Avoid Bad Food Photos

So, which burger would you eat? The first? The second? I'm assuming you chose the second.

Why did you choose the second? Did you choose it because it looks more appetizing? Fresher? More vibrant? Yes, all of the above.

You may have heard of some of the tricks photographers use to make food look more appetizing in photography. Back in the old days of film, photographers did rely more on pre-production to get great results. While those principles still hold true, much can be done to spice up a food photo.

Food is an interesting subject. What looks good, and even appetizing to the naked eye may not look so hot when viewed as a photo. Food photos need to convey things that we often miss when we're hungry and our meal is sitting on a plate before us. Food photos need to be the best representative of a dish.

Take the examples above. They began as the same photo. The burger on the left is the image that a restaurant may use because it is a clear, quality image of their burger. While this is a technically adequate photo, you've got to admit that the burger looks lifeless and not very appealing. Remember, while I'm a photographer, I'm also a marketing guy and a foodie. Mix these three things together and I'm the guy you want photographing your food.

I knew that I could make that burger look good so I dug into my Photoshop bag of tricks. Here's what I did:

The bun: It was dull, pale and looked washed out. Yuck. Who wants bread that appears doughy and under-baked? Not me. I used a variety of brushes and brown and golden shades to simulate a toasty, baked look.

The veggies: The veggies look as though they sat in the fridge for a year too long. Yuck, dull colorless veggies aren't so tasty to the eye, so we can assume they're not that tasty to the mouth. I used the natural colors of the veggies and improve their vibrance and saturation. I hand shaded key areas and added shine.

The cheese: The cheese looked plasticky and congealed. I made it look fresh, thick and gooey. Way better looking, don't you think?

The meat: The essence of any burger is the meat. Good restaurants use approximately an 80/20 mix to give a juicy result. However, the juicy appearance quickly goes away as the meat cools. In the original photo, the burger may have sat around a bit too long, giving it a cold, dry look. I added some red, brown and black to the burger and highlighted small spots to give the look of overexposed catch light, simulating shine.

These simple tricks made an adequate, technical photo into a stunning, print ready image.

Photoshop Chinese Food Editing Tools

Tips and tricks to get that vintage Chinese food menu look without having to use a Disc camera.

http://www.collegehumor.com/video/6829240/photoshops-new-chinese-food-tool

Value Photography Gear

I always support small and local businesses whenever I can. However, with some camera gear this is an enormous disparity between Amazon pricing and the prices found at local camera shops. Most primary camera gear is sold at MSRP, regardless of the source. However, accessory prices can vary widely.

For the past year or so I've used Amazon as a great resource for photography gear to support my growing work. Simple things like Lens Pens, Bags, Light Stands and even diffusers can be bought on the cheap on Amazon.

I always scrutinize lower cost products. Many times lower cost products are lower quality products, however that's not a universal rule. If you're a careful and smart shopper you can save money on supplies so that you can spend more freely on bodies and lenses.

Product Photography

Your customers are visual people. It doesn't matter if you make the best products in the world. If it looks like their photos were taken on a cell phone camera from 2002, you have to upgrade. While it helps if you're a professional photographer, there are some things that anyone can do to get better photos. You need some equipment, and some practice but you can get the job done.

1) DSLR. There are a number of great "pro-sumer" quality Digital SLR cameras on the market. Find one that fits your budget. Get a good lens with a large maximum aperture. Learn how to use the camera and practice shooting everything. Experiment with aperture sizes, focusing, perspective, etc. Buy a used one and save some money. These things are built pretty well, and you'll only be using it on a tripod. Expect to spend $500 to $3500 on camera and lens.





2) Tripod. Get a good quality tripod. Expect to spend $75 to $150.

3) Product light tent and high wattage constant lights. $100 to $500.

For less than $1k, you can have a more than adequate rig for capturing quality images for use on your website.

Keep in mind, photography is both an art and a skill. If you commit to learning both, you will do just fine. If you simply don't have the time to commit learning something new, hire a photographer. Good photos are important. It makes a bigger difference than you may think. 

Dave Hill Photography

My inspiration comes from a variety of photographers that range from Ansel Adams to Salvador Dali. For the past year or so I've had a hard time keeping myself from checking out Dave Hill's work. Dave's a commercial photog out in Cali. His work has a decidedly surreal appearance. While his work looks HDRish, he's said that his work isn't HDR, but achieved through a proprietary lighting plan.

