Leftover stew and stale bread

[Mlemke]

Decided to play with my lights and some leftovers this morning. Would love to know what you all think of my first attempt at some food photography. Used a gridded strip box rear left and silver reflector to the right of plates.

I think I did alright on a few and a few look a little boring. Suggestions welcome and appreciated.

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I did resize these so I hope they are not still too large.

[Brooks]

Wow these are still really large which makes it difficult to see an entire image at one time. From what I could see, the depth of field is so shallow it doesn't appear that any area is in focus.

[Mlemke]

I resized them but apparently not enough. I assure you there are areas in focus. Some were shot at 2.8 and some at 5.6. As I said, this is my first attempt at food. Other than a wider DOF and smaller images do you have any constructive comments?

[Brooks]

I thought those were both constructive comments as they would improve the photos. I'm sorry but the only area that I see in focus is the edge of the front plate and bowl at 4 o'clock near the fork. So I would suggest a much deeper DOF and a more careful focus on the stew.

I'd also like a tighter crop on the bowl of stew and more stew in the bowl as it looks less than full.The strawberries are a mess and should be positioned so the fruit is towards the viewer and their leaves should be trimmed. Or strawberries with smaller leaves should be used. Looks like there's water on the plate that could be cleaned off.

The table surface is scratched and dirty. Either a clean area of the table or a different surface such as a dark blue napkim could be substituted under the plate.

The cutting board with the bread drizzled with honey? or butter? is much too bright and takes attention from the bowl of stew. Maybe it should be in the background and flagged to a darker tone.

The entire image is one of brown. The table, the dishes, the bread the background and the stew are all brown. That makes it difficult to isolate the stew when it's it's surrounded by so many items that are the same color and density.

I think the crop could be a lot tighter showing just the bottom half of the image after removing the wine glasses. Seems like there's a lot of empty space at the top.

I do like the direction of the light and the highlights on the stew.

[Mlemke]

Thank you. That helps alot. So my lighting seems to be ok and those are some great tips on cropping and styling. Next leftovers I will make another attempt using your suggestions. Thanks Brooks. I know youre a pro at food.

[Brooks]

Margaret, it's all about those little details and the lighting of course. You're doing the right thing by positioning the main light from the rear/side of the set so it comes forward to the camera and creates texture and form. Most people photographers put the main light in the front/side as if it was a portrait.

If you aren't already, you should be shooting tethered to a computer so you can more easily see these focus issues and details. Try shooting some shots at f/11 or f/16 instead of f 4.5 or F/5.6. Food photography is usually a close-up situation where the DOF is limited and even f/16 can still look like shallow focus.

Would you like to see a crop that I think is better?

[Mlemke]

I'd love that, thanks Brooks. Really do appreciate your advice. Never would have crossed my mind to shoot at f11 or f16.

[Brooks]

OK,

Imagine there is no wine glass and the cutting board with the bread are gone. Instead a dark blue napkin is in the space left by the bread board and both bowls of stew are full so you can see the stew in the background bowl.

[Mlemke]

Thanks or the advice and example. Next time I'll throw in a pop of color. Excited to give it another go.