Foodography – Food Photography

by Béa

When I started my food blog about over a month ago, I had no real idea what world I was entering. My very first post covered food photography, as I had come across an article P. had sent for me to read. He always knew my strong interest in “you eat with your eyes first”, so it was guaranteed I was going to like it. This article is what started my blog adventure. Spontaneously, one evening, I said to P., “Devine quoi, je vais commencer un blog et je vais parler de cet article.” (Guess what, I am going to start a blog and talk about this article). “Toi, un blog ?” (You are going to start a blog?) I confess that until then I had not shown much interest in blogs, despite P’s many attempts to explain to me the whole concept -he has been maintaining his technology blog for 2 years but I had no idea what he was talking about. “Ah ouais? Sure!” I am a Taurus and can be stubborn. But eh, did he tell me about all this learning I was about to gain, the many great things I was about to discover? Absolument pas!

Of course, I had been maintaining beaskitchen for 2 years, mainly a repository of my recipes, but that was not the same thing at all. So on Nov. 26, I published my first post, and it covered Food Photography ; my blog adventure started there. I was enthusiastic and felt like a real chatterbox that could not stop talking. “Attends, I will talk about this, and about that, and also this” Endless…it continues, cannot shut the box.

What hooked me first

I want to eat what I see first.

I am a total amateur photographer, someone who hates to read manuals and until very recently, someone who would only push down the button without thinking before taking a shot. That was just my story before I came across the Foodography event hosted on Flickr organized by Sam at Becks & Posh and Andrew Barrow from Spittoon.

Let me tell you!

This event has been a real blessing. As shown in the event details, the whole idea is for participants to submit food pictures around a given theme, then get and give comments on the pictures, with suggestions and tips as to how to improve them. No manuals (and when I think I translate them!), no “What? what does step 1 mean? “, “I don’t get that, those people who write manuals are so clueless” (that is me on a bad day!), but interactive feedback. Since the start of the event 2 weeks ago, I feel I have already learned so much! So I would like to extend a truly huge Thank you, Merci, Gracias to Sam and Andrew for organizing the event, which I find brilliant. I can already see improvement in my pictures (if you cannot see it, I can! :-)) and definitely gained more awareness – if that is possible – as to the minutes preceding a shot. Sam, Andrew, you taught me to think! 😉 before taking a shot and not after (which is not very typical of the Taurus that I am, ie I act first and think afterwards).

In Dec. 2005, I wish I had already received all this good juicy advice learned from Foodography. Why? I submitted a picture of my beet/ricotta cake for the Does My Blog Look Good In This 2006 #1 food blog event organized by Spittoon (Andrew again!) and other participants/judges (Johanna (Passionate Cook), Nicole Weston (Slashfood), Nic Vignoni (Slashfood). A month ago, I would have thought my picture looked great, today is another story! See what you did Sam? Andrew? It was however what I thought was my best pic of Dec 2005, so be it. If it did not look good, at least it tasted great, for the beet eater that I am!

Some of my favorite photography food blogs, where I get my inspiration are :

And the list is not complete!

And now I wish Santa Claus could do a sales January round for all the little gadgets I want to get to make better food shots. Yeah, I know, I know, it does not replace the photographer, but I have nothing agaisnt les petits trucs, ou les plus grands (small or bigger gadgets) to get better and better. In any case, I enjoy it tremendously and I encourage you to join!

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14 comments

  1. Pingback: The Girl Who Ate Everything

  2. absolutely wonderful this pear!
    I also try on my blog to be a foodphotographer, sometimes it isn’t easy when the light is not good enought, but it is like a challenge and it is a pleasure to publish beautifuls photographies.

  3. what a great photo! do you use heavy duty equipment? I only own a little digital camera, so I know my photos won’t look as great as yours. Keep up the great work!!

  4. Hi Claire emma,
    Yes I agree with you. Light can be very challenging, a moment is never like the next!

    Hi Kat,

    No special equipment but I try to play with light, which can be hard. Just a regular digital camera used manually and a tripod.

  5. I’m glad you started your blog. I enjoy it very much! I’ve found many bloggers very inspiring.

    Best,
    Paz

  6. Thanks Paz for your nice note. I feel the same way, there is a lot of inspiration to be found!

  7. Speaking of light: the best expercience I had was in Norway. I could cook at 8 or 9pm the sun is still up.
    I have noticed most of my great pics set on natural light was in Oslo.

    Now i dont have much light in my kitchen I drag a table near my veranda!! Hope neighbours are not watching haha

    I want to eat what I see first.

    I believe strongly on that
    at home you can get away but when you go out and pay 20 to 30 euro for a main course aha I want art
    style
    colours

    anyway I am preparing the old post write up with the places I ate at Cap D Antibes and Biot….am cooking light food now am back at the gym 😉

  8. You are totally right! Best light is natural light! I am struggling for dinner pics myself as it is dark early at night here, in the winter, so Oslo seems the best time to be in summer!
    And you are right, it is a real art, isn’t it?? 😉

  9. Bonjour, félicitations pour ton blog, j’apprecie beaucoup tes photos. Je me suis reconnue dans ton article, j’ai moi meme été incitée a commencer un blog culinaire par mon copain parce que je cuisinais sans cesse. Il a meme pris mes premieres photos…. par contre maintenant, c’est a moi de me debrouiller et la photo, c’est franchement technique. Le bon cote des choses est que de la meme maniere que cuisiner eduque le palais, photographier eduque l’oeil. Quelle fantastique aventure!

  10. Merci Celine.

    Tu as raison, c’est toute une aventure. Ton blog est tres mignon!

  11. Hi there,
    I have only just started my own blog but I’m very glad to have stumbled across yours. I think your photos are quite beautiful and lively – and I agree the photography addiction grows quickly! I used to just take any old photos of my food but now I’m really fascinated by getting a good shot – and eyeing my friends’ expensive cameras quite jealously:)

    I’ll enjoy visiting your page and seeing what lovely pictures you’ll take!

  13. Hi,

    We would like to offer you the opportunity to feature in the next edition of Select which has editorial and features on Food & Drink, Tokyo, Cape Town and Soho, London and will be interviewing photographers, clients and creative directors in this field.

    Go to our NEW website http://www.select-magazine.com to view a Select online.

    You can email me at kim@select-magazine.com

    Tel +44(0)1935 829124

    I look forward to your reply.

    Regards

    Kim

  14. Bea, this is a very belated response but as I saw it in my stats, I was curious! How on EARTH did I make your inspiration list? I want the whole world to know right now that my best friend (after my very old Rebel XT), is Photoshop! Really, I would be so very lost without it.

    That said, another thing I would like to mention is that budding photographers should back up originals of their very best work in the event that some company wants to purchase the rights to use it. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve had to say “sorry! I lost all the files when my hard drive failed, so……OOPS!” It pains me to know that what I could have sold would’ve afforded me a better photoshop program. Ciao!