The red and yellow mats/napkins and the out of focus objects make it look a bit clutered. I would try to place the plate on its own on a white table cloth so your focus is only on the food.
The light seems to have blown out soem of the detail of the rice. Could you try placing the plate by a well lit window so you have natural side lighting which might be a bit softer? if the far side of the plate is too dark doing this then you could try using a white reflector to brighten up some of the shadows.
Just my tuppence worth, I'm not great at taking food photos so I will be watching for other suggestions.
@emmar84 Thank you. I love natural light but sometimes it just isn't there (dreary overcast days). I'm working on a set up that will allow me to take photos any time of day. Obviously, you could tell and that's where I need to go back and try again. I'm working on my color/prop choices, too.
These are just 2 shots I had, just my daily shot, so not thought out or planned or anything, but I just thought the plain white dishes looked well and the glass gave a nice sparkle, so may help you out. I think less clutter and plain and simple so it is all about the food. Good luck.
I wrote a book the actual post, sorry *lol*! but wanted to give an example of what I'm talking about by getting closer.
I happened to have just uploaded a food photo from earlier, (here's one I prepared earlier ?) I'm not overly happy with the placement of the zest, but at the time I was just adding zest, I wasn't thinking forward to how it'd photograph. I also wasn't takign too much time with the photo, Just a straight shot with standard light in from the window.
But when I say get closer, I really mean it! Just because the plate of food (or in this case a pie) is 12" across does NOT mean you should show the whole thing! Just like any other sort of photography, get close show what is interesting!
@neda Thank you for the help. I usually crop in tighter with my shots (here are a few). What I guess I really want to know, is my lighting good with my original shot?
I have a friend who is a food photographer and he usually aims for natural light and uses white poster board for light reflection. Simple non patterned backgrounds, natural elements. He also likes to take the deconstructed photos (think of having all the spices in individual containers lined up, or the fish before being prepared). He also says that Saveur is a great magazine for inspiration http://www.saveur.com/article/Library/SAVEUR-Cooks--Home
I think it's sort of OK to have the background objects blurred, but for the actual food you're showing, I think it looks odd if that focus is only on one area of the food. And I strongly disagree about the moving in close...I didn't even know that that was a pie at first. I thought it was a small orange crumb on a cream colored plate. You have to be careful with food photos....someone put up a discussion this week asking for people to post their food photos, and I must admit, most of them made me feel queasy. Like @brumbe said, natural light, maybe some of the ingredients displayed, not a really busy table/dish patterns etc. Food photography, I think, is very challenging! :-D
@5unflow3r Amazingly after being the head of a chairty cookbook and having to look through so many and work with the photographer, I am in general not a fan of food photos. It is a real niche to perfect.
@brumbe@5unflow3r I'm also beginning to see that food photos are very subjective to who is looking at them :-) I was asked to help take photos for an online weekly menu plan and I want/need to get better at this. Thanks for your opinions and help!
@kynosmom Oh, I forgot, Stuart was at about a 20 to 30 degree angle above the food, so he was not even or above. I think the angle and lighting is important. Sometimes I do not use natural lighting but I do prop up a white poster board near the item to get a good feel. I rarely use a flash and rely on lamps (yes, my living room) but the right bulb can help.
@kynosmom I would look at food magazines or Ladies Home Journal--some of those mags at the checkout in the store with recipes in them-- and see what they do. I think that they go for even lighting, but also even focus. And be careful shooting sauces; I think that they are the thing that makes me queasy in random food shots.
I don't do much food photography, but I will offer my two cents that shadows in food photos really drive me nuts. You don't have any here, so good job there. :o)
From a viewer's standpoint- the lighting is fine but it's not sharp. However, the clear plate is distracting/ doesn't do the food justice becuase it lets too much of the background in. I'd use maybe a green (a lighter green like lime as opposed to a deeper green like forest) plate but just a hint of it. That's just what I see in my head.
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The light seems to have blown out soem of the detail of the rice. Could you try placing the plate by a well lit window so you have natural side lighting which might be a bit softer? if the far side of the plate is too dark doing this then you could try using a white reflector to brighten up some of the shadows.
Just my tuppence worth, I'm not great at taking food photos so I will be watching for other suggestions.
I happened to have just uploaded a food photo from earlier, (here's one I prepared earlier ?) I'm not overly happy with the placement of the zest, but at the time I was just adding zest, I wasn't thinking forward to how it'd photograph. I also wasn't takign too much time with the photo, Just a straight shot with standard light in from the window.
But when I say get closer, I really mean it! Just because the plate of food (or in this case a pie) is 12" across does NOT mean you should show the whole thing! Just like any other sort of photography, get close show what is interesting!