[thechat] Digicam advice

[Bob Davis]

On Jul 24, 2004, at 5:29 AM, Madhu Menon wrote:
>
> So you don't suppose pics like these can be taken without spending 
> mucho dollars?
> http://www.thefoodsection.com/foodsection/images/horchataing.jpg
>
> See how you can make out every last detail of the almonds. How did 
> they do that?
>

When I worked at the hotel, I took a lot of food shots for the Chef. 
It's hard to get them right. Things that helped me were:

	1. Take the shot outside - good light is your friend.
	2. Macro mode on the digital camera. It'll help you get close.
	3. Have it plated for photography - not eating! Misting the scallops 
with oil will make them look shiny and delicious, but won't help the 
taste. Put any garnish (micro greens, parsley, etc.) on at the last 
moment so it doesn't wilt.
	4. Wipe the plates by hand. Every little thing shows up in a picture, 
so make sure they are perfect. Same for any forks, knives, etc. 
Perfect.
	5. Make sure the table is a good color for the plate/food.
	6. Get close, short field of focus (blurry backgrounds), very sharp 
food.

The best food photographer I saw was using a 4x5 view camera (Sinar, I 
think - see here - http://www.sinarbron.com/ ) and took some awesome 
shots. The setup is key. He had plates, glasses, silver, etc. just for 
the shot. It didn't really matter what was used in the restaurant - it 
was about the food. this is a guy who gets paid thousands to shoot 4 
and 5 star hotels around the world - sometimes taking a month to shoot 
a place. He would have several of the same thing ready to plate and 
shoot. If the food sits too long, the shot suffers for it.

bob