I’ve mentioned before that I’ve really been enjoying photography and that I have a discovered a passion for it. It feels like a door has been opened that was previously closed. Or actually, a door has been opened that I didn’t even know existed. And it’s been so fun exploring!
One of the things I have been wanting to build is my stash of cute tablecloths, linens, placemats and pretty backdrops because I think they enhance pictures so much.
I hadn’t been seeing anything too cute or original at TJ Maxx or Marshall’s, but I ventured into Flashbacks which is a retro, used clothing store.
They have an awesome array of used, vintage scarves that I thought will be perfect for tabletop and countertop photographs.
They are probably from the 1960s or 1970s and Made in Italy. And a couple of them smell just like my Grandma’s linen cabinet.
How could food or things I get in the mail not look better when photographed on pretty scarves?
I would have loved to find something great at TJ Maxx, Marshall’s, or Target for $1 each, but I’ll take 4 for $26.10
Because if I ever get sick of using them for backdrops and blog photo backgrounds, I can always wear them because they are scarves.
I also ordered a couple books about food styling.
I had hoped when I ordered this book that it was going to give me specific tips on where to place forks, knives, and cups, how to use placemats and tablecloths to add depth to shots, and where to stand and at what angles in order to get the “perfect shot” of my food. When the book came and I thumbed through it, I am realizing it’s not that kind of book.
But it has given me a glimpse into professional food styling. The food used in ads is far more doctored up than you’d ever imagine. And some of it’s not even real food. It’s plastic. That’s how they make the food look so perfect. It’s fake food!
Great lengths are taken to make food look the way it does in ads…
Buns are cut with scissors and grill marks applied with a blow torch
Acrylic ice cubes are used and fake bubbles are placed in with eyedroppers for cold beverages
Ice cream is not real. It’s a mix of frosting, food coloring, and corn syrup that’s whipped together. And then great measures are taken to create “ice cream cones”.
Applying the fake ice cream on top of the giant wooden toothpicks that will hold it in place.
Cake is held together with cardboard and the frosting “stripes” are hand-applied
So although the book isn’t exactly what I was looking for for my own personal needs, it has been highly interesting and eye-opening seeing how food is styled professionally.
Don’t get me wrong, there are tons of great tips and if you’re serious about making your food photography better, you will learn something or many things from this book that will help your photos and shots look better. And you don’t even need to use giant wooden toothpicks to hold your desserts together or fake ice cubes to make your drinks look better if that’s not your style.
All that talk of fake food and food styling is making me hungry for real food.
How about a Cheezy Vegetable Bake
One pan, planned leftovers, and you can use up whatever odds and ends veggies you have
And for dessert, try a homemade Vegan “Turtle” (No Bake, GF, easy!)
From my last post about Kitchen Disasters & Shattered Glass, I am glad that I’m not the only one who’s had some serious kitchen mishaps. I loved hearing your tales of woe. We can all laugh now, but in the moment, kitchen calamities are stressful!
And many of you seem to have a potty mouth. Guess we’d get along great!
Questions:
1. If you’re a blogger, do you care what your blog photos look like?
I am trying to hard to make my photos look better.
I invested in Lightroom 3 photo editing software
And of course, getting my DSLR camera helped too.
However, a point about nice cameras that I want to hammer home…
You can have the nicest camera in the world but if you don’t take time to figure out how to present your food beautifully, artistically, and with some creative flair, you will simply have ugly and unappetizing food, except that it will be in very high quality and high resolution. Lack of staging and making things pretty will just be documented at a higher quality.
So an expensive camera will not ensure that you have beautiful pictures. You have to do other things, too. Like read about food styling and staging.
Use a point and shoot camera and when you really think you have exhausted the limits of it, then upgrade to a DSLR. But don’t make that leap thinking all your food is going to turn out like Angela’s just because you have an expensive camera. There is far more to it! And I am not an expert, but am just sharing what I have learned and my observations.
2. As a blog reader, how important are photographs and the quality of them to you?
I think Kath said, “People come for the pictures, but stay for the writing.” So true in my opinion!
I will read blogs that don’t have fabulous pictures, but as I said in this post recently about the wonderful food and recipes I saw in the ‘sphere last week, it makes me more inclined to keep reading and keep going back to their site when the blogger has captivating photos.
That said, you don’t have to be a genius with your camera, because personality, “blog voice”, recipe quality, and other things all matter too. But nice photos definitely help the cause, too. And they don’t even have to be “amazing” but just not dark, grainy, or teeny tiny ones.
3. For everyone, do you pay attention to the quality of the photos you take, in general?
Same as with blog pics, I now care much more what all the photos I take look like. Even if I have no intention of posting something on my blog, I still want to have my pictures look as good as possible so that when I look back at the pictures, they represent how the event or moment really was and in as best quality as possible.
4. Where is your favorite place to buy pretty dishes, tablecloths, kitchen untensils, tools, picture “props”, and so forth?
Usually TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Homegoods, or Target are good bets but sometimes I find things at random dollar stores, the Pier 1 clearance rack, on sale at Anthropologie (must be on sale at that store!) or even Flashbacks like with the scarves being multi-purposed as tablecloths, i.e. picturetakingcloths.
