I Sucks In Food Photography
It was pitch dark when I opened up my eyes. I took my handphone and it was showing 5:15AM. What the heck?! Now, I have to stay awake for another 3 hours and 45 minutes so that I will not miss my first class of the trimester. Then, I have to stay awake for 2 hours to pay attention to the lecturer. What time did I sleep? 2.17AM. Sucks!
I sent in 2 articles to The Star for contribution lately. No need to guess, I wrote about food again. I edited my 2 previous posts – “Seremban’s Beef Noodles, Sugarcane Juice And ‘Rojak’” and “Breakfast In Bidor” and sent them to The Star Metro editor – Ju Eng. 3 hours later, I received an email from Ju Eng and her reply was :
I cannot use your photo because they are not of the right quality plus you may want to include someone eating there in your photo. It is really not easy to take food pictures. If you can, try some other pictures again. Otherwise I cannot use story too.
Probably she meant that my stories are good enough to be published in the newspaper but the pictures are not suitable. Therefore, it might not pass the editorial board unless I retake the pictures. The problem is, those pictures were taken during my holiday trip to Cameron Highlands and K.L. trip #1 months ago.
When I attended the Brats journalism workshop in year 2000, they did not teach us on how to take pictures for newspaper. Therefore, 25% is their fault. -blek- Anyway, I emailed 2 professional photographers - Jase Lee and Kevin Han to ask some opinions on taking food pictures. The feedback I got was bad.
Jase Lee said :
1. Facial expression
This is quite hard to harness as this require tremendous creative skill to actually capture the moment the person is enjoying his food. For example, if taking a picture of a model eating “ramen”, you need to capture their facial emotion. That is why mostly food photography do not use such technique.2. Macro on food
Okay, this is the most easiest. Make sure your food are presented properly and then use a very low aperture (F1.8 or F2.0 works fine here.). This way, the food will take a lot of light and preserve its texture. I am not sure about point and shoot cameras (because I have no experience in them) but usually a fix 50mm F1.8 can do the job just fine.Think you can do so on your point and shoot camera. If there are some saturation adjustment, put them to bring out the color in the food. If you do not have the saturation adjustment, try different function such as landscape as they tend to saturate higher than standard potrait or auto mode. Alternatively, you might want to use the zoom function of your camera, step back and zoom to the fullest to take the close shot of the food. Make sure the foold fills in the whole frame and do not be afraid that it got cut out. The main thing to look for is just the food & decoration, not the ware or utensils.
Kevin Han said :
Try photographing food from a lower angle. Food shot directly from the top is usually makes for an awkward angle. Shoot food when just served, and definately not while you are halfway through eating it! Hehe. Stuff like gravy smears on the bowl / plate should be avoided as to make the dish look as neat as possible. Placing the dish in such a way so that its backlit is another thing you could try. Also, instead of shooting the whole plate, try variations of closeups on points of interest in the dish.
Your photos seem to lack contrast. Meaning, they look kinda “foggy”. Maybe your camera lens has been smudged or you have some fungus inside your lens. That’s something to check out.
-sweat-
Come to think of it, my 2.0 Megapixel Sony Cybershot U20 is starting to show signs of “old age”. Not only it lacks of the most basic functions that all digital camera has (My camera does not have zoom in function, macro shot mode, control over shutter speed… Heck, even handphones are better than my camera!), it even has fungus inside the lens. WTF?! (Although not comfirm yet.) Therefore, it contributes another 25% of the mistake. The remaining 50% must be my lousy shooting skill and no creativity in photography. My photos maybe just nice for my own blog, but definitely not good enough for publications. Damn! I need to work on it and consult the photographers out there.
I need to get a new camera, or at least, a better one. Hopefully, my father has the urge to buy a new camera and pass me that Canon Ixus. -pray- For the meantime, Egghead, can I borrow your camera? -puppy eyes-
The rejected photos :
P/S : Happy birthday to Earl Ku and Mr. Kiasi / Alphonso.
