Food Photography

Food Photography

by Corinna Gissemann
Released April 2016
Publisher(s): Rocky Nook
ISBN: 9781681981031

Read it now on the O’Reilly learning platform with a 10-day free trial.

O’Reilly members get unlimited access to books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.

Start your free trial

Book description

Anyone who has been inspired to take a picture of a great-looking meal knows that creating a successful food photograph is not easy. Though the food may look amazing, the resulting image can often end up mediocre and unappealing. Whether you want to create great food images for your blog or break into the world of commercial food photography, Food Photography is the perfect place to start your journey.

Corinna Gissemann, a professional food photographer, walks you through everything you need to know, starting with a primer on equipment and exposure, followed by a detailed explanation of the extremely important roles that light, composition, and styling play in food photography.

In these chapters, you’ll learn all about:

  • Hard vs. soft light
  • How to use reflectors and flash
  • How to frame your image so that your subject matter truly pops
  • The food styling techniques that will have your viewers getting hungry
  • And much more!

Additionally, entire chapters are devoted to editing and managing your images in Lightroom, the props you need to have in order to create great food photos, and all the tips and tricks that will save you time and help make getting “the shot” that much easier.

Publisher resources

View/Submit Errata

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Table of Contents
  6. 1 What Gear Do You Need?
    1. Which Camera?
    2. Which Lens?
    3. Using a Tripod
    4. Remote Shutter Release
    5. Artificial Sources of Light
    6. White Balance Using a Gray Card
    7. Memory Cards
    8. Hard Drives
    9. Image-Processing Software
    10. Cell Phones
  7. 2 Basics
    1. Farewell, Auto–Hello, M Mode
    2. Setting the Aperture
    3. Setting the Exposure Time
    4. ISO Sensitivity
    5. Putting It All Together
    6. RAW vs. JPEG
    7. White Balance
  8. 3 Lighting
    1. Main and Fill Light
    2. Daylight
    3. Artificial Light
    4. Flash
    5. Continuous Light
    6. Reflectors, Flags, and Other Light Shapers
    7. Hard and Soft Light
    8. Light-to-Subject Distance
    9. Angles of Incidence
    10. Light Direction
    11. Light at Different Times of Day
    12. Preventing Unwanted Reflections
  9. 4 Image Design and Composition
    1. Start Slowly
    2. Portrait or Landscape Format?
    3. Shooting Angles
    4. Framing
    5. Positioning the Star of the Show
    6. Focus
    7. Steering the Viewer’s Gaze
    8. Composing with Color
    9. Adding Texture
    10. Capturing a Mood
    11. Creating a Feeling of Depth
    12. Practicing Image Composition
  10. 5 Styling
    1. Styling Concepts
    2. Becoming a Storyteller
    3. Choosing a Theme for Your Project
    4. Props
    5. Starter Kit: 13 Must-Have Food Photo Props
    6. Sample Styling Kit
    7. Working with Dummies
    8. Styling Tips
    9. Including People in Your Images
  11. 6 Five Food Photography Projects
    1. Salads
    2. Soups
    3. Main Dishes
    4. Desserts
    5. Drinks
    6. Summary
  12. 7 Image Processing with Lightroom
    1. About Lightroom
    2. Setting Up a Workflow
    3. Importing Image Files
    4. Processing Your Images
    5. Working with Presets
    6. Getting Organized
    7. Backups
  13. 8 Tips and Tricks
    1. Simulating Condensation
    2. Combating Burned-Out Reflections
    3. Stabilizing Styrofoam Reflectors
    4. The “Full Dish” Trick
    5. Salt in Your Beer
    6. Gelatin Soup
    7. Building Blocks as Placeholders
    8. Cardboard Backgrounds
    9. Four Eyes Are Better Than Two
    10. Making Notes
  14. 9 Homemade Props
    1. Trick Milk Bottle
    2. Tongue-and-Groove Background
    3. Plywood Background
    4. Two-in-One Reflector and Flag
    5. Universal Soup Can
    6. Decorated Teacup
    7. Five-Second Mini Cake Stand
  15. 10 How to Boost Your Creativity
    1. Get Out of Your Comfort Zone
    2. Imitate Your Role Models
    3. Learning to “Read” a Photo
    4. How to Find and Use Sources of Inspiration
    5. Brainstorming
    6. Developing Your Own Visual Style
    7. Don’t Be Afraid to Experiment
  16. 11 Now It’s Your Turn
    1. Exercises
    2. Quick Test
  17. Image Sources

Product information

  • Title: Food Photography
  • Author(s): Corinna Gissemann
  • Release date: April 2016
  • Publisher(s): Rocky Nook
  • ISBN: 9781681981031