One of the most important element of food blogs is of course the photos. Without good photos, a food blog is hard to maintain its readers and subscribers. I have seen some very articulate writer who can describe the flavour of foods so well and yet, they didn’t accompany their posts with photos that do justice to the taste.
So, how do we get good photos? Cameras are cheap nowadays and many of my photos are taken with cheap point and shoot cameras that cost a mere $600. And all you need from that camera is the macro mode. Macro mode is that flower shape icon on your camera. If your camera doesn’t have it, then it is hard to take impressive photos.
The other thing with food photos are the cutlery that we use to serve the foods. I have bought many plates and bowls when they are going cheap because I want the different designs. Now, I end up with all sort shape and size bowls, plates, saucers and cups. However, some of the most versatile plates and bowls are the plain, white ones as the white background brings out the colours of the foods.
(most photographed orange, I think I took 40 shots of one orange)
I have meant to get nice placemats and coasters but usually, my housekeeper kept it (as I tend to drop them where I last took my photos, normally next to windows and under bright lights) and I couldn’t find it when I want to take my food photos. So, I usually ended up with my marble table as backgrounds. So, do invest in some placemats and if possible, a huge white box or anything plain. I have a foldable ‘box’ I bought from one of the home and garden shop which I think is meant for laundry. It is very good to place our foods in an all white surrounding to cut out all those distractions at the back.
The main thing to remember is – Good food blogs don’t come by accidentally or casually. Many of the food bloggers put in some efforts and research into their photos. I too have sweated over some photo sessions when I want to get my photos just right. Usually, I will need to assemble my stool, background, camera and also to check that there are not dirty gravy sticking to my bowls that is not immediately seen by the naked eyes but look horrible when shot in macro mode with 1600 pixels.
(notice the strand of enoki mushroom stuck to the side of the bowl?)
The most tricky part of the photography is of course the lightings. I do not have any proper indoor light fixture that enhance my photos and hence, I am always very dissatisfied with my photos because I have to take them with the camera flashlight which is usually too harsh.
Most of us are not born to be photographers. But with all the easy to manage digital cameras available nowadays, one can take decent food photos if one can ‘feel’ the soul of that dish.
