Tag Archive for: tips & tricks

Drink Photography Myths

Drink photography is a captivating area of photography, but it is often surrounded by a variety of myths and misconceptions.

I can say from my personal experiences, that these myths were holding me back in my work as I was discovering photographing drinks. In this article, we’re going to unmask five common myths that might be holding you back as you start exploring beverage photography.

Drink photography is a captivating area of photography, but it is often surrounded by a variety of myths and misconceptions. I can say from my personal experiences, that these myths were holding me back in my work as I was discovering photographing drinks.

Myth 1: I can only get natural-looking photos with natural light

There is no denying the captivating beauty of natural light. However, it’s not always available or present long enough to take the photo. On the other hand, sometimes using natural artificial light instead of natural light makes it easier for a photographer to recreate certain light situations.

When you start pushing your creative boundaries and experimenting with different light sources and how to use them to your advantage, another world of options will open. By understanding how light works in nature, you’ll start understanding how you can shape artificial light to mimic it.

Looking at the examples below you can see a comparison between two photos – one done with natural light and one with artificial. Can you tell one was not taken with natural light?

Drink photography is a captivating area of photography, but it is often surrounded by a variety of myths and misconceptions. I can say from my personal experiences, that these myths were holding me back in my work as I was discovering photographing drinks.
Drink photography is a captivating area of photography, but it is often surrounded by a variety of myths and misconceptions. I can say from my personal experiences, that these myths were holding me back in my work as I was discovering photographing drinks.

Great news: In the next Mix, Snap, Sip Retreat this September, we’ll work with both natural and artificial light. You’re invited to join!

Myth 2: The more complex the setup, the better the results

It’s easy to think that using lots of props and complex backgrounds will improve your setups—and sometimes, they will.

But that’s not a must. Commercial drink photography is often very simple and focuses on tiny details instead of large, complex setups.

A clean, uncluttered backdrop can serve as the perfect stage to showcase the drink in the best light. It helps hold the viewer’s attention, drawing them in with the vibrant colors, delicious textures, and interesting details that would have otherwise been lost in a busy background.

Myth 3: You need a lot of props to create a variety in your drink portfolio

Continuing with the simplicity of drink photos, you don’t actually need a multitude of props or a huge array of backgrounds to create variety in your drink portfolio. The truth is that with just a few props and a bit of creativity, you can produce a very diverse and interesting portfolio.

One of the things I learned throughout the years I’ve been working as a photographer is that having less options opens another creative part of our brain.

Here are a few examples to show you that simple props and focusing on the drink itself does not mean a boring photo.

Drink photography is a captivating area of photography, but it is often surrounded by a variety of myths and misconceptions. I can say from my personal experiences, that these myths were holding me back in my work as I was discovering photographing drinks.
Drink photography is a captivating area of photography, but it is often surrounded by a variety of myths and misconceptions. I can say from my personal experiences, that these myths were holding me back in my work as I was discovering photographing drinks.

Myth 4: Ice in the drink should always be perfectly polished in drink photography

Storytime. I used to hate not having the chance to buy beautiful perfect ice in the store (and was too lazy to make my own).

Until I realized that a lot of drinks don’t require a perfectly shaped ice cube.

Sure, there are some drinks and occasions when you’ll need that, and pristine, crystal-clear ice cubes can add a certain touch of elegance to your beverage images. However, when the drink doesn’t require that specifically, you can use imperfect-looking ice, and it will still look amazing.

Myth 5: Editing Should Make Your Drink Look Perfect

The reality is that editing is dependent on what the requirements of the job are. In the commercial world, we often see highly retouched photos, and they have a place in photography, too. However, a lot of jobs you might get are a lot more loose.

That said, knowing what you need to edit and retouch is crucial. It is also helpful to know when overediting will make your drink look artificial, and your photo loses its droll-worthiness.

Editing is a huge part of the photography process and is the cherry on top of any photo. We’ll dive deep into editing and retouching in the Mix, Snap, Sip Retreat. We’re waiting for you to join 🙂

Conclusion

The world of drink photography is full of myths.

But, once you start questioning these myths, you’ll find that drink photography can be simpler and more fun than you first thought. Remember, great photos aren’t just about fancy equipment or complicated setups. They’re about mastering the basics like lighting, framing, thoughtful editing, and a creative approach.

4 Essential Composition Tips For Better Food Photography (with Bea Lubas)

Here are four essential composition tips that will transform your food photography, adding flow and a natural feel to your photos.

Here are four essential composition tips that will transform your food photography, adding flow and a natural feel to your photos.

Composition is the part of the food photography process that is usually the most frustrating to students simply because there are so many elements and techniques to think about.

