My First

[mnewlander]

this is the first food picture i have done. i am a real noobi at this photography thing, i only got my camera 2 weeks ago, but really want to learn the ins and outs of food photography. I am open to all critisiums both good and bad.

 

[Robin Usagani]

To start, you need to make the food 1st class! Don put things like:
1. individually packaged soy sauce
2. plastic utensils
3. paper napkin
etc.

 

[RichardsTPF]

Agree. Nicely put food on a nice plate (Nice plate is not a colorful plate, the white plate doesn't work). Try a different angle.
Schwet, Do you think it would be nice to take the whole plate or just part of it in the pic? Is the salmon OOF?

 

[mnewlander]

everything is freshly made, even the pickled ginger. i can't make soy sauce and this was my way of saying this artistically. the plate is bone china from japan ($125) and the chopsticks are hand made in japan also, no cheap stuff here.

 

[Robin Usagani]

I was not questioning that. I simply tell you if I go to a nice sushi place, they dont serve me a small packaged soy sauce. At least put it in a little saucer.

 

[subscuck]

no cheap stuff here.

Except for the soy sauce packet. It really does detract from the shot. I have no problem with a white plate, the food is the subject, not the plate. The lighting needs work to eliminate the shadows.

 

[NikonME]

I think what he is saying is to put the soy sauce in a small sauce bowl, as you would get in a nice resturant and not in a packette like you would get from a take out joint.

 

[tirediron]

C&C per req:

This is a good start, but I see a few areas for improvement. First off, I think the white plate works well. Colourful food, plain dish, plain food, colourful dish. That aside, we have no idea whether it's cheap or expensive. For all the average viewer knows, it all came from the dollar store.

Schwetty's comment about the soya-sauce packet is spot on; head down to the dollar store and find a small, appropriately styled dish and empty a few sauce packets into it, UNLESS this image is specifically intended to sell this meal. That is: It will be placed on a menu board to show a potential customer what their order consists of.

Increase your depth of field (use a smaller aperture). All of the food should be in sharp focus. If you want me to buy the food, it needs to be clearly seen. On that, ALL of the food should be visible; in this case, the cropped sauce packet and chop-sticks are rather visually jarring.

Next, lighting: You really need a second light from camera left to reduce the shadows and allow for that increased aperture. As well perhaps a slight saturation increase.

I would also find something to use instead of the bamboo mat. Linear patterns can distract the eye from the subject. In fact, if you wanted to go for a really dramatic image, I would support the plate on a stand and go for a totally black background.

Just my $00.02 worth - your mileage may vary.

~John

 

[mnewlander]

Ok. i understand what you are both saying. i agree with the lighting and thought i could fix it in lightroom. i am just learning. just like any person i don't like people talking bad about my art even though i asked and would like to sincerly apologize if i sound hash. i really want to learn this. i do have the little saucer and will use it next time.

 

[subscuck]

just like any person i don't like people talking bad about my art even though i asked

When you post a pic for C&C, people will be honest. If there is nothing of merit in the shot, they will tell you. If you feel they are "talking bad about my art", best not to post. You need a thick skin in order to learn.

 

[tirediron]

just like any person i don't like people talking bad about my art even though i asked

When you post a pic for C&C, people will be honest. If there is nothing of merit in the shot, they will tell you. If you feel they are "talking bad about my art", best not to post. You need a thick skin in order to learn.

^^ What Mr. Bogart said. Food photography is a VERY complex aspect of photograpy, and people who do it well make can a LOT of money at it. Remember that the C&C stands for "Comments and CRITIQUE", NOT criticism. No one has said anything bad about your shot, rather you have been given a number of suggestions on how people think it could be improved. You're free to take as much or little of that infomration for action as you choose.

 

[mnewlander]

I would like to say thanks to all of you, i know that there is no malice here at all and hope that i will get the same on my next post. i am a perfesional chef and if every time i cook for someone and they have no negative things to say, i would not strive to be better. so thanks again