Now let's talk Food Photography. I always focused on my baking and cooking and never photographed it in the beginning. Until I started being inspired seeing all these beautiful blogs with their stunning dishes presented and styled so well.
When I began gathering photos for my blog, I realised I needed to work on my food photography. Especially something be online, people aren't going to know how the dish taste through the computer screen, so you must make it look very presentable!
This was very hard at first, I had no experience and no training. Just too many ideas bouncing around in my head. What really helped was Mum had a whole cupboard full of old china she only brought out on special dinning nights.
I use to go to the local building shop, and the wooden pellets they transport stuff on, I would go in and pick up and bring home. I would then dismantle the pellets into single pieces of wood. Sand the pieces of wood down and pain them. I noticed wood was such a nice background to food because it had gaps between each laying piece of wood. This gave the photos a sense of balance, where if I just laid a solid colour of cloth, it would look like the objects are floating if the photo was taken from above.
My chocolate chip cookies in the beginning, still the same recipe and same cookies just I photographed them a lot better after some practise.
I learnt that natural lighting is the best, no matter what lights, flash or camera you have. Food looks so much better under natural lighting. So I began to get up earlier and make my sweets so I would have the afternoon to photograph them. This made a huge difference to my photographs.
From waffles with 2 props and not many rich colours to a more styled shoot with character. Different sized bowls, plates, richer colours.
These mango smoothies were photographed on our wooden deck with the grass in the background. Take a few props and well thought our props and get a more beautiful shot.
These hotcakes were plated so basic, I cut up two kiwis and stacked the pieces on top of each other. Pouring maple syrup over the stack of hotcakes. There is no props, colours or mood set in this photo.
Adding some props, flowers and more motion to the photo. You can see the persons hand in this photo pouring the maple syrup onto the hot cakes before they devour them. As opposed to the photo above, its such a thin stream of maple syrup you could easily miss it.
My famous hazelnut cornets, photographed with one in front (not even in focus)The background colour is pretty similar to the cornets pastry so it is hard to detect the two from each other.
Place a contrasting colour to the main colour of the food (pink) and add some garnishing props (chopped hazelnuts) and (melted chocolate).
Fruit danishes on the kitchen dinning room table (other things in the picture distracting from the subject)
Nice lighting and only a couple of props (which are blurred out) in the shoot to distract from the main subject.
These white chocolate macadamia cranberry biscuits are a very boring photograph. You have one prop of spilling cranberries, and a tea towel covering most of the main subject. The biscuits aren't even in focus.
Here you have a shot of the raspberries that go inside these biscuits. The colours are way more vibrant because of the selection of colours chosen to sit behind them. The lighting seems much more brighter and hits the food nicer then the above image. This is where you can see how bigger difference lighting can make to the images.
These macarons were shot in artificial lighting, I clearly didn't have the white balance quite right. The hue is the same colour as the macarons. There is only 4 macarons and one prop. A blue tea pot. The blue of the tea pot doesn't even match any other blues in the shoot.
The two pastel colours contrast beautifully. Light purple and baby blue. You have lavender petals dusted in front go the macarons and you have several macarons blurred out in the distance.
Some more photos while I was at the beginning of my food styling and photographing.
Lack of props, colours and mood. I learnt the importance of these things overtime and over practise.
I never had a camera brought for me, it was my hobby so I had to put my money towards it. It is a very expensive hobby, but I can not put a price on memories and capturing them. I don't think anyone would. So I see cameras as a life investment, to capture your time in this world.
I remember saving all my pocket money up for this camera. I had researched it for so long and had got the best point and shoot camera with the best lens. I wanted one of those flip screen selfie point and shoot but their camera lens was rubbish.
It was pink! I loved it and shredded the camera to pieces with so much use!
Next I saved hard for a DSLR because I wanted to learn Manual shooting and wanted to gain a shallow depth of field. My next camera investment was the Nikon D3200 with a Tamaron 80mm-200mm. I remember watching this trade me auction for so long! I brought all my cameras second hand as I couldn't justify paying double the price for a branded camera book, manual and a couple of cords.
If you do your research properly, you will know what to look for when a camera has been well used or is practically new.