In this article, I joined forces with my friend Bea Lubas to bring you four essential composition tips that we use to make our compositions look natural and flowy.

These are easy composition tips that you can apply straight away. If you do, don’t forget to let us know in the comments or DM us on Instagram (@useyournoodles, @bealubas)!

So here are the four essential composition tips to help you compose your images more easily:

CREATING A SENSE OF FLOW (Anja)

Food photography is unlike a lot of photography genres. We, as food photographers, are there to create a beautiful composition. One thing that I like to create in my composition to make it appear more natural and organic is flow.

Adding flow helps lead the eyes through the composition and to your main subjects. There are many ways to achieve that, but my favorite is using curves.

Curves are imaginary lines that you use to place your elements inside the frame. It’s about positioning your props, dishes, and all the elements in the frame in harmonious progression. 

Curves can take different forms. You’ll hear me speak a lot about the S- and the C-curve in the article Using curves in food photography and some other curves as well. But actually, a curve can take any shape that feels natural.

Here are four essential composition tips that will transform your food photography, adding flow and a natural feel to your photos.
Photo: Anja Burgar

CHOOSING THE COLORS (Bea)

One of my favorite color techniques that you’ll see me use in my work over and over again is choosing props and the background in the same color.

This technique really helps to draw attention to the food, even if you decide to fill the scene with many items! And what color of props and background to go for?

This will depend on a few things.

  • Firstly, what color would help to enhance your subject? What color would make it ‘pop’?
  • Secondly, it will depend on the type of contrast that you’d like to create in your image. High color contrast can help to add a more energetic vibe to our image, and low color contrast can help to infuse our frame with a soft and gentle atmosphere.

When selecting a color, we can also consider color psychology and what emotion the selected color can help to evoke.

Here are four essential composition tips that will transform your food photography, adding flow and a natural feel to your photos.
Photo: Bea Lubas

ADDING SOME NEGATIVE SPACE (Anja)

Using negative space in a composition can give it a sense of balance. Not only in busy setups but also in simple scenes, the visual elements need a counterbalance to make the photo more pleasing to the eye.

My favorite way of including negative space in a frame is when I intentionally leave place inside the composition, especially around the main subject. This gives the entire composition some breathing space, makes it less intense for the eye, and, at the end of the day, brings focus to the main subject.

Creating negative space is a delicate balance. Finding a sweet spot might take a bit of experimentation, but when you find it, you’ll see how more relaxed the entire composition looks.

Here are four essential composition tips that will transform your food photography, adding flow and a natural feel to your photos.
Photo: Anja Burgar

CREATING A SENSE OF DEPTH (Bea)

A beautiful sense of depth can help to draw the viewer in and make our image more captivating, and it’s something I try to always pay attention to when building my compositions.

One of the techniques that I find very effective is to place the elements at different planes within the frame. Some items are in the foreground, some in the middle ground, and maybe some in the background, too.

When placing these elements around the frame, I also like to place the items one behind the other  – the overlapping helps to create more sense of depth and make the composition look more natural, too!

Here are four essential composition tips that will transform your food photography, adding flow and a natural feel to your photos.
Photo: Bea Lubas

WHAT’S NEXT

Composition is a beautiful yet delicate art. Knowing how to fill the frame so it tells just the right story is key.

To learn more about composition and put your new knowledge to practice, we invite you to join our 3-Day Composition challenge from October 5-7th. Get all the details in my IG highlights. But to dive even deeper into the topics + get more tips and our Composition Guide, head over here.

See you in the challenge!

How To Take The Perfect Action Shot In Food Photography

Are you just as in love with action shots in food photography as I am? Do you struggle with catching the right moment and have problems with perfect timing. You’re in the right place!

Are you just as in love with action shots in food photography as I am? Do you struggle with catching the right moment and have problems with perfect timing. You're in the right place!

I’m going to help you with some short tips and tricks that will help you create beautiful action shots.

Action shots are one of my favorite types of photos when it comes to food photography. They tell a story, they are… well, actionable, they have this human element in them and they have such a distinct dynamic.

Have you heard the saying ‘Practice makes perfect’. I couldn’t agree more. The more you’ll try to do action shot the easier it will become.

But first, let me guide you through some tips that will help you grow your repertoire in food photography by adding action shots!

Let’s start!

1. Get a tripod

Unless you have a helper on hand (if you do, great for you!), you’ll need a tripod to hold the camera.

I find a tripod very useful for one other reason too. When taking action photos things, usually get quite messy. Even though you clean, I usually find that I missed a spot and it ends looking awful in the photo. I usually take photo of the scene before I even take the action shot. That way you’ll have a ‘clean’ photo which you can use in Photoshop to fix the mess that you might have missed. You couldn’t do that without a tripod since your composition would move if you handheld the camera.