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November 14th, 2005 12:30
hmmm… I wonder what do they think of my son’s photos leh??
mine is 5M pixels wor :P
November 14th, 2005 12:32
pinjam camera??? you must be dreaming ler… the installment of the camera also not fully paid yet :PbPbPbP
November 14th, 2005 13:45
Dude…Nice pics but the lighing a bit off. One thing can do is bring along those LED tourch ligtht, they give good white background light, which helps the picture to be clearer. also need a tripod and use macro mode
November 14th, 2005 13:59
I write for the papers too (part-time) but I cover mainly students’ activities. Thank God most of the pictures I take could be used :)
November 14th, 2005 14:14
The star is rite, your photos didn’t do justice to the food you’re writing about, when people read the papers, it’s usually the pics that attract them to read the article in the first place, some more it’s about food. So, yea, you really do need a new cam. Make it one with zoom, my personal fave. Panasonic FZ 3 and above range.
November 14th, 2005 14:41
Whoa… if I knew you were gonna post my entire email reply, I would have wrote it a little better. Haha.
November 14th, 2005 15:06
go and pick up some tips from TV Smith lah. Example:http://www.mycen.com.my/picturestory/articles/pixfix_0002_pcs.html
November 14th, 2005 17:15
50mm F1.8 fixed lens on digital slr costs a few hundred. these cameras cost more than 3k+ excluding lens. Need atleast 6M n 300dpi for quality printing. you can ask kimhooi to take pics for ya hahaha..
November 14th, 2005 18:30
wah, everyone talk like professional photographers.
Rejected but still looks yummy to me!
November 14th, 2005 19:01
so when is your next makan trip? me tag along k?
November 14th, 2005 21:35
Egghead : Your photos are great, really. But don’t know will pass the editorial board or not lah~! :P How come pay by installment? Citibank 12 months installment plan har? My dad bought using cash. :P
Nick Tay : Thanks for the opinion. My camera doesn’t have macro mode, so it makes my life very difficult sometimes. I do have a LED torchlight though, perhaps I should do some practice with it.
Pelf : Oh good for you. I prefer to write stories on food instead of coverage on activities.
Leona : Haha! You are rubbing salt into my wound. :P Kidding. Thanks for the opinion. Yeah, couldn’t agree more. Pictures are very important. However, I have tried to take as professional as I could, like doing macro shot for foods like what I usually saw in recipe books. Hmm… I will leave that to my dad, once he buys a new camera, I will have his 4.0MP Canon Ixus.
Kevin Han : Too late. LOL. But then, if you write too professional, we n00bs won’t understand also. Haha!
Percolator : I will check it out. Thanks! ;)
Harry : You think I have the money to buy a digital SLR meh? Besides, I have not much interest in photography also, unlike Kim Hooi. If only Kim Hooi will follow me around whenever I go out for food scouting.
King’s wife : Haha! Yaloh, I have problem understanding what they wrote. Thank you!
Mossie `Ol Chin : Haha. My makan trip? Can can.
November 14th, 2005 21:47
You should have taken photos of yourself - face length - gulping down those delicious food :P I bet any editor, including Ju Eng, or reader will be 100% convinced despite having to read further nor care about the quality of photos :P (WaHaHaHA!)
November 14th, 2005 22:52
*小小声* 问我嘛，为什么不问我？呃…不是借相机嗬。
November 15th, 2005 06:42
Oh no… tau tau I spice up my email a bit more. Next time must be careful when write to you… hehehe…
November 15th, 2005 09:39
not sure why i always have problem viewing the photos in your blog. it seem like never show up at all. till now the food and the botak photos…still have not appear…
now the new range easily 7mp already…..waliao so many condition one ah…i also simply taruk most of the time…not sure if my photo at hakke dish qualified to be publish or not….