I loved this camera, and It got a tonne of use. After about a year and half, a bit of my SD Memory card flaked off and dropped into the SD port. This meant the SD card couldn't fit in the pot properly. It was going to cost $150 starting fee to send it away to be fixed. I was a bit on the edge to be paying this as I had outgrew my crop sensor camera and wanted something that could show for my skills a bit more. I came to the conclusion I wasn't going to get my Nikon D3200 fixed but instead invest in an entry level full frame.
Then the D700 Nikon was born! I love this camera. This is probably when I saw my photography really expand and grow. I loved the full frame, and the more heavy weight durable body that came with it.
I paired this camera with an 85mm 1.4G which was such a solid investment. Loved it! Still do, it takes incredible portraits and food photography. The only con I would say about this lens is the focal length. It's not very good for getting wide angle shots, or landscape shots. But everything else it can execute really well.
I loved the bokeh that the 85mm produced and I was so happy I saved for a longer time and went for the 1.4G. I didn't regret it at all. I paid $1800 for my 85mm lens, I brought it second hand and I would say for all the use I got from it I definitely got my moneys worth. Hands down I love the glass in this lens and can't find fault in it.
After working crazy hours, long weeks and big months.I decided to treat myself before I set off on some travelling. What better way to treat yourself then a new camera right?
What made me want to purchase a new camera was because why I loved the D700 so much, it was an old 2008 model and unfortunately didn't do video.
When I began my travelling I really wanted to begin videography so I decided to purchase the D750. Very similar to the D700, just a much more upgraded version.
I love the D750 so so much! And it is fantastic how it videos. And can I say the video is so crisp and vibrant.
Here I did some promo work for a friend, you can see how the D750 videos.
But as I was mentioning before how the 85mm 1.4G is great but has a long focal length. This would prove to be a problem when I want to film. I did my research and I ended up investing in the 24mm 1.4G. I loved the 1.4 aperture on my 85mm I couldn't sub for any less. I got the 24mm because I knew I would be taking lots of landscape photos of scenery (as opposed to portraits for my food photography) I wanted a multi purpose lens. One good for videography and one good for travel photography. The 24mm hasn't let me down!
Trying out my new lens and body on a trip to Watsons Bay. You can just see the joy and excitement I am getting from the camera in my smile. I love this baby.
Everywhere I go, I take my camera because I believe in capturing the time. It may not seem like anything important in the present but in a year or two it will become a memory. Something you can never get back but only treasure.
I extended my videography equipment, and when I went to NYC I went to my favourite camera store, I used to look at online from little NZ wanting everything in the store. Going there was over whelming it was filled with so many knowledgeable people and a three storey shop full of everything to do with media/photography/videography. It was amazing!
I brought this zhiyun crane, and it has taken a while to adjust to how to use it, balancing it and manoeuvring it. It has stepped my videography up 10x more. I wasn't motivated to make videos with my Nikon because it is so heavy I knew all the videography would be so shaky I couldn't use it!
Take it to breakfast when you go get smoothies, take it on the bike ride up to the corner shop, take it to the beach. Take the camera everywhere, I did this all the time on holiday. Some people may think its so excessive and I don't actually step back and enjoy my holiday. But It is my hobby, I am enjoying my holiday because I know I am capturing the memories.
Take it on the plane, this was our three flights to Mexico.
Take it in the snow. I did notice though, my battery life is sucked up by the freezing temperatures. I read online you are meant to leave your camera outside for 5 minutes before you decide to go shoot to allow the camera to adjust to the temperature. This day I was filming and it was snowing heavily for 3 hours, it makes it extremely hard because I had sensitive hands to the cold, so it's very hard to always be taking gloves off and gloves on.
I would always go to sell, my old equipment to save more money for better equipment. But since I brought everything second hand, it now makes it third hand, that makes it very unappealing. I tried to sell two of my cameras and old go pro on gumtree before I left Australia. But I wasn't getting much interest and I wasn't going to get enough money to make it justice. I would only sell it in that case if they were taking up too much room. But my cameras are a priority and have room anywhere I live.
So in the end I kept the cameras, I had my Nikon D3200 repaired but found that videoing on the crop sensor with not a good glass lens wasn't good enough for me. It is still a very good camera, the lightest of them all.
I love my cameras, and hope to continue grow my collection as my skills expand and my knowledge increases.
Thanks for reading and learning about my photography journey. I hope it shows you that I started at the beginning of not knowing anything, my images were terrible, lighting was over exposed, styling of the shoots was not well thought out. Everyone begins somewhere and I began at the very start.
Till next time xx