2. Shoot in manual mode and set shutter speed first

Shutter speed is everything in action shots. It’s the most important setting, so you need to adjust it first. If you want a crisp sharp pour or sprinkle, you need to increase your shutter speed. If you want a blurry pour or sprinkle you have to decrease it. I try to use shutter speeds at 1/160 or above for crisp pours.

Second, adjust the ISO. I try to stay under 800, but since a lot of my photography is very moody and dark, I need to go up a little more.

Then, adjust the aperture. Unless aperture is really important to the story, I tend to adjust that last.

Are you just as in love with action shots in food photography as I am? Do you struggle with catching the right moment and have problems with perfect timing. You're in the right place!

3. Focus manually

I never use auto-focus for action shots. It’s just too unpredictable and I would end up with too many unusable photos.

My tip for setting the focus point is to either focus on the spot where the moving food will hit the non-moving food or if it’s possible, place an object about as tall as the pour/sprinkle will be and focus on that object. Lock the focus and remove that object and take a photo.

4. Adjust your food to movement

Sometimes some foods are too small to see or too dense to flow smoothly. When I’m shooting a recipe, I don’t want to stray too far away from what real food will look like. Sometimes I need to adjust it, anyway. Like adding some water to a sauce, so it has a smoother spill, or using coarse sugar instead of icing sugar to make the grains more visible.

Are you just as in love with action shots in food photography as I am? Do you struggle with catching the right moment and have problems with perfect timing. You're in the right place!

5. Remote control vs. Timer

There are a few options here:

  1. Remote control: I don’t often use it for action shots. I suggest using it only when you don’t need to be as precise about the spot where the moving food hits the surface. Otherwise, there’s too much to think about and it gets very messy.
  2. Self-timer: This is the setting in the camera, where the camera will take one photo after a few seconds after you push the shutter button.
  3. Continuous mode: I use this one the most. This setting takes multiple photos in a burst but with a delay, so you have time to prep for the action shot.
  4. Interval timing: Not all cameras have this, but it’s quite useful to take photos of a process that takes a long time. Like, if you wanted to take multiple photos of kneading bread. You can set the interval timer to shoot one photo in intervals that you set. It can be a second, or it can be minutes or even hours.

6. The right angle

Think about which angle will show the action best. You want an angle that really reflects the beautiful action. Also, think about the background. Is the background contrasting enough so the action will be visible and if there are any distractions in the background?

Are you just as in love with action shots in food photography as I am? Do you struggle with catching the right moment and have problems with perfect timing. You're in the right place!

7. It doesn’t have to include movement

When thinking about action shots, we usually imagine something moving in the frame, but that doesn’t need to be the case. Have you heard of implied movement? That’s when nothing is really moving in the frame but there’s something that tells us, that it’s not a still image and there’s some action going on. Like in the photo below, where I’m cutting oranges. Nothing’s really moving but the knife and the orange wedges let us know that there’s movement in real life.

<div class='avia-builder-widget-area clearfix avia-builder-el-0 el_before_av_sidebar avia-builder-el-first '><div id="text-28" class="widget clearfix widget_text"> <div class="textwidget"><p><script async data-uid="3baab3d6ab" src='data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22%20viewBox=%220%200%201000%201500%22%3E%3C/svg%3E' data-src="https://use-your-noodles.ck.page/3baab3d6ab/index.js"></script></p> </div> </div></div>

The takeaway…

Action shots are fun. And messy. And the most beautiful pieces of art! They take practice and sometimes they take some ingenuity. But anyone can create beautiful action shots! If you happen to create some action shots I’d love to see them! Tag #useyournoodles and @useyournoodles!

5 Tricks To Master Dark And Moody Food Photography

These five easy tips and tricks will help you get better at dark and moody food photography and create jaw–dropping still life moody shots.

These five easy tips and tricks will help you get better at dark and moody food photography and create jaw-dropping still life moody shots.

Hello to my first photography related post! I’ve been planing on writing about photography for a while and it’s finally time. If you know my blog then you already know I’m all about moody and dark. Will make some brighter tutorials in the future as well but for now let’s stick to what I love most!

I’m really excited to share my thoughts on how to achieve dark and moody in your food photos with just these 5 little tricks. Now, they are not the holy grail of food photography so you can make exeptions and play with what you learn here. These will guide you to learn more about how a moody and dark photo comes to life and maybe try some new things.

Let me first start with what I think is the most important in any type of photography.

1. Story

You will hear me talk about having a story non-stop. I truly believe that the photo must have a well written story in order for people to really understand the photo and engage with it. This will help you choose the props, setup the light, style your dish and also help you with your editing process.

