I asked for the Mamatographers to prepare a Thanksgiving themed dish, shoot it and share their recipe. I guess I'm not the only one that growls at my husband when he asks "what's for dinner"? WHAT A RELEIF!
Fortunately, my mama amiga runs a vibrant food business here in Panama, Express Nutrition. They have an awesome blog with tons of tips for eating WELL and healthy, by the way.
She is hosting an upcoming holiday themed cooking class so was in need of food photos and I as well to contribute to the given homework assignment.
We gathered in the EN kitchen last Sunday and together, put an alternative spin on a traditional Thanksgiving!
A couple days late, back in the group, the photos came streaming in and Mama was impressed! The common feedback was FOOD PHOTO IS HARD. So here's some tips that I shared with the girls and some others I've learned along the way having shot lots of yummy food and displays in my career thus far…
First, cook something YUMMY looking, pretty but simple. Or buy something from somewhere you know has a style of food worth shooting. Maybe even a few different small dishes to create variety in your shots. Then, clear the room of the kids, open the window shades and take some time to shoot under nice light. Putting your food as close to a window as possible for strong light, consider what time of day is best for this.
Using a reflector will help you obtain light and vibrance in your shots. Definitely shoot using a low ISO, a tripod if you have one and compare a wide aperture, i.e. f1.4 to a small i.e. f8 or f11 and see what you come up with! Your camera's Shutter Speed isn't significant here (unless you use a flash or strobe lights) so you could just use Aperture priority...if you have a tripod. I say this because if you're shooting at a low ISO (to reduce grain) and you've chosen your aperture using shutter priority, the camera may choose a Shutter Speed which is too slow, thus you'll end up with motion blur in your shots. A BIG no, no for food and product photography.
Lastly, enjoy the moment, the look of the food and learn something from each shot as you go. Refer to your camera settings after you've taken a shot. How did it come out? Critique your self, but have fun with it!
So, I guess you saw the word GIVEAWAY in the title of this post. I love nothing more than to give free stuff to my readers!
For this Thanksgiving themed piece, Happy Family Brands has generously offered these FREEBIES to new & old Mamatography fans.
My daughter Safi has lived on organic Happy Family foods since she first hit solids!
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| This month's Mamatography Newsletter headline |
Enter below for a chance to win their Gobble Gobble stage 3 pouches, Happy Munchies or Puffs, and a Nutrition Guide with a Happy Family Baby Tshirt.
This year, I am Thankful for my little family, my students and audience for working with and believing in me. Muchos Gracias!
I want to wish you all a prosperous, STUFFED Thanksgiving.
Happy Shooting, Vicky
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I can't wait to shoot some actual Thanksgiving food next week :) I really love food photography!
ReplyDeleteThanksgiving and Photography two of my favorite things!!!!
ReplyDelete