Food Photography Part3- Field Of Depth

In food photography, depth of field plays a very important role in popping out the picture from the props. It can tell a story of what the picture is trying to project.

I want to show that there was tea party and a special raspberry tea is my focus.

When we look at the picture, our attention should go to the subject and not be distracted by props.

Props should be used to add to the field of depth that can tell the background story.

These are the pictures I took today.

My food photography guide Mr Neel

Food Photography; Part 2- Understanding Angles

While clicking the pictures of  food, it is important to consider the angle of the subject. If the subject has height, and depth, then it is better to click it at angle of 0-20 degrees to show the depth of the subject. But if it is flat dish like soup, clicking at 90 degres top-down can give better images.

Today I made Spanish egg omelet. Now Spanish omelet is stuffed with veggies and it looks like a cake. Removing this picture from top, did not give any idea of depth of this omelet.,

Later I cut out a small traingular piece and then focussed on different angles to show the depth. A cut piece of the omelet gave an idea of the depth of the subject and the light from the back of the camera,  we could see the texture of the omelet more clearly.

I clicked one more pictures from opposite direction and keeping the small triangular piece next to the the larger one

Which one looks better???

I took another set of photographs with different angles of a pair of red-and-green Capsicums. I took eighteen photographs from different angles and positions. After studying different angles and the light effect, I like this one.

I went on photoediting tool to adjust the light with filters and got this final picture.

What do you think?

Points to take home:

Notice the food structure to decide on the angle

To check for noisy or distracting background

To understand the direction of light

PS: My food photography guide Mr Neel

Food Photography, Part One: Soup Pictures.

Food photography is an art and I will be studying pictures on the net ( with the help of Neel ) to improve my own photographs. I may join hundreds of workshops but I have noticed that the best way to improve your skills is to study the pictures of the experts.

So here I am ..learning photography…..startinga series…. With soup pictures

Some observations on my own soup pictures:

My picture was of vegetable soup but I was distracted by the plate containing meat in the background and I think I should not post two food plates in one picture. The soup color is quite dull, I think I need better light exposure, I went to check the photographs of other bloggers and I have decided to follow them on Instagram, their pictures are beautiful, will try to study them more carefully. What i have noticed is that they have used lots of colors to make the picture attractive, the background is normally dark and the light plays the important role in the picture....

Some of the soup pictures I saw of other food bloggers

The miso soup from this site http://theviewfromgreatisland.com/miso-soup/

My observation:

The picture is bright from the light above…the props are clean and of contrasting colors with background mat a bit darker shade so that our eyes are directed towards the soup at the centre of the frame..

Lemon coriander soup from this site http://www.saffrontrail.com/recipe-for-lemon-coriander-soup-indo-chinese-recipes

My observation:

The picture is well lighted with light coming from above. The props are the things used in the soup like lemon and coriander and the background is the lemon colored checks table cloth that enhances the picture…..

So, I decided to prep up my picture on photoshop, cropped and adjusted the brightness, manipulating it to my satisfaction and this is what I got…

 Like it? would greatly appreciate if you share your soup pictures in my comment box. Thank you

Food Photography in Feb 2016

Some of the pictures I clicked in the month of February while eating out.

At #Mainland China restaurant in Pune, I loved the drama in the lichee ice cream cup with nitrogen fumes emerging from ice cream cup.

The Spanish style prawns were cooked to perfection and served with toast at Bad restaurant in Bandra

#Kejriwaltoast at #BombayCanteen #Parel most talked about toast of Bombay..combo of coconut chutney with cheese and fried egg..tastes good

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#dips are in..the more creative you get, the better is the taste..this was the combo of humus and beet...a bit sweetish and bit spicy..was pleasing to the palate...

World’s Biggest Young Chef Olympiad For Culinary Students

When I was invited for an exclusive food bloggers meet with Mr.Suborno Bose, the director of IIHM and Celebrity Chef Shaun Kenworthy at IBIS in Mumbai, I had no clue that there was an important event brewing up and the young chefs from 67 countries were to come together for an event called ‘Young Chef Olympiad’ This is an event that will bring the whole culinary world under one umbrella. Some of the well known chefs, and the important people from food industry from all over world have been roped in as consultants and judges.

Over a cup of Cappuccino, I learnt about this biggest ever event that is to take place on our 67^th Republic day in Delhi that will bring culinary world together.  The students who will participate in this event are the best young student chefs that will represent their country; these are the students who are undergoing graduation in food and hospitality in their part of the world.

The format is that the event will be held in four cities over the period of six days. Starting with Grand opening ceremony on 27^th Jan 2016 at Talkatora Indoor stadium, New Delhi;

In the round one in Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai, the students from 67 countries will participate in the competition, Round two will be narrowed down to seven participants in Kolkata, who will then compete in finals at Kolkata on 1^st February 2016

The competition will be on their creativity and the techniques they use while churning out a dish. There will be marks on cleanliness and hygiene and how effectively they use their ingredients. For example: if they are given 600 grams of fish with its skin on, and 500 grams of potatoes, they are asked to cook for four people, then they are judged on how they utilize the ingredients proportionately. Another example, if they are asked to cook three course meal and not allowed to same ingredient twice, then how they used their creativity. Thus they will be judged on their skills.

This event will be important because it will connect different chefs, mentors and well known personals from food industry around the world, and the students will be able to learn new techniques through interaction with other students from different parts of the world.

Looking forward to this events, I am sure it will be the most interesting and a good learning experience for young chefs.