The Philippines is a home of delicious delicacies. Filipinos are food lovers and we are one of the best cooks in the world. No wonder, from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, She is filled with countless of resto's, pastry shops and cafes to choose from. New shops open every now and then offering unique designs and creative innovations to satisfy their clients' need: from the delicious foods to its presentations, to picture perfect-Instagrammable decorations.
Filipinos are also memory hoarder people. Remember those love letters our mom and dad, as well as grandma and grandpa, kept in their treasure box? It runs in our bloodstream, though in different expressions. Today It's all about taking pictures with our cameras. Everyone, almost everyone, now owns a decent smartphone that can capture moments. Taking photos of the foods we eat is not just taking pictures of what we ate, it's a representation of the memories we shared during that particular moment. Well, for me, it is.
If you think only photographers can take decent food photos, you are wrong. If you think only expensive gadgets can make beautiful images, again you are wrong. If you have the proper gadget (no need to be expensive) and the basics in taking photographs, you'll gonna be successful in taking Food Photographs. The internet offers you a lot of good and best tips and tricks for your food photography but I like to share my personal ways of taking photographs of foods to you.
Here are my 6 Tips on Taking the best foods shots.
1. FIND THE PROPER LIGHTING
Well, we know already that in photography lighting is the key to making a decent photo but we forget SHADOWS. Sometimes we place our subject in the light, and with light but the positioning is not correct therefore it has an inappropriate shadow.
(Gear: Smartphone)
On my photos above, as you can see on the left side, the burger is lighted but noticed the shadows embracing the details of the burger patty? The burger is not properly lit.
2. ACCESSORIZE OR GET CLOSE
Taking photographs of a subject alone is not bad but most of the time it looks flat and boring. There's a way to make your image more entertaining and eye-catching. Accessorize it but don't overdo it or else the main subject will not be noticed or if you cannot find something to accessorize, take an up-close shot.
(Gear: Smartphone)
Notice the photo below, if I only took a picture of the meat on the white plate, my image will be boring. Adding some ingredients on the plate makes the image looks more alive and tempting.
(Gear: Smartphone)
Below, I took this yummy lechon photograph at Zubochon in Cebu City a few days ago. It's an up-close shot because taking a flat lay style is boring since the plate has no other colors and I can't find some things to accessorize the lechon. In this photo, I emphasized how crunchy the balat ng lechon (pork skin) is.
(Gear: Smartphone)
3. THE ART OF CROPPING
There are times, no matter how we compose our shots, we can't avoid unnecessary elements. The images are sharp, clear, and perfect except for one or two elements that should not be there or if your subject is off from the composition, what should you do? Here comes the art of artistically cropping the image.
(Gear: Smartphone)
4. USE PROPER GEAR
If you noticed on my other posts, I don't care what camera you use in taking photographs but when it comes to food photography, I recommend use a better camera (DSLR, Mirrorless, or Smartphone)
(Gears: Clockwise, Basic Camera Phone 1.3 mp, DSLR, Smartphone )
Why I am recommending a better camera? It's about the feel of your photograph. It's like when you look at the photo for the first time, you can taste the flavor and you can smell the aroma already. The first photo above, I took it with a basic phone with 1.3 mp camera. The soup, in reality, is really yummy. It's was still smokin' hot when it was served but I didn't manage to capture it due to my very limited camera sensor. The photo below is taken by an Android Smartphone with 13 mp camera. The details are clear and you can feel and pre-tastes the softness of the cake.
(Gear: Smartphone)
5. CHOOSING YOUR BACKGROUND
Choose your background wisely. Your background matters too. The first photo has a destructing background so I re-positioned my camera angle to have the emphasis on my subject.
(Gear: Smartphone)
6. CHOOSE THE RIGHT FILTER
Filters aren't bad. Just use the right filter on your photograph. I've noticed some were using the same filters just for the sake of how their feeds look like to the point of sacrificing the subject's real feel. Food photography is about reality being captured.
(Gear: Smartphone)
That's all my tips for taking the best food shots. Easy to remember, easy to execute.
When it comes to food photography, choose the right gear that can capture how the food tastes like. Let your audience have that pre-taste feel of the delicacy when they look at your photograph. Capture reality by using the right gadget.
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