Some of my favourite pictures I have taken are of baby corn masala, heart-shaped cookies, and I love the lighting in this dry aloo gobi recipe.
Now here is a picture of spicy baby potatoes that uses a slightly different recipe but captures the same subjects – potatoes and masala.
There are several things I changed in the second picture.
1. Pic 2 was clicked near a window, indoors whereas Pic 1 was clicked by putting the dish on a plate in the balcony. The light was harsher in the first case.
Understanding the right amount of light needed and placing your dish at the right spot to photograph is most often the first step.
2. I used a different bowl for Pic 2 that was wider and could hold more of the dish. This is not always necessary but having a good set of plates and bowls goes a long way too. That was one of the first things I realised and now I can safely say I am addicted to cookware. I pick up cheap yet pretty bowls wherever I go.
3. I used a red chart paper as the base for Pic 2. This helped enhance the colour tone of the picture and match the colour of the bowl. I am still working on this aspect of food photography – choosing a good base and background for my pictures. I don’t have that many props yet but next time I go to India, I intend to pick up some cloth material and kitchen napkins that will give me a nice solid base and background for the pics.
4. I clicked Pic 2 in a different angle. This is pretty much up to you. Most of us are comfortable with taking a shot from above, since we don’t do elaborate setting for our pictures and if we take a shot at eye-level, we are going to capture some unwanted things around the dish or in the background.
I am normally very lazy to do any setting for my pictures. The most I end up doing is to place some coriander leaves around the bowl or wrap my brown kurta around it to enhance the dish. You can still get some pretty pictures this way, I feel.
5. I did some very basic editing for Pic 2 using Google Picasa and Photoshop. Its okay if you don’t have photoshop. You can still make your pictures look much better with some basic tweaking with Picasa.
And I will share the tips I know with you in the next post in the series 🙂
Disclaimer:
– I am NOT a food photography expert or a professional photographer. Since that comprises most of us out there, I am hoping you can relate to my posts as a normal food blogger who just wants to take better pictures of her/his food.
– The posts are written in the assumption that you don’t own a fancy camera or lights or elaborate setting for your pictures. If you do, then you wouldn’t be reading this post anyway ‘cuz in all likelihood, you already take great pictures.
– There are no ugly pictures. Or bad ones. There are just different pictures. I know of people who like my pictures better than the ones you see on some professional food photography websites. This post is dedicated to them 🙂
Nice post, Nags, like the way you ended it. 🙂
I too began buying different kinds of dishes, napkins and mats a few months into blogging but gradually began to notice that with the amount of time at my disposal, white was best for most dishes, and that food of a certain colour looked good in dishes of the same colour, if not white. Contrasting colours didn’t always seem to work. So my buying spree got arrested there. And I use everything handy to make a background for my pix – dupattas, kurtas, mats, napkins, dishcloths – I’ve even used the stand I use to dry clothes in my balcony-less apartment. Most of the time, I put my dish on the dining table in the living room, or in a window in the study. I even bought a few slabs of marble for background … haven’t used them much, though, and only vaguely remember where they are.
Everyone will be able to see the difference from Pic 1 to Pic 2. COngrats… the picture makes us drool over those potatoes.. that’s the idea I am sure you wanted to capture and convey. I am trying to take nice pictures too. I find the dish in the photos do not look as good as reality.I look forward to more beautiful, creative pics.
hii…this is such a nice post…I can totally relate to it…relatively new to blogging, I find it really difficult to take good pics…lack of props and limited tableware is another issue…well i’m learning and looking forward to the future posts…
Thanks Nags, for the post! And you already know that you helped me learn to take better pictures over chat..:-) I am trying, but I think this series of posts (I am looking forward to more) will definitely be useful for me. I have a decent camera, but I still don’t know how to use it properly-light,macro,blah,blah:-(
lovely post nags …..really appreciates u r effort for writing it in simple way .I have a habit of taking pics of my dishes . looking forward to more posts like this.
deepa
This is a great post..looking forward to the sequel post 🙂
aah! Almost all the food bloggers can relate to this subject. As u mentioned, when I look at some of my earlier photos – I cringe! but at the same time, I feel major happy that I am on a better plane right now with the best yet to come.
Good relatable post Nags.
As for your query :
Nope, kasuri methi is different, they are dried fenugreek leaves, this is the real fenugreek itself. Usually kasuri methi is to be used in v little qnty since they are quite strong in their flavouring. So using them predominantly in this recipe is not advisable – me thinks. You might get fresh ones th @ Sngpore – or else try the frozen section in the Indian grocery..am sure they have it in thr nags 🙂 I am sure u will love it too….
hey nags… awesome article 🙂
i fit into the profile.. new blogger… hopeless at photography… have a relatively low end camera… i am learning slowly and this post helps 🙂
Shreya – I will make it as easy to understand as possible 🙂
Well Written post N! I remember when I started out the photos were such a struggle, it’s not like I take great pics now, but at least I’ve come a long way from where I started, learning the basics from trial and error. This article will help a lot of people I am sure.