AVENTURA FOODS

These are a few of my top tips geared for people starting out taking pictures and styling food. This article was first published on Yuppiechef’s  Spatula magazine . If you want to take a really good photograph of food, you have take a number of factors into consideration. mastering the technical aspects of the camera understanding light and how it affects your subject  the overall mood you want to create through your props and styling  the presentation of the food Much like any creative endeavor, some skills can be mastered, but for the most part, it is an art and personal expression. As you practice it, you will find your own style and voice.  1. Learn as much as you can about your camera This is the more technical aspect of the process and can easily be learned. I am a self-taught photographer and have read numerous books and tutorials on the subject. I continue to read as there is always room for improvement. You can find everything you need online. Just keep l

Bread and Cheese with black flag.  Canon 5D mark II,  f/1.6, 50mm (EF 50mm f/1.4 USM) (post-processed in Lightroom) ©Ilva Beretta Last time, I talked about the  importance of creating moods , particularly seasonal and holiday moods. This time I will talk about how to create a photo with a darker mood. A dark mood can elicit many different reactions. Speaking of photography in general, “dark” photos can convey moody or sinister associations. In food photography, it is usually associated with rustic settings, and the darker seasons of autumn and winter. When you decide to make a darker, moodier shot, there are several things to think about when you prepare the setup. These decisions involve colors and props but, above all, light. Light is, as we all know, fundamental to photography. Without light, there are no photos; it is as simple as that. So as fundamental as it is to use light, you need to know how to bend it to your will if you want to make great photos. This is absolutely val

Good food photography is important. While there are some subjects that are best captured candidly and without affectation, food photography is something that requires a little more. It’s not a matter of styling and editing the photo to make it something that it is not. The fact is, this  Thai Wild Rice Salad  tastes exactly the same in both of the above photos, but only one of those photos makes you think YUM! Ideally, you can set up a shot with a little practice and take food photos with natural light that look yummy right out of the camera. Sometimes that works. Other times, like right now in the middle of January and its dark days, the pictures, despite my best prep work and photo skills, end up looking dull, shadowed, and uninteresting.  Editing food photos in Photoshop can turn a boring food photo into something that actually captures the vibrancy and flavor of a great recipe. In this tutorial I will show you my step by step process for editing a not-so-hot shot, like the

CAMERA SKILLS ,  COMPOSITION Today, we’re going to focus on focal points (har har). Bad joking aside, choosing the right focal point in your food photo is one of the most important things in your composition. In today’s post, we’re going to look at what a focal point is, how to decide which subject should be your focal point, and how to control the rest of your photo for that perfect amount of background blur to highlight your focal point at its best. FOCAL POINT In short, the focal point is the most important part of the image. In food photography, our focal point is normally our main dish, which is placed in the frame and supported by secondary subjects. It’s important that the focal point of your photo is the most in focus part of your photo, as a blurry focal point creates a frustrating, incohesive image. COMPOSITION When looking at a photo, the viewer’s eye drawn to brightest, most in focus point of a photo first, so it’s important to make your focal point, the mos

Unlike many photographers who really dislike when winter comes, it’s probably my favorite time of year. Especially when it comes to opportunities for food photography. But, when I first started shooting indoors, I too used to lament the return of winter every year. That time when 4:30 suddenly seems like midnight. During the day, the light is crisp, diffused, soft & dim. It wasn’t until I taught myself how to really read the light & find the best way to manipulate it in these low light conditions that I saw a huge shift in my food photography, as well as a big shift in my enthusiasm for soft, cloudy days! Hopefully these tips for shooting  low light food photography  will help you begin to understand how you too can create beautiful images on any given day! TIPS FOR SHOOTING LOW LIGHT FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY FIND THE LIGHT No, really find it. You have to think of light differently when it’s dim or cloudy outside. When you’re working with a bright, sunny day, the light is

Providing food photography tips is the one topict our readers can never get enough of!  Whether it's food styling tips, backdrop suggestions, figuring out how their cameras work or salivating over food props, there's an endless fascination with the ins and outs of food photography.  So here are 5 of our not so secret food photography gear essentials that we use daily for getting great food photos! (this post contains affiliate links**) 1. A 50MM LENS A lens as the first item on the list might scare you — what kind of budget is she thinking?? If you photograph with a DSLR the thought of buying lenses can be scary; they can get pretty expensive! But if you want to invest in one lens that will help take your photography to the next level, a 50mm 1.8 lens will do it. And, it's  not that expensive. Nikon ,  Canon  and most other brands make a 50mm 1.8 lens that usually costs somewhere in the $120 to $130 range. The 1.8 refers to refers to the lowest f-stop the lens

There is nothing better really, than a photo of food on Instagram. Especially when done right! Since I like food and like to share what I’m eating, I’ve had to learn a few things to improve my food photography for Instagram. And today, I thought I’d share 3 tips to improve your food photography for Instagram   1. Find the light : Just like with your DSLR, light matters. Even more so with your mobile camera. Turn off your overhead lights, find a window and place your food near it. I placed this bowl of salad next to a window in my dining room and turned off the overhead lights. 2.  Remember the rules of composition : Just because it’s Instagram doesn’t mean you can’t follow the basic rules of composition. It’s even more important! Here, I used the rule of thirds to make this bowl of cherries more interesting since the photo was really minimalistic with just the cherries for a pop of color. 3.  What’s the story ? Tell a story with your food photography. Are you having din