First time shooting food. need some c&c please

[dearlybeloved]

So I shot some food items for my work (I work as a server) for some extra money and experience. It was my first time working with food so I'd would like to get some feedback on how I did and what I could have done better. I want to start by saying that I had less than 30 minutes to set up my shots (it wasn't worked around my ideal scheduling) since they were bringing the food out right before we opened. I was also able to barrow 2 alien bee mono lights (400 and 800) with 2 umbrellas. It was all I had to work with some keep that in mind when giving feedback.

What I did was set the two lights over each shoulder and raised about 6 feet and tilted down. I was trying to keep a dark background and focus on the food. since I had little time, I took a few plates and filled them up as best as I could and set brought them to the back room and found a few extra props to work with.

Thanks for looking!

 

[Ratboy]

Nice pictures , but i would have loved to see sexier food

 

[Robin_Usagani]

Less is more. You are trying too hard I think. Trying to put everything in one frame does not work IMO. Just pick ONE main subject, kinda make the other OOF. The last shot with the pie is your best shot. That is exactly what you need to do. Also, the food does not look very good. The mac and cheese look bad, string bean does not look fresh, grilled chicken does not look appetizing.

 

[Tony S]

Get closer and focus in on one plate....... to many choices to look at here draw the eye all over the place. These show off the setting and food service ok, but as far as showcasing the food it misses out because there is just too much in each shot.

 

[ryanwaff]

Personally I find all the images far too busy. And to be honest the food doesn't look particularly appetising or well presented. The best two shots to me are probably #3 and #4. Also, I dont find the lighting particularly flattering to the food, in 6/8 of the shots, the lighting is too harsh. Its needs more diffusal like in shots 3 and 4. But more!

Quite a common trend nowadays with food photography - especially lifestyle food photography - is to use a wood board as a prop/ background coupled with a shallow DOF and very diffused lighting.

As for your props - I don't think that they work at all. Shots 5,6 and 7 are such contrasts to the other shots. They simply do not fit with the style that is coming across in the other shots. the first few and last one look very crisp and clean and modern, whereas 5,6 and 7 look like a throwback from 50 years ago. The props simply don't work. And your colour scheme in them: blue tablecloth, with brownish/gold rustic window and glass plates on silver ware ontop of a granite slab? There is no coherence between the props. The fourth link I gave here speaks about coherent props. Also look into point number 8 here: 10 tips for food photography & styling | Drizzle and Dip it shows the colour wheel. Try matching colours that are next to each other on the colour wheel or directly opposite for complementary colours. Try to come up with some colour schemes that you can use with all of your food shots to add some coherence to all of them.

Also the food is in need of styling, because at the moment it looks very unappetising in my opinion. Read this article: 6 Bittersweets: My Take on Food Styling and Photography it is quite in depth about styling your food.

Work your way through these links and I think you will improve quite a bit
These three are link heavy but contain a vast amount of info in their links.
1. Food Photography Tutorials
2. 45+ Food Photography and Food Styling Tips and Tutorials | Learn Food Photography and Food Styling
3. Food Photography Tips, Tricks, and Tutorials » Taylor Takes a Taste

These two are individual articles and the first one speaks quite a lot about props.

4. Food Photography Tutorials: From Boring To Fab, Easy Styling Tutorial with Step-by-Step Illustrations | Food Photography by Spicie Foodie
5. 6 tips for making your food photography shine