Check him out:

http://www.davehillphoto.com/

Is it really about the equipment?

When I began photography I was a young teenager with a home darkroom with baths, a timer, some gels, a red light and an enlarger. I had a 35mm SLR and I primarily shot hand wound, bulk Tri-X film and I had a fast prime lens. That was it. There wasn't anything fancy about my gear or my darkroom. I had the essential tools required to achieve high quality prints  without the aid of a computer, software or a print shop. From start to finish, I created images entirely on my own.

Capturing great images was simply about getting outside and releasing the shutter. Because the only storage medium was the film itself, each shot was more careful, more deliberate. My camera and lens were of the manual focus type, so it took time to make sure the subject was clear. Getting the right exposure required reading the light. Back then I bracketed to ensure proper exposure and not because I intended to render HDR images. The whole act of taking a picture involved more brain power, more thinking, more looking, more adjusting. I never felt the process to be cumbersome or antiquated. These very basic cameras by today's standards fueled my passion for photography and the images I took then, hold up very well today as examples of fine photography.

All of this came to mind when I was researching the Nikon D800. Its a fine camera by anyone's standards and creates medium-format quality images. When compared to the technology of even two years ago, it was impossible for anyone to have fathomed a camera of this quality being available to the serious amateur or semi-pro for less than $3000.

While camera technology has continued to evolve since day one, digital photography took a step backward before it was able to move forward. Early DSLRs were neat, but the images were a compromise. Now, I couldn't imagine going back to film for regular work. The advantages of digital are endless, however photography now for many is an exercise in spending money, rather than taking great photos.

Anyone just entering the world of photography without prior home darkroom and film experience is missing out on a lot of the art of the medium. I'm sorry for them. Though digital has opened up new areas of creativity and editing that were simply unimaginable 20 years ago, much of the empirical magic of photography is gone.

I still carry a loaded film body with me. I still occasionally pull it out and snap off a photo. About twice a year I'll fill up a roll and send it out for processing. Out of 24 or so images on a roll, I find that over three fourths are keepers that are frame worthy. Subsequently this exercise helps me improve my patience and mental focus when I'm shooting digital. I suggest you try the same. Top notch 35mm cameras of yore are available on the cheap everywhere you look. Get yourself a good piece of glass and an old film camera. Fire off a few rolls of film and compare them to your digital work. I think you'll be surprised at just how good of a photographer you are.

Instagram - Good or Bad?

Image credited to Instagram

A few months ago I joined in on a heated discussion of the virtues and woes of Instagram when a friend posted comments of their disdain for the popular app. This discussion occurred prior to the recent controversy of their recent T&C update. The discussion was amongst consumers and pro photographers discussing whether Instagram rocks or sucks. By the end of the discussion, there was no consensus on the issue.

The Instagram product allows one to apply edits to their photos in the form of filters, borders, color variants, etc. with their smart phone. The results are often photos that mimic lomography and lo-fi cameras of decades ago. Some argue that people are attempting to recreate a reality that doesn't exist with vintage filters. I've heard some say that the filters ruin otherwise good photos. Being that there are two sides to every story, I've also heard people say that the filters make it easy for them to personalize photos with effects they wouldn't otherwise have the tools or skill to use.

How one judges Instagramized photos is a matter of personal opinion. However, critics should tread lightly as just about every commercial image we view has been edited to some extent, thereby altering reality. You've probably seen some of the bombshell stories on just how airbrushed most models are in commercial photography.

While I'd probably never utilize their filters to adjust one of my fine art photos or include Instagram as part of my professional workflow, they have their place for kitsching up a photo of a Starbucks cup to post on Facebook.

While I don't believe that your photo will become the next face of a brand without your knowledge or compensation, there is some gray area created by the most recent T&C. That gray area should be enough for any professional photographer to delete their account for no other reason than the fear that their copyrights may not be honored or respected.

Is Instagram good? Yes. Is Instagram bad? Yes. Its all a matter of opinion. If you think you're being unique and expressing yourself, well I suppose that's your opinion but you're only as unique as everyone else who uses the same app as you.