Monday, February 21, 2011

Simple Tips On Photographing Food & Product

Allow me to introduce myself! My name is Heather, and the sweet girls from Bloom asked me to be a guest on this lovely blog today! It's an honor! I write my own blog called The Coterie, I'm a mother of a 2 yr. old boy and a puppy, with a baby on the way! I like to take photographs, cook, and do occasional crafts.

It seems like so many of us have etsy shops or sell some sort of goods these days! Even if you don't, these simple tips can help liven up any photo you take!

In selling goods, photographing food, or just taking pictures for your blog, no matter how wonderful or crafty it is, posting good photos is vital.

None of the photos shown are post-processed at all so you can see the raw photos.

Below are examples of a before and after picture of what a small white piece of paper, used as a reflector can do. It brightens up shadows from the sides where light is not hitting. It's subtle, but makes a big difference.

After
lightdemo2
Before
lightdemo1

Here's how I did it:

Set up or style whatever you're photographing. Make sure it's facing a bright window with lots of natural light.

Screen shot 2011-02-21 at 6.56.42 AM

Now take something white, (a plain piece of paper works great) and reflect the window light behind it, eliminating unwanted shadows, and highlighting all of the product. Sometimes you have to move it around to find just the right spot that gets all the shadows. Sometimes it's easier to have someone help you hold the paper while you shoot (make sure your flash is OFF)

Screen shot 2011-02-21 at 6.59.35 AM


Voila! You have a beautiful image of your product or food!

*You can use this simple trick on just about anything. You can try it on faces or people, too!

lightdemo2

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

This really is a wonderful tip ... And so simple! Thanks for sharing!

Rylee said...

Love this! Thanks for a great tip!

Curls said...

Thanks for sharing-great tip!

Emily Stearley said...

It's always the simple, little things that make a difference. What a great tip. We'll all have better photos thanks to you.

Alicia said...

This is just the tip I need! I take awful photos of my food and projects. Thanks!

Steph at ModernParentsMessyKids.com said...

Simple and really useful - love it!

Shelly said...

Awesome, helpful tip, Heather! Thank you!

Melissa said...

I am totally going to try this. I have tried to photograph my cupcakes in my kitchen window light and they don't turn out. I bet this would do the trick! Thanks!

Mirien said...

Thanks for this tip! I hate posting recipes because I don't take very good food pix with my little camera, but I will be trying this out.

Unknown said...

such a smart girl! thanks for the tip! we just got our first slr and the whole thing is pretty foreign still! :)

rebecca said...

who knew?? thanks!