It’s week four of the six week online food photography class that I’m taking through Collective Bias, and one thing is for sure–food photography is harder than it looks!
My favorite food bloggers make it look so easy. I drool over the work of Cannelle Et Vanille. The White on Rice Couple make it sound so easy when they explain how to do it. And even though I’ve read the material in the class, in addition to a couple of food photography books, and have learned a lot about what one can do with editing and what the different settings on the camera are, I wonder whether I’ll ever really be able to create beautiful images effortlessly.
Usually, my photos are taken of things I make for dinner. I’m already rushed, the lighting isn’t great since it’s sometimes late in the day, and I am too hungry to stop and take perfectly lit, styled shots of all the different bowls of ingredients.
I’m lucky to be able to grab a serving for myself before DH digs in. Sigh. I definitely don’t have time to iron the backdrops!
I’m having fun though, when I do take the time to experiment. I love to go antiquing now, and it’s a great excuse to buy cute dishes and fabrics (it’s for the blog!). Another benefit is that I do see the value in photographing ingredients. I mean, part of eating locally is learning to appreciate food in its most natural form. If I ever figure out how to do this food photography thing, it might inspire others to actually eat their vegetables, or to appreciate the beauty in simple eggs. However, I will never have the patience to photograph every.single.step. If that means I’ll never have my own television show or be a big time blogger, whatever that means, so be it.
I have two more weeks of the class to go, but I know that even when the class is done that it’s only the beginning. Once I know the ropes, so to speak, the real learning begins. Will I ever be a professional food photographer? Doubtful. But, I hope that the lucky shots will become more frequent, that inspiration will occasionally strike. As with any artistic endeavor, it takes practice, practice, practice!
I would love to learn how we can take these classes. Please share. Lady Locavore, Julie
This class is a pilot, not open to the public yet, but I will share as soon as the next one opens!
Loving those pics! I hope to get there someday – taking a class for my camera as well as the Photoshop Elements I just loaded. I have visions of filling my kitchen with pics of only things I have cooked or used in the food I make. It would tell a story in a way.
that is an awesome idea! If only I can get enough pics I’d be willing to put on my wall LOL. I haven’t used Photoshop, but in this class we learned about http://pixlr.com/ which is free and does have lots of bells & whistles. I’m sure it’s not as awesome as Photoshop but free is good!
Beautiful photos, Wendy! I think practice really does make perfect, and you will see improvement over time. I remember recently reading Pioneer Woman’s blog and she was comparing her quiche photos from 2 years ago to the photos of her quiche from today…what a huge difference!
Thanks for the encouragement Cindy, I think one of the advantages of practicing food photography is getting to eat the mistakes 🙂
Glad to see the update! I was wondering, a few days ago, how the class was going. Observing the professional food photographer we worked with… I dispensed with ironing fabric under-layers because Jeff’s “bag of tricks” included several clamps (like oversized bag clips) that he used to pull fabric taut to the table! He also included a handheld clothes steamer – good on wrinkles, but really amazing for producing a shot of steam to convey the concept of “Hot Liquid” in a mulled wine recipe I prepped for a Cascade Winery ad in the magazine. It sounds like you’re having a lot of fun – keep up the good work!
Sue, that is brilliant! Now I need to find some clamps!