Herbal Prawn Soup


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Aug 10, 2006
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www.wenwenphotography.com
I have a food blog and I take photo for everything I cook. This is one of them - herbal prawn soup. I would love to hear the feedback on the composition for this shot. What more I can do to improve it? I took it with AUTO mode, with no flash, macro. I want to bring out the best shot for this dish, make the viewers find it looks "really nice to eat". Personally I like this shot, at least the prawns looks good to me.

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Looks very warm and inviting. Your close crop further invites the user to sample it. Perhaps the left-most prawn ought not to have its 'face' cropped off. As it is, this picture could make its way into a recipe book or in a restaurant's menu already.

Watch out for the blown highlights. Looks like half the bowl's rim has been blown.
 

u might want to arrange the herbs to one side and the prawns to another with the prawns facing in one direction.
 

ctjune: Thanks for your comment. I did some touch up (brightness and contrast) with Nero Photosnap, that's why my claypot's rim has been blown. I will take note of this.

gangeslim: Yup thanks for your tips. I would try that next time.
 

welcome =)
did i mention that it looked delicious and it just set off a serious internet search for "24 hours prawn noodles in singapore" in my house haha
 

i liked how you composed the shot, showing an interesting backdrop as well as a bowl cover at top right to balance the bowl of prawn soup at bottom left. however, the soup looks "cold" to me, so i would suggest heating up the soup so that some steam can be seen emanating from the soup. this would make the dish look more appetising. dialing in -0.3 stops of exposure compensation might also help to avoid blown highlights of the white rims of the soup bowl.
 

Just a few simple comments. I hope you dont mind. I'm a real foodie so the pic really set off quite a few ideas in my head... If any of them are silly, pls dis-regard them.

In what order are you trying to get the viewer to look at the dish? The prawns, the herbs or the soup? If prawns are the top priority, I'd re-arrange the prawns to have them stand up above the bowl/plate such that the viewer's eyes are brought straight to the yummy prawns first.

That way, you can also have the option of opening up your aperture to throw the plate/bowl out of focus for a bit more depth and 3-D effect.

Maybe sprinkle some uncooked herbs around the plate which may have more relevance than the teapot?

The steam from the soup is really necc to make the dish look more yummy. You may want to have everything arranged before having the hot hot soup carefully poured in with a teapot just before you take the pic?

An article I read said that most fod shots are inedible due to the little things and props they use to hold the food in place. In this instance, you may have to put things at the bottom of the bowl to prop the prawns up in place. Things at the bottom which can be hidden when the soup is poured in.

Is there anyway to cook the prawns so as not to have the white-ness on the shell appear? I guess the prawns may look better if they are a deeper shade of orange/red. Maybe if you had just blanched the prawns for 30 secs or less instead of cooking the prawns for too long? Were the prawns frozen?

You have a natural eye to match colours by the use of your mat, and the colour of the teapot. The picture by itself is good enough to make it into some cookbooks already. YUM!
 

The photo makes me hungry :).

There's some 'steam' condensation on the inside of the shell of the main prawn - maybe can try to get rid of that. The soup colouring looks right, but the right upper quadrant of the bowl rim is over-exposed - maybe can reduce the harshness of the lighting ?
 

ohh man it certainly make me hungry by looking at it. :)
 

Hi swishbrade, your tips is certainly usefull for me. I have learnt new thing now! I was trying to arrange my prawns to stand up but I just couldn't make it, now I know how - put things at bottom of the claypot. I didn't know the steam is really so important as many of you have mentioned to me. And one more thing, no wonder those herbal photos look so fresh in cookbook, cause they are uncooked! Ya, I notice there's whiteness on my prawn shell. I didn't know it until I pour them into the pot. Yes, they were frozen before cooking and not very fresh when I ate them. Thanks for your comment.

Hi leave, thanks for your comment. I think the brightness/ contrast adjustment is too much.
 

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