Need critiques for food photography

[itsybitsyspidy]

Hi,

I'm new to food photography. Kindly comment on how I may have composed my shots better, or in general how i could have shot it better. All except one is shot with 50mm f/1.8. All lightings for the food are ambient lighting. No touch up except noise removal and USM and resize.

[Splutter]

I think you cant rely on purely ambient lighting. Many of the shadow areas are lacking in too much details. It'll be good to have another source of lighting or at least a well placed reflector.

[bowwow]

was this shot in sebastien's bistro? looks familiar.

[antitrust]

i've no experience in such things but here are some things that bother me:

1. the cutlery in the shot are a little distracting especially when its reflecting the ambient light. kinda like a hot spot.

2. your escargots look a little messy

3. angles of the dishes served on plates a bit repetitive, get a variety of shots

4. focus for all the pictures are quite soft.. was it intended?

5. white plates have some colour cast

6. take note of reflective surfaces in VIB_3478

okay like i said, i'm not an expert, if i said anything wrong, someone please correct me.

if my comments come across as harsh to you, forgive me, i just think we all learn better when comments are objective, so don't take it personally.

but... i like the colours, and not a bad effort IMO. but you can do better.

[itsybitsyspidy]

Originally Posted by Splutter I think you cant rely on purely ambient lighting. Many of the shadow areas are lacking in too much details. It'll be good to have another source of lighting or at least a well placed reflector.

Hi splutter, thanks for your comment. But i don't gettit when you say shadow areas are lacking details, do you mean i should brighten up the photos with a reflector/light source on the shadow side casted by the ambient light? Or should i not use the ambient light at all?

[itsybitsyspidy]

Originally Posted by bowwow was this shot in sebastien's bistro? looks familiar.

Yes, that's Sebastien's Bitro.

[itsybitsyspidy]

Originally Posted by antitrust i've no experience in such things but here are some things that bother me:

Thanks for your comments!

Quote: 1. the cutlery in the shot are a little distracting especially when its reflecting the ambient light. kinda like a hot spot.

At first was thinking of taking the shot without cutlery, then decided to add in some salt and pepper in the background as well, as the photo of the plate of food looks quite empty to me. So if the cutlery weren't that reflective would it be ok there? or someplace else?

Quote: 2. your escargots look a little messy

Haha yes, after I took it then i realised that i should have cleaned up the plate a little, but by then was too late, my friend had already started to review the food(started eating)

Quote: 3. angles of the dishes served on plates a bit repetitive, get a variety of shots

Thanks, will take note of this if i ever do another food photography shoot.

Quote: 4. focus for all the pictures are quite soft.. was it intended?

Looked ok on my LCD screen, but when transferred to my PC i also realised the same problem. I would have preferred to have the whole plate in sharpness for some of the shots. Maybe it was because i used f/1.8 all the way to get the bokeh, but neglected to make effort to ensure that the whole object was in focus.

Quote: 5. white plates have some colour cast

Wanted to make the photos warmer, didn't realise the colour of the plates are also affected. Will note to keep the plates white next time.

Quote: 6. take note of reflective surfaces in VIB_3478

Will take note of this!

Quote: okay like i said, i'm not an expert, if i said anything wrong, someone please correct me. if my comments come across as harsh to you, forgive me, i just think we all learn better when comments are objective, so don't take it personally. but... i like the colours, and not a bad effort IMO. but you can do better.

[/quote]

Your comments are not harsh, and i'm grateful for your comments. Sometimes i can't see some aspects that other people are looking at in my photographs and other people can give me that alternate perspective. Thanks for viewing the photos! I will try to do better in the next shoot!

[bowwow]

Originally Posted by itsybitsyspidy Yes, that's Sebastien's Bitro.

yes... thought so...... did the archival photoshoot for the group abt 1.5yrs back. they haven't changed much in their plating and such.

[itsybitsyspidy]

Originally Posted by bowwow yes... thought so...... did the archival photoshoot for the group abt 1.5yrs back. they haven't changed much in their plating and such.

Wow, the chef told me they dont change much because most of their customers go back for the same stuff and would be sad if they changed it. I saw your portfolio on your website. You are very good at food photography! Do you have some shots of Sebastiens as well? May I know what lens you use for your food products and what kind of lights you use for your shots?

[bowwow]

Originally Posted by itsybitsyspidy Wow, the chef told me they dont change much because most of their customers go back for the same stuff and would be sad if they changed it. I saw your portfolio on your website. You are very good at food photography! Do you have some shots of Sebastiens as well? May I know what lens you use for your food products and what kind of lights you use for your shots?

yes, i do have shots of sebastien's as well as the whole group. in fact, u can request for the pics from the MARCOM side for your review. whether they give or not they'll decide case by case; don't quote me on this. unfortunately i can't give them to you direct, hope u understand it's protocol. u can get their details from their website.(95% of the pics are from me)

didn't u ask for food photography tips before? thought i gave u a few pointers then. Jack, right?

