Capture drool-worthy photos of your favorite foods with these photography tips.

Take a moment to play around with basic photo framing: the rule of thirds, S curves, leading lines, diagonal lines, and symmetry versus asymmetry. Certain foods may look beautiful when arranged on a simple plate, while other foods take on a new form if you fill your frame with an extreme close-up. On the opposite side of the spectrum, you don’t have to fit everything in your photo every time. Let your viewer’s imagination run wild by choosing to share just a part of your seven-course spread.

Natural lighting is good, but natural lighting with a hazy filter is even better. Always aim to shoot outdoors during golden hour or use translucent curtains to filter intense light through windows. Also, don’t be afraid of shooting at a high ISO (400 – 1600) to get an artfully grainy shot. If neither of these options are available, use a camera with manual settings to adjust exposure or a lens with a fast aperture that captures more light when shooting delectable dishes in low light areas. Just leave the flash off.

A perfect image is all in the prep. This could mean work-in-progress shots of diced vegetables on a wooden board or fruit sitting in a harvest basket waiting to be baked. Use ingredients to add character and texture by creating imperfections like overflowing sauces, dollops of cream, herbs, crumbs, and grains of sea salt. Again, think about the depth of your photo and focus on various ingredients to see what yields the best shot.

I always say that composition is 51 percent of a photo, editing is 49 percent, and lighting is 100 percent. Lighting is everything. Think about what a camera is: it’s a box that lets in light. Beyond that, composition is the foundation of your photo. Because composition is based on universal visual principles, it’s the thing that’s going to make your photograph universally appealing. That being said, editing is the thing that’s going to make your photograph even more attractive. Basically, think of composition like bone structure and editing as your makeup.

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Capture drool-worthy photos of your favorite foods with these photography tips.
more at Olympus

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7 Travel Photography Tips Photographers Should Follow

We are excited to share the following tips by ViewBug community member timpryce.

1. “Travel insurance”
If you can’t afford travel insurance, you can’t afford to travel!
2. “Camera bag”
Buy the best quality camera bag you can afford and always carry it with you.

3. “Flash cards, back-up storage and batteries”
4. “Only take the camera gear you really need”

5. “Do your own research”
6. “Do the opposite of everyone else”
Find out when it’s the “best time” to visit and go at a different time instead.

7. “Leave the camera in the bag”
Sounds ironic, but often we are so focused on taking pictures that we don’t stop and actually appreciate the beauty around us.

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7 Travel Photography Tips Photographers Should Follow
by timpryce
more at viewbug

Studio lighting – creating portraits with a difference | getting the best from a model

Richard Cawood has created a distinctive style of portraiture. In this article you can discover how he achieves his style, learn some tips for beginners and look in detail at the lighting rig he uses when travelling.

Richard Cawood has created a distinctive style of portraiture. In the first article we looked at what is behind his emotive minimalist style. In this second article you can learn more about how he works with models and go behind the scenes with details of a typical studio lighting rig.

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Studio lighting
– creating portraits with a difference
– getting the best from a model

Let there be lights

Illuminating tips on lighting

Let there be lights
more in:
BDM’s Series: The Complete Photography Manual 2018
Discover how to push your digital camera skills to the limit! There has never been a better time to learn photography. Imaging technology has come on in leaps and bounds in the space of a few short years, and to be able to get the best out of your camera, you need a good understanding of the fundamentals. Within the pages of this guide our team of professional photographers will take you through our comprehensive guide to becoming a far better photographer. 100% unofficial.

more guides at BDM Publications

Seven Tips to Rule the Skies

Drone photography is an amazing niche that’s worth exploring, especially if you want to take your photography to new heights—literally and figuratively. From your first flight to shooting something original, pro droner Petra Leary shares her tips for sensational shots from the sky.

Camera Settings
Learn the basics of photography first. Before you even take to the air, set the camera to shoot manual and RAW. Sure, you can pull your drone right out the box and get a great image, but learning how shutter speeds work with aperture and ISO is key to developing your style and improving your photography.

Composition
Height isn’t everything. Although super high drone shots might have the ‘wow’ factor, sometimes you need to think about what you are trying to capture. Does your framing require everything you can see or do you get a more effective shot by framing just the necessary elements?

Lighting
Like in every type of photography, lighting is key. Learn about how the effects of the sun at different times of day effect your shot, as well as how shadows and objects change with light. My favorite times of day to shoot are during the first 2 -3 hours of sunlight and again during the last couple of hours before sunset.

Seven Tips to Rule the Skies
more in Australian Photography Magazine – November 2018

7 Things to know about photographing food

7 Things to know about photographing food by Olympus designer and professional photographer Ted Colegrove

I’ve always loved food and photography, so as a photographer, the marriage of the two has been very creatively satisfying. My style of food photography is close to a journalistic approach. I don’t spend hours dressing up my food with the perfect lighting and plating. I take photos of how the food was served, in the place it was served, as I’m about to eat it.

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7 Things to know about photographing food
continue at Olympus

Wear Good Shoes: Inspiring Advice from Magnum Photographers

Download this free 60-page PDF from Magnum Photos—filled with excellent tips, advice and words of wisdom from the photographers at Magnum, as well as many of their iconic images. A great resource for anyone who wants to make better pictures.

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Free guide from Magnum Photos
get it at Lens Culture