Food Photography tips

It seems like everyone is taking photographs of the yummy food they are eating at restaurants. Or at thanksgiving a photo of that beautiful turkey could be in your camera. You may just want to take a quick photo and email or put it on facebook. But why not make it something truly lovely. It doesn't take that much time to do it justice. Of course the most important element is the light. Always remember, "no direct sunlight". Try to have the light at your back or directed toward the food. If at all possible use natural lighting. Flash makes everything flat.  The samples I'm going to show you are of cake but you'll get the idea. No. 1 is natural light. No. 2 is room light. 

Gift wrap with photos

Wrapping gifts with photos is a fun way to give a present a unique look. Are you sick of the old boring wrapping paper? Try this easy technique. Just wrap with plain brown wrapping paper, cheap,  and add a digital image to the top. This could be anything from a photo of the person to some beautiful landscaper. Then use plain old string and maybe some twigs or herbs. Voila a lovely personalized package. Here are some samples.

Photos of strangers etiquette

Photos of strangers etiquette.

Usually we are taking photographs of people we know but when we are visiting exotic places there are many beautiful or unusual faces that we would like to record with our photographs. It is important to realize these people may not want their photograph taken. I always think of how I would feel if someone from, for instance, China was taking photos of my grandmother. This would feel invasive. And it would be. So keep that in mind. However there are places where you can pretty much take any photo you want. These are in markets. However it is still important to use the longest distance lens you have. Then you can stand way back and take that spontaneous photo. These are the best anyway. I try to move my camera around as though I am looking for something else. That way people don't feel they are the object. When I see that they have forgotten me, snap, I have a great photo. These photos of a Peruvian market are taken this way. My favorite is the pursed lips on the lady below. Look at those braids and the roses in her hat. What was her motivation of putting those roses there? Or the photo below that of the transaction. Looks like a 100 dollar bill that she is handing over. These are stories waiting to be told. That's photography, storytelling.