can also be a helpful tool. Apps like pro cam, snap seed, tadaa SLR, and VSCO cam are great to adjust the sharpness, contrast, and blur lens. These techniques can add amazing depths to the photo. For the blur lens, it simulates a shallow depth of field and creates an authentic looking result, which isn't always easy but practice makes perfect. The blurred background helps focuses the attention on the main object. Using tadaa SLR, I adjusted the exposure, lighting, and used the blur lens for the main focus to be the ice cream.
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| Before using tadaa SLR w/no blur Grayish undertone |
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After using app w/blur
Brighter and clearer photo |
Question: What food photographs should I take with my next blog? Leave your comments and thoughts down below :)
Gissemann, Corinna. Food Photography: a Beginner's Guide to Creating Appetizing Images. Rocky Nook Inc., 2016.
Hi Tiffany! Your blog post was very informative and engaging! I never realized how taking pictures of food can be more complicated than a click of a camera. After reading your blog, I am more interested in learning how to take pictures of food. Does each app edit the picture differently and influence the appearance of the food?
ReplyDeleteHi Sophie! That's a great question! From what I know, the apps have similar features like adjusting contrast and lighting but they also have different type of filters from each other. ProCam is a lot more detailed and advanced than the other ones listed but they pretty much edit pictures the same way. Thank you for commenting :)
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ReplyDeleteGIRL OMG! BigTiff i love this post so much! i'm shook because i'm using the same book #twins lol. Did you spend $32 on this book to omg it was so expensive i cry. oooH girl i loved how you told us about apps like VSCO, to help us with out own personal food photography. Based off my personal experience, i had lots of trouble dealing with my camera's built in flash. Its flash made my food look unnatural and fake. But using the store's lighting made it look much better and natural. Girl your post was cute and aesthetic. But girl i got a question to ask, if you're in a situation, where the restaurant has rly rly rly bad lighting, and you don't want to resort to using you built in flash, what do you recommend doing instead? HMU asap honey because i go to, too many restaurants and have to take pics in such crappy lighting. Thx boo!
ReplyDeleteHey boo :) Unfortunately, i did spend $32 on the book too but I'd say it was worth it. To answer your question about restaurant with bad lighting, accessory flash and grey cards are a great solution. Another great way to make the photo turn out lighter is to adjust the exposure time on the camera. Lastly, window seats with natural lighting is the best solution! Thanks for commenting!
DeleteAlso I forgot to answer your question ahaha sorry. I think you should get pictures of tacos for your next blog post because who doesn't love tacos! lol
DeleteThank you Daniel!
DeleteYour photos turned out great Tiffany! The lighting is perfect and it is crystal clear. I agree when you said "Apps like pro cam, snap seed, tadaa SLR, and VSCO cam are great to adjust the sharpness, contrast, and blur lens." Because I myself use VSCO to help enhance my photos to look better. My question for you is do you use filters?
ReplyDeleteHey Jamillah :) To answer your question about filters, I tend not to use them because I like the natural color of the photos but I do adjust the contrast and lighting to make the details more defined. When I do use filters on VSCO, I stick to A4 if I want a rustic type of feel and S2 for a blueish undertone.
DeleteHi Tiffany! WOW! these photographs are amazing, I have always wanted to learn how to edit and use different features for my pictures! I think these are amazing and its very helpful to know what kind of app and filter you are using, thank you! I think you should do a more dinner-ish food for your next post, like a meal?
ReplyDeleteHi Anika! Thank you so much for your input. I will definitely use your suggestion for my other blogs :)
DeleteThe photos you took caught my eye, by the way you contrasted the photos, but other than that, it was a good picture. Do you take photography? If you do, what type of camera would you chose?
ReplyDeletethese pictures are super cool and it seems like taking food pics really intrigues you
ReplyDeletePost and pictures definitely prove the difference between built-in lighting in the flash and natural lighting, as well as the benefits of certain filters. You seem to know a lot about what your are doing, proving the benefit of the book you've chosen. Very well put together post.
ReplyDelete