Snapping good images of hot and cold items is really a question of timing. Even if you use techniques that are meant to enhance what you already have, you must be ready. As a stylist, you need to make sure that you have all your tools and props ready to go when the food is set on the table. As the photographer, be sure you have all your camera modes and settings adjusted. Because once that hot cup of coffee is in front of your camera … tick tock. The clock seems to move much quicker.
Helpful Tools
Before you say gross when I suggest using things like tweezers and cotton swabs to style your food, consider that using such tools is just a matter of upgrading from your fingers. Being prepared with the proper equipment to fix things quickly will help you keep the food you’re photographing looking as fresh as possible.
If you’re a blogger with a hungry family waiting on you to style and shoot so they can eat, having the right tools at your fingertips will make you even more efficient. If you’re a budding stylist, it’s absolutely necessary for you to get acclimated to using tools other than your fingers. Some foods might be slimy or greasy … or things might be hard to reach and move, especially pieces of vegetables in pasta or soup.
I keep all of these tools close to me when I work. As the cook, photographer, food and prop stylist, and image post processor, being ready for any situation is imperative. Since I haven’t figured out how to squeeze that 25th hour in a day, I still need to make the best use of my regular time and space. Of course, using these tools took a little getting used to, but now I can’t do without! So let’s go through my basic tool kit (pictured left).
Some of my favorite styling tools include tweezers, cotton swabs, paint brushes and chopsticks.
f/8, ISO 400, 24-70mm L
Tweezers
I usually carry both a short and long pair of tweezers for versatility, but I find myself using the little one more often—probably because it fits better in my hands. They came from a regular pharmacy store, and these tweezers are used only with food.
If you think about it, fingers can easily move from the food to the tripod, lenses, filters and reflectors … and then onto your computer if you shoot tethered. They can make this round several times during a shoot; and frankly, I don’t feel like wiping down my fingers every time I must move something on the plate, especially if the dish is greasy or has a sauce. So my tweezers function as my fingers when I’m styling. It’s more hygienic and a lot more precise.
Cotton Swabs
Cotton swabs are to a food stylist what a napkin is to a chef or waiter: a perfect tool for wiping a plate clean of any unattractive spills or splashes. Yes, that too is part of food styling. There’s always one minute available to look at your setup and wipe things clean.
Paper Towels
Always keep a roll of paper towels around. Here’s why:
• If you forget your tweezers, you can always wipe your hands clean with a damp paper towel after you’ve been messing with the food.
• If you forget cotton swabs, you can still clean off the plate.
• If you have to plate a dish on a pretty linen or a nice tabletop, you can cover that surface with paper towels to help avoid stains made by spills.
Paint Brushes
As mentioned, a nifty trick to enhance certain foods is to dab a little vegetable oil or water on the surface. A fast, precise way to do this is with paint brushes. In my tool box are various sizes ranging from very thin to three-inches wide. I prefer brushes with plastic handles, because paint from the wooden ones has been known to chip … and I don’t want that additive in my shots or my food.
Water Spritzers
I’m rarely more than a few centimeters away from my water spritzer. That’s because there is just nothing like water to bring life back to a dish, especially if you’ve been having issues with the camera and light setups, composition or other photo techniques. As it happens, by the time you’re finally happy with what you see in the viewfinder, you realize that things on the plate haven’t been as patient as you’d have liked. When food begins looking a little drab, dry and lifeless, a spritz of water can do wonders.
This is also very handy for giving fresh fruits and vegetables a natural dewy look.
These plums were styled with a few spritzes of water to suggest they were freshly picked or just washed and set out to dry.
f/5.6, ISO 640, 100mm, Macro L
Squeeze Bottles
When time comes to plate sauces or add sauce to the top of a dessert, nothing gives you as much control as squeeze bottles. They make it possible for you to control the speed, direction and amount of a pour much better than a spoon. Plus, squeeze bottles can prevent spills and drops that are a hassle to clean.
A squeeze bottle with a large opening in the nozzle made it fast and easy to pour the sauce on top of the profiteroles.
f/4.5, ISO 400, 100mm, Macro L
Drinking Straws
These are very helpful for softening the edges of ice cream and giving scoops a ruffled edge that makes them look as if they’ve just been scooped by the hands of a pro in a ice cream shop. They can also serve as great props for beverage shots.
