A question I get in just about every basic camera class I teach is " What Is The Food Mode In My Custom Shooting Menu?"
Yes, in many point & shoots and some DSLR's, there's a specific shooting mode for taking pictures of food. This has been included in the customized menu in response to foodies' request to include such a mode. What exactly is a foodie? Wikipedia defines foodie as " an informal term for a particular class of aficionado of food and drink". And there are thousands of foodies who write blogs that cover every type of food imaginable. So, the food mode according to Nikon "automatically adjusts the white balance when capturing close-ups of food." That's great, but there must be other techniques that would help me in getting a great food shot...
Allow us at CWS to share some with you. Famed travel and food photographer Penny De Los Santos has an informative article (with succulent photos) that was just posted on National Geographic's website. And Pop Photo just posted an blog article called " Shoot Better Food Photos With Any Camera" which says you can get great shots from an iPhone as well! Ms. De Los Santos mentions in her article that "The options for photographing food are endless; it's an incredibly visual subject. One thing to remember when starting out is that food photography is just like any other photography—the same principles of light, color, and composition apply". So whether it's a great meal that you're about to eat at the new farm to table restaurant or that delicious pizza with literally everything on it, don't forget to apply what you've learned in other facets of photography,along with the tips that are shared above and have fun!
FYI: A Shout Out to Malerie Yoden of Stamford On The Cheap for featuring our photo classes on her fun and informative website. Thanks!
(Matzoh Ball Soup At The 2nd Avenue Deli /NYC - Photo by Fred Bonilla)