Dessert Photography C+C

[barfastic]

Hello all,

I just finished a photo-shoot for a friends Patisserie, and im looking to get some feed back from you guys

1.

NIK_5335 by barfastic, on Flickr
[TABLE="width: 100%"]
[TR="class: lookatme"]
[TD]0.005 sec (1/200)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: lookatme"]
[TD]f/2.8[/TD]
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[TR="class: lookatme"]
[TD]31 mm[/TD]
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[TR]
[TD]400[/TD]
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2.

NIK_5767 by barfastic, on Flickr
[TABLE="width: 100%"]
[TR="class: lookatme"]
[TD]0.004 sec (1/250)[/TD]
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[TR="class: lookatme"]
[TD]f/7.1[/TD]
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[TR="class: lookatme"]
[TD]40 mm[/TD]
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[TR]
[TD]100[/TD]
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3.

NIK_5731 by barfastic, on Flickr
[TABLE="width: 100%"]
[TR="class: lookatme"]
[TD]0.004 sec (1/250)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: lookatme"]
[TD]f/7.1[/TD]
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[TR="class: lookatme"]
[TD]70 mm[/TD]
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[TR]
[TD]100[/TD]
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4.

NIK_5598 by barfastic, on Flickr
[TABLE="width: 100%"]
[TR="class: lookatme"]
[TD]0.005 sec (1/200)[/TD]
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[TR="class: lookatme"]
[TD]f/3.5[/TD]
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[TR="class: lookatme"]
[TD]50 mm[/TD]
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[TR]
[TD]400[/TD]
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5.

NIK_5540 by barfastic, on Flickr
[TABLE="width: 100%"]
[TR="class: lookatme"]
[TD]0.008 sec (1/125)[/TD]
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[TR="class: lookatme"]
[TD]f/2.8[/TD]
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[TR="class: lookatme"]
[TD]24 mm[/TD]
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[TR]
[TD]400[/TD]
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6.

NIK_5394 by barfastic, on Flickr
[TABLE="width: 100%"]
[TR="class: lookatme"]
[TD]0.001 sec (1/1000)[/TD]
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[TR="class: lookatme"]
[TD]f/2.8[/TD]
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[TR="class: lookatme"]
[TD]29 mm[/TD]
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[TR]
[TD]1000[/TD]
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[/TABLE]


On 6, i didnt pay attention to my shutter speed because i was photographing some shots that needed to freeze strawberry sauce drips, hence the super high ISO and exposure, and totally forgot to reset my ISO + shutter speed

Bare in mind this is the first time i shoot food/desserts and i did not get paid for this. He needed some shots for his brochure and website, and i wanted the experience. But i would be curious if these results would be something you would pay for. I.e. do you think i could use these in my portfolio to maybe one day show potential customers and ask for a fee? or is it strictly amateur?

There is definitely a lot i need to learn, but i feel like i have gained many things from this (desserts are SUPER SLIPPERY!).

 

[06azrex]

I think they came out fantastic and, while I'm no professional, can't see a single reason to not use these images for your portfolio. Job well done!

John

 

[tirediron]

C&C per req:

I think they came out well for your first attempt. A few thoughts for future work in this vein:

1. A real exposure challenge here. Just like a wedding; blacks and whites. Unfortunately, here the whites suffered. A lot. A kicker camera left to illuminate the far side of these jars would have helped reduce the dynamic range and even out the exposure. A diffuser was needed on the key to reduce/eliminate the glare on the foreground jar and greater DoF would have helped.

2. I would like to hear your thoughts as to the composition here. Why only 3/4 of the cake in the shot? I don't understand why you have the cake on a white tile and then on black plexi. I would have preferred to see the whole cake on the plexi without the tile, and with sufficient DoF such that the foreground was sharply focused. This one seems about 1/2 stop under-exposed.

3. Again, multiple surfaces which seem rather disjointed. I think that the white dishes should be placed on a rich colour; and one that complements the red of strawberries. The exposure's not bad here, perhaps a touch hot, but I think a few less highlights on the fruit (more diffusion on your lights) would help. Again, more DoF. I really think that the whole product needs to be in sharp focus.

4. I think you pretty much nailed the exposure here, but you've clipped the LH foreground corner of the dish and, as per the others, a complicated, distracting background, and insufficient DoF.

5. What's the subject here? The tray? The flowers? I think I see what your idea was, but the image overall is just too busy.

6. This one doesn't make sense to me. What is it? (I know what it is, but what is it in terms of the rest of the shot? How would it be used?).

A few little niggles that could be improved, but you're off to a good start. You probably now know why people who are really good at food photography get paid a LOT of money!

Just my $00.02 worth - your mileage may vary.

~John

 

[9ballprodigy]

i really like all your photos. you made sure to focus on the "interesting" texture in each photo (the fluffy powdered sugar, the grain of wood, the glistening of the strawberries...). as mentioned above, when dealing with high-contrast pictures (chocolate and powdered sugar), you usually want to sacrifice details in the shadows for details in the highlights. sorta like a wedding gown of the bride with the black tux of the groom. you never see the creases and folds of the groom's tux, but every flowing lace of the gown.

that being said, except for the first photo, i would have metered off the cream, the ramekin, the powdered sugar, yada yada.

 

[Fujito]

I think #4 is your best. Good work.

Try getting closer to the food. Remember, food photography is about getting viewers to want to reach into the computer screen or printed page and grab a bite off of the picture.

 

[xzqzq]

I liked the pics, and got instantly hungry !

 

[GrantH]

Is it me, or does everything seem to be tipped over, sliding, or falling in some fashion?

 

[Starskream666]

#4 The decoration looks like smeared poo, but nice photo

 

[o hey tyler]

I guess I don't follow why you used ISO 400 even though you had more than enough shutter speed buffer to shoot on ISO100 or 200 and still be above the 1/focal length rule of thumb.

 

[cdino88]

One thing I saw was that you need more contrasting colors.

#2 the cake on that white board that looks similar to cake makes it difficult for the eye to render. A contrasting color would make the cake pop and fruit pop more.

#3 Same thing as #2, contrast. The white plate with that colored dessert makes it hard to appreciate the dessert to its fullest potential.

#4 Certainly better than the previous two in term of contrast. Feel like a tighter crop would do better in a creative sense.

#5 My favorite of the group. Feel like I am in a dessert store.

#6 Harsh light striking the board, don't know what is in that sou-flee cup, doesn't look appetizing though.

 

[blackrose89]

Is it me, or does everything seem to be tipped over, sliding, or falling in some fashion?

I feel it too. I think composition-wise #1 is the best. But the composition feels off to me in the rest of the photos. I think #2 could've been the best photo had the entire dessert been in frame. #4 #6 feels random, #5 is too busy IMO. And yes, all of the desserts feel like they're about topple over to me.

The quality and colors look beautiful to me though!