November 15th, 2005 09:54
Not-So-Little Little Girl : I am afraid I can’t do that because by the time the person press the button, the shutter opens and closes, I might have finish my food. -LOL- However, there are lots of people who says no matter what I eat, the food will instantly become delicious. :P
Maria : 问你? Errr… Errr… 怎样可能把 baby 拍到最好看? :P 哈哈!
Jase Lee : You said the same thing like Kevin Han and my reply is the same also : Too late!
Lee C.S. : You use photobucket also right? Shouldn’t be a problem what. Hmm, try to check the settings of your IE/FF or maybe check your PC also. The “Tab” key is working ler. Yes I know. Already got 8MP, but still have to wait for my dad to buy new camera mah~! Our photos are good enough for our blogs, but not for newspaper only. :P
November 15th, 2005 09:56
Like that still not good enough ah? Aiyo..
Looks like you’ll have to re-order, re-eat, re-take (photos) of those yummy and delicious food already.
Wow, that’s a treat isn’t it?
November 15th, 2005 20:12
should be “I Suck” ……………..
the pictures are average or below average. most of them are either overexposed or underexposed. oh my …………..2.0 mp, no zoom? no macro? wtf?
November 15th, 2005 20:26
I may have sound mean with my words; as my Christian name goes ‘EviL-yn’ (WaHahAHa!), I am certainly a cattiva (in Italian) >:)
To be honest for once, having read your 1+ yr blog:
- For a 21+ yr old guy , you definitely expressed your thoughts & feelings very naturally - through writing; I salute you ;) But that don’t give you an excuse to pull out from improving your verbal communication :P
- If you may have any doubt in future - instead of being an engieer like any other typical guy - about what you can do best, I think you can seriously consider venturing into Journalism - you’ve got the elements to it!
Keep up the GooD WorK chap! GaMpAdE :D
p/s: Please CONTROL your eating habit for the sake of your own health :P
November 15th, 2005 23:36
ask u put the adsense on it la… then ma can eran some pocket to buy Whatever camera you like lo… no need to Ngai that ‘belum fully paid installment’ uncle la
but ingat under me hoh…
well i think u wont listen punya la, so wait for ur dad la :
November 16th, 2005 00:17
Zara’s Mama : Haha! I don’t mind, but those food are in Bidor and Seremban woah~! Taken during my trip. Unless me and my friends go for a trip, else…
Hisyam : Thanks for the comment. I will improve on it. Yap, that was 3-4 years ago punya digital camera.
Little Girl : I consider that as a fan’s mail. LOL. -thick skin- Your comment have been replied personally in email. :D
Loc Kee : I don’t like the idea of putting advertisement in my blog ler. :) Ya, wait for my dad. :P
November 16th, 2005 01:14
sorry to say… the food photo you took, doesn’t look apetizing at all. :P
November 16th, 2005 02:12
Kancil Killer : You are mean…
November 16th, 2005 11:46
hey forgot to say, read more newspaper, observe how the pics was being taken… be a reference from there and gain experience…
wish you could get through next time :>
November 16th, 2005 14:10
hehe, sorry to be frank/mean, actually it is right that your food photos not good lah. every time i look at your food blogs, i don’t really feel hungry from looking at the photos (which should be the case in magazines/newspapers). i only got attracted after reading the text. so, yes it is worth work on this. :)
November 16th, 2005 16:30
Heheh! Sorry to say, but seriously!
To make a food looks apetizing and tempting on photograph, requires skills. There are people specialised in this and they are called “Food stylists”. I’ve downloaded a pdf about food photography last week, somewhere inside my notebook. Do tell me if you are interested, I’ll upload it.
November 17th, 2005 00:06
Loc Kee : They usually do macro shot loh, which my camera doesn’t have the function. Anyway, I will work on it. Thanks!
Auntie Suzette : Ouch! Sakit! :P I will work on it. Give me some time and at least, a new camera first.
Kancil Killer : It’s okay! I admit they sucks also. Ya, I want it. :D