I love nice photography and good content. Not only pretty and professional but shots with character. It is the bloggers voice that gets me to stay. I have been following your blog for a while! And this post spoke to me, drew me to write a response to it. Nice one! : ))
Great post! I have a goal to improve my picture taking skills and overall photo quality. This really gets me thinking, thank you!
Averie,
What a wonderful post! This one was especially helpful! I think the linens you have are adorable! I currently only have a Kodak 12 megapixel camera, but I definitely do my best to make it work! Being a college student on a budget means that I have to prioritize what I want to splurge on. Right now it’s buying organic and healthy foods, but I would LOVE to eventually get a really great camera! I love taking pictures! I think yours always look beautiful and super clear! :)
I have definitely been getting into more photography styling lately as well. I’ve found that staging really enhances the photos, and I actually have to think about what I’m going to do for my pictures. It’s a lot of fun playing around with different set ups and colors.
Goodness gracious, I am a scarf FREAK! I love them so much, I think I own close to 20? Totally fine:)
I definitely enjoy looking at good photography, or relatively decent photography. I try hard to take nice pictures, but ultimately I have so much to learn, I have a nice DSLR camera, but I haven’t taken enough time to figure it out. I really enjoyed reading your tips with LR3! I would like to learn how to use nice photo editing software.
I love food photography! I use to take pictures of my food before I knew this whole blogging world existed! (I admit I am quite late to all of this! If I had only known!!) Unfortunately I lack the funds for a nice camera (and mine got stolen, sad day) so until I can get one, I am forced to use my phone.. but hey, it works!! And beggars can’t be choosers! :)
One day I will have a fancy-pants camera and I can only hope to take as pretty of food pictures as you do lady!
I definitely like pretty food photos, but I do like real food. I know all the tricks, but I love good raw photography too. I don’t need everything in a pretty bowl or things that look perfect. You can throw it on a cutting board and if it’s good food, it will look good!
I try to make my photos look nice, but my camera is pretty crappy!
The scarves are so pretty! Glad you found them. And I saw a special about the things they do to get food to look perfect for ads or tv…its gross! Makes you second guess what you’re seeing for sure. And you know I love your cheezy veggie bake!
As a blogger I usually care about what my food photos look like, so I go to great lengths to make them pretty. I’m currently working on expanding my food photo backgrounds and making pictures look spectacular. I have lots of dishes, but buy more whenever I see ethibg i like. I find dishes just about everywhere, even Rite Aid! Big Lots, Kohls, macy’s, bb&b, etc.
I plan to go to the craft store for food photo props. It is fun, but not when I’m hungry and want to eat what I’m fussing over, lol.
I enjoy the pictures, but really can’t judge the quality. Have they been touched up? No clue. Like them being there though – and I can appreciate the work that goes in to it and the time it must take to get “the shot”.
I don’t buy pretty dishes (we have china from our wedding registry). I still haven’t found a good place for tablecloths and napkins. Utensils & tools I either buy at Zellers (which has now been bought out by Target) or Home Outfitters. Occasionally I’ll be in a kitchen themed store and find some useful tools & utensils in there. Oh, and Pampered Chef has some good things, although they are on the expensive side.
Nice scarves :D I’ve been thinking for the last week, week and a half-ish that I need to get some stuff for my pictures too. Since we don’t have anything in town I’m planning a trip to the next town over that’s a bit bigger. I’m thinking I’m going to hit up the fabric store. Might be cheaper than getting table clothes and I never put tablecloths on my table anyways(does anyone with little kids do that, seriously? haha) I’ll see what I can find… I don’t really have a clue other than that. Looking up in the comments I now see I’m not the first one with the fabric store idea :D
Yes I care about my photos… but there are exceptions. My daughter got a hold of my green smoothie and got it all over her face and clothes. I needed a picture of that – no matter how awful. LOL
Every time I comment I feel like I write a ton, lol. You always have such good topics to talk about :D
I do care about what my photos look like but I usually don’t have the time to make something look amazing if it’s like dinner time and I really don’t want cold food. Hah I bet if I had a microwave my problem would be solved ! Also the light in the house I rent really stinks, so that makes things frustrating.
Averie I think it was Kath who mentioned she buys scrapbook paper sheets and uses those under plates, etc — those are $1 each at the most — and that way around holidays you can have really festive pictures too!
That book about food styling looks super interesting! I love learning stuff like that. The “eye dropper bubble” trick is hilarious.
I do care what photos look like — to be honest what matters more to me are the size of photos on a blog — teeny tiny? no thanks. Super huge that take forever to load and or scroll through? Not a fan of those either unless the photograph is amazing. I think yours are a good size — not too large and not too small.
I try to take good pictures, and now that we have daylight later than 5pm I’ve been able to do that. I’d like to get better and get nicer dishes, etc (not just for the blog but to have nicer dishes, period!).
I like getting dishes and stuff at thrift stores, Target or Pier 1!
You know I care about my pics ;)
I buy almost all my dishes at consignment shops and the rest at Marshall’s, TJ Maxx, or Home Goods. As far as fabric goes, I try to find vintage when I can, but I mostly go to fabric stores and buy the “fabric squares” which are about a buck a piece :)
“fabric squares” which are about a buck a piece = GREAT Tip! Thanks, Estela!