[itsybitsyspidy]

Originally Posted by bowwow yes, i do have shots of sebastien's as well as the whole group. in fact, u can request for the pics from the MARCOM side for your review. whether they give or not they'll decide case by case; don't quote me on this. unfortunately i can't give them to you direct, hope u understand it's protocol. u can get their details from their website.(95% of the pics are from me) didn't u ask for food photography tips before? thought i gave u a few pointers then. Jack, right?

oh! haha. forgot it was you who gave me the pointers! Thanks! Yes i understand you can't show them to me direct, but the lesamis website is good enough! I only shoot for a hobby so i'm still learning. Sebastien's food are good!

[bowwow]

Originally Posted by itsybitsyspidy oh! haha. forgot it was you who gave me the pointers! Thanks! Yes i understand you can't show them to me direct, but the lesamis website is good enough! I only shoot for a hobby so i'm still learning. Sebastien's food are good!

no prob... thks for understanding. i can show u the pics but i can't post the pics direct. there's actually a lot more, what u see on the website is only a small fraction... that shoot i did for them was a very interesting learning experience, took me 3 weeks to complete all the outlets!

[itsybitsyspidy]

Originally Posted by bowwow no prob... thks for understanding. i can show u the pics but i can't post the pics direct. there's actually a lot more, what u see on the website is only a small fraction... that shoot i did for them was a very interesting learning experience, took me 3 weeks to complete all the outlets!

Heh, and all the good food to go along!

[bowwow]

Originally Posted by itsybitsyspidy Heh, and all the good food to go along!

actually, i didn't eat much during the shoot... only a few dishes from some of the outlets.. see already sian, what more eat somemore!

[casey4355]

ambient lighting is fine, but window light. reflectors could help.
simpliciity is also a virtue. keep things simple.
buy food magazines learn from them.

[itsybitsyspidy]

Originally Posted by casey4355 ambient lighting is fine, but window light. reflectors could help. simpliciity is also a virtue. keep things simple. buy food magazines learn from them.

actually i brought along an A4 cardboard wrapped in aluminium foil(diy :P) but didn't get to use it because ambient light not good enough. Thanks for the tip, am looking through some great websites to get a feel of how they compose their shots, not that easy to pick up afterall!

[Godzilla Invades]

Originally Posted by casey4355 ambient lighting is fine, but window light. reflectors could help. simpliciity is also a virtue. keep things simple. buy food magazines learn from them.

Best tip of the day!

[nikonrus]

my comments are

1) VIB_3341 - composition. Although most of us know the pict is for escargots, you failed to show the escargots itself. Looks more like just a shot of the escargot plate (or whatever you call it).
2) VIB_3343 - DOF. Composition is fine here, but a tad too much depth of field.
3) VIB_3346 - DOF again & shadow. Details on the neck of the bottle is a little out of focus (debatable). I like the idea that you're trying to have a light source coming from the LHS, but the shadow of the champagne glass falling on the champagne bottle's label spoilt it.

[itsybitsyspidy]

Originally Posted by nikonrus my comments are 1) VIB_3341 - composition. Although most of us know the pict is for escargots, you failed to show the escargots itself. Looks more like just a shot of the escargot plate (or whatever you call it). 2) VIB_3343 - DOF. Composition is fine here, but a tad too much depth of field. 3) VIB_3346 - DOF again & shadow. Details on the neck of the bottle is a little out of focus (debatable). I like the idea that you're trying to have a light source coming from the LHS, but the shadow of the champagne glass falling on the champagne bottle's label spoilt it.

Thanks for your comments. Really regret never clean up the escargot plate. But after Thinking about it, even if I clean it up, I still dunno how to show that it is escargot ? To someone who don't know what that is would not have guessed that it's escargots?

I think my mistake was using f/1.8 throughout, my main concern was bokeh, will note to self to keep the food sharp next time.

After i took the champagne shot and i view in my PC i also realised the shadow. My initial thought was to have the glass reflection on the wine bottle... guess i screwed it up... haiz...

[bowwow]

Originally Posted by itsybitsyspidy I think my mistake was using f/1.8 throughout, my main concern was bokeh, will note to self to keep the food sharp next time.

your main concern should be the food and not the bokeh.

another thing, ambient light is not the "be-all-and-the-end-all". you're the photographer, you have to make that judgment call on site. no 2 restaurant lighting conditions are ever the same.