product photography Archives - Use Your Noodles

In this post, I’m taking you behind the scenes of an outdoor food photography project that turned from a creative challenge into a true joy to create.

I am taking you behind the scenes to uncover how I took some sunny, cozy autumn photos for one of our retreat sponsors. (This post is not sponsored by them.)

I was really inspired by the drink, which was a vine liqueur with spices that go perfectly with the autumnal feeling)

Here’s a short recap of what I’ll share:
The Vision Behind the Perfect Photo
Overcoming Challenges in Outdoor Food Photography
Time To Style: Creating the Perfect Autumn Setup
Capturing the Golden Hour Light
Planning The Photoshoot Was Key
Essential Tools for Outdoor Food Photography
Post Production Magic
Final Photos

Let’s start and break the entire process down a little bit.

The Vision Behind the Perfect Photos

The idea was to shoot the drink and the beautiful bottle on a sunny autumn day. Something that would accentuate the lovely dark red color of the drink I was photographing and give that lovely, cozy autumnal vibe.

Overcoming Challenges in Outdoor Food Photography

The problem was that it would be ideal to make the photos look like it was shot in a vineyard, but I don’t live in an area with vineyards (only beautiful mountains and fields)

So I had to scout the perfect location. Something that would be reminiscent of the vineyard look. I was searching for grassy areas that have some dried brownish grass and no houses in the back (which can be a bit tricky here).

Fortunately, I already shot a video this year in an area that would fit this description, so I just needed to find a micro-location that would work.

Tip: When you scout locations for outdoor shoots, it is convenient to save them in your Google Maps in a separate list of these locations. I like to save them as we hike or drive around our area (or beyond).

Once I found an area with beautiful high grass, I had to check if it would work for the camera angles I wanted. My idea was to use the lovely warm autumn backlight, so I first walked around looking through the camera to see if there were any distractions (which may be removed from photos, but I also wanted to record a video).

This is the place with some bushes on one side and a field of soil on one side.

Time To Style: Creating the Perfect Autumn Setup

Often, when I photograph products, I like to keep the scene relatively clean and not too busy. This was also the case here, especially since the light would be a big part of the photo, so I avoided cramming the frame with many props.

I found an old wooden drawer that would act as a table, brought a vase, and picked some branches with leaves at the location ( to match the color and look of the scene). I also had a few linen napkins with me, just in case I’d need an extra layer of interest, and a linen apron, which I used as a skirt.

Capturing the Golden Hour Light

Outdoor shoots require patience 😅. Usually, the timeframe for that perfect golden light is pretty narrow, and in this part of the year, it also gets cold very quickly after the sun sets (hence also the decision for fewer props). Once the light was starting to get right, I started recording and taking photos and even reshot a few after the light changed (just in case!).

Planning The Photoshoot Was Key

Yes, since I was mainly going for the video, I had a list of frames listed in my notes app on the phone and then used those same scenes also to take photos, which I’m showing you today. Just like with any photography, outdoor food photography (especially in a tight timeframe like this one) is a lot easier when you plan things ahead, which includes creating a moldboard and a shot list.

Essential Tools for Outdoor Food Photography

Was there anything else that helped me with the photoshoot? Yes, first and foremost, I had two helpers – my husband and my son there to help me if necessary. But my most essential helpers were my two tools – my tripod (I chose a smaller lightweight one, so I could more easily carry it around) and my phone to connect it with my camera for wirelessly taking the photos.

Post Production Magic

While the light and the scene were lovely, I always like to use editing to bring all those details in the story and my subject out.

But there was also one issue. I was working fast and didn’t really have the time to clean the glass after each take properly. Also, in some of the shots of the bottle, my reflection was clearly visible. So, these were things I had to remove in post-production.