Before even starting to cook what you wanna shoot you need to build a story around the star dish. Think about what atmosphere do you want, what time of day you want to set it in? What season it is? Where is it happening? Who’ll be eating it? Are they alone or are there more people? Is this a date or is it a lunch at your grandmother’s place?

Thinking about how your dish makes you feel will give you a lot of answers. Does it make you happy, does it make you nostalgic, does it make you proud? In my opinion, feelings are a huge component of a good food photo. So really dig deep, because trust me, this will improve your photography no matter the genre.

2. Tweaking the light

There are lots of ways and setups which help you achieve a moody and dark atmosphere. You can even get a moody shot in very bright even sunlit rooms, but let’s focus on the most common and easy thing you can do.

First of all, you need a very thin strip of light that lights your main subject, aka your dish. You can achieve this by blocking the part of the light that lights all other parts of your photo. You can use anything; I’ve used books, curtains, pillows… Use whatever’s handy and will hold still. I use black and white foam boards to either block the light or to use it as a negative fill. Negative fill means you place the foam board on the side of your subject that is opposite your light source and it will prevent any ambient light from hitting the subject, meaning you get nice moody shadows.

You can get foam boards pretty much everywhere. Hobby stores, office supply stores… They are cheep and light and you can get them in different sizes.

If you look at the photo below, you can see I’m using a white foam board on the left to block the part of light that’s hitting the background. If I placed anything behind the pears it would be in the shadow too. On the right side I have a negative fill. In this case it was a white foam board and a black paper clipped to it. See how you can create gear out of nothing 🙂

These five easy tips and tricks will help you get better at dark and moody food photography and create jaw dropping still life moody shots.

3. Use a tripod

Tripod is key to creating crisp photos in low light conditions. If your setup is very dark and your camera doesn’t handle high ISO very good, then it’s time to get a tripod. I’m gonna assume you shoot in manual mode (if you don’t I’ll be posting how to work manual mode very soon. Make sure you subscribe so you dons miss it).

Now, when you are shooting in low light conditions you are going to have to up that ISO and shoot at a lower f-stop if you want your shutter speed fast enough to prevent blurry images. One thing I hate in food photography is super grainy photos. If you are shooting at high ISO you will get more noise both in detail and in color. What an acceptable ISO number is will vary from camera to camera, but for mine, it’s 800 and above. Tripod solves the noise problem because you can set your ISO at a lower settings (ideally 100-200) and you can get away with very slow shutter speeds especially if you pair it with a remote control.

4. Dark(er) props

Dark props with everything I’ve listed above make the food really shine in dark and moody food photography. Dark props will make your dish stand out and complement it at the same time. You don’t want the props to draw your eye away from the main subject.

Therefore, search for dark backdrops like dark stained wood, old stained baking sheets or you can make your own. There are tons of tutorials on how to make them.

Texture adds so much depth to photos, especially if you want a moody shot. By texture, I mean props that have cuts and bruises, stains, bumps, scrathes… When buying props keep an eye on anything vintage, stained, old. You can check flea markets, thrift stores or in your grandma’s attic. Props that are matte and not very reflective will work the best because reflections in an overall dark shot are hard to manage.

One of the props that I like most for adding texture is fabric. Anythin from tablecloths, to napkins or apron. Linen is my go-to fabric!

I find it hard to get dark vintage ceramics, though. I suggest finding someone who makes their own pottery and find something fitting there. It’s always nice to support local craftsmen, right?

These five easy tips and tricks will help you get better at dark and moody food photography and create jaw dropping still life moody shots.

5. Post processing

The right post-processing will make your dish pop and help tell the story.

I love using local adjustments to boost exposure on everything I want to stand out. This way you don’t need to brighten the whole image but rather have control over what parts need some exposure boost. I love using Lightroom’s color sliders to individually set the luminance, saturation, and hue of any color. I use luminance sliders to help to brighten up only parts of the photo based on what color I choose. You can play with saturation and desaturate anything that’s distracting. And use hue sliders to color correct parts of your setting that aren’t true to life. Be careful, though! These must be minor adjustments otherwise you may end up with a dish that does not look like food at all!

A vignette is always welcome in dark and moody food photography. Be careful here as well. Always keep in mind that a vignette should enhance the shadows without looking like a filter.

Conclusion

When I first started with food photography I shoot light and airy although I always wanted to create the beautiful dark and moody atmosphere in my photos and failes every single time. This tricks helped me to create the dreamy dark and moody food photography that I always wished I could do.

I’d love to hear more about your struggles in dark and moody food photography. Let me know in the comments bellow. What do you need help with?