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Improve Your Food Photos with Tips from an Expert

2018-01-29 ShanghaiWOWeng

People like to take photos of their food these days, it’s a fact of life. One person who loves taking food photos (and is really damn good at it) is Chinese food blogger Autumn (also known as ‘Miss Special’). She was kind enough to tell us how she makes her magic, and even offer a few tips for all of us rookies.  



How long have you been taking food photos?


I have been a lifestyle journalist for six years, focusing exclusively on food for the last four. I took photos with my mobile phone at first, but it was like recording a meal without any artistic thinking. I began taking it very seriously about two years ago when I launched my own WeChat subscription 'Miss Special.'



What kind of equipment do you use (camera, lights etc)?


I use a Canon 100D and an LED bar light.



What’s the biggest mistake you see people making when they take pictures of food? 


Many people are not aware that each dish has its own soul. They take food as only something in a mass to eat on the plate, as opposed to an artwork made with many lovely living details. So their photos of food have no life.



If you had to a few tips on taking great food photographs, what would they be?


1. Don’t think that great photos are taken only by very expensive cameras. Choose a suitable camera for yourself. Your understanding of food can have just as much impact on your photos as your photography skill, but you need both.


2. Different dishes have different highlights. You need to discover the highlight very quickly once the dish comes to your table. By highlight I mean the 'soul' of the dish. You need to make some quick decisions to choose the best angle to shoot as well because many dishes can lose their life when they get cold.


3. There are more restaurants with dark and yellowish light than the ones with bright natural light. A portable light will often come in handy. Enough light will give you the best effect. Also, make sure you try to get the best effect while you take the photo, don’t fall into the trap of thinking you can make the effect good enough later on with Photoshop.



Are some foods more difficult to take pictures of than others? 


Fish in Chinese cuisine is difficult to take. It’s always very long, and the fish head doesn’t always give you a pleasant feeling while looking at it.



Do you have a favorite photo you’ve ever taken?


One of my favorites was a foie gras dressed with smashed almonds and blue berry jam [pictured above]. It looks like a cake from the surface, and the taste of foie gras will surprise you. Another important highlight is the plate looking like a black mirror. The dark tone goes well with the “cake” look. I took the photo from lateral side, showing the shadow of the dish while emphasizing the interaction between food and plate.



Autumn is a freelancer, former lifestyle journalist for China Business News, former senior editor of Travelling Scope, and currently runs the popular Wechat subscription Miss Special, focusing on lifestyle, food and travel. 


WeChat ID: missspecial2015


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