Food styling centers on coherent and focused decisions. There is nothing complicated about it, but good styling requires close attention. Having the ability to think quickly … and adapt in a snap helps, too. The most beautiful shots of food are realistic, accessible and balanced. Make it happen.
Chapter Eight: After Capture
Yay! All of your pictures are now in the box, so to speak! What’s next?
Ask five photographers what they do after shooting and chances are you’ll hear five different ways to approach downloading, editing, storing and sharing files. With different priorities, equipment, preferences and skills, photographers do not operate in a universal way.
Yet a functional level of organization for handling image files is crucial for every photographer—casual to pro. Without a good system in place, files and data are easily lost, and depending on how many photo files you have on your computer, it can require lots of precious time to find a specific picture—time you could spend photographing some good food!
This chapter covers the basics of transferring files from your camera to your computer, editing and organizing those files, and considerations for sharing your images. But it only scratches the surface of all the tools available for you take care of your pictures after capture. Since each tool and software program comes with its own way of operating and a set of pros and cons, it’s smart to become familiar with a range of options by doing a thorough research online, reading reviews and asking other photographers you trust.
Transfer
There are numerous ways to transfer your pictures. The two most popular methods:
• Use a USB cable to attach your camera and computer.
• Use a memory card reader.
Cables
No matter what type of camera cards you use—Secure Digital (SD), Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC) or Compact Flash (CF)—you can transfer files from your camera to your computer with a USB cable. Almost all new cameras come with a dedicated USB cable. If you’re missing one, this accessory is inexpensive and available at electronic and office supply stores (e.g., Best Buy, Fry’s, Office Max, etc).
TIP
Given the sheer number of camera brands and models as well as types of computers, it’s important for you to refer to the manuals of your equipment for specific information on how to download files properly with a USB cable.
To use a USB cord to transfer your images from your camera to your computer, it’s usually as easy as plugging one end into your camera and the other into your computer. Then turn on your camera. From there, the software installed on your computer will likely provide a pop-up screen and guide you through the process to transfer files.
If by chance, nothing happens when you connect your camera to the computer, don’t panic. Through the software, you can set up the program to open automatically when connected
. Or, since your computer reads your camera as if it is another drive, you can access your image files by going to your computer panel and finding your camera. Click to open and begin the transfer process.
Card Readers
You don’t always need your camera to transfer files to your computer. You can do it by inserting the memory card into a card reader, leaving your camera out of it. Your computer will recognize the card reader as another removable device. In some cases, this will prompt a pop-up window to let you pick the photo-editing program you want to use.
Card readers cost anywhere from $20 to $100+ depending on the brand and model you choose. Readers that are compatible with multiple kinds of cards will cost more than those designed for a single kind of card. A more flexible reader may be useful if several users in your household will use the reader with different cards.
Why consider a card reader instead of relying on a USB cord? Well, let’s say you forget that your camera is still hooked up to your computer, and you enthusiastically grab it to go shoot. Uh oh, you just pulled your USB cord from your computer, which is never good for sockets. This is even worse if your computer is a laptop. It could end up on the ground before you realize it. And if you grab your laptop with the USB still in the camera, then you’ve got a case of flying camera. Unfortunately, I’ve done both. And even if you are way too observant to ever make this mistake, kids and pets running across cables can have the same effect, and it’s a stomach-wrenching feeling.
With a card reader, if you forget to unplug the device from your laptop, all you risk is a dangling card reader that will stay there until the next time you use it. Definitely the less traumatic scenario.
File Size
The size of image files you receive from your camera depends wholly on the model of your camera. The files on my Canon Rebel XTi, for example, are smaller than those on my Canon 5D Mark II. So, if you choose to switch cameras, make sure that your computer and software can handle the upgrade. And if you shoot in RAW format (covered in Chapter 1: Photography Basics), be prepared for huge files no matter what kind of camera you use. Bigger files mean more image data is available and therefore higher quality. But you need to have the space to accommodate them.
Edit
Now that you have downloaded your files, it’s time to play! Editing is an important part of what happens after capture. I hope that I convinced you, in Chapter 1 to shoot RAW images. So remember that these must go through a little bit of editing before they become viewable pictures on a screen.
Think of a RAW file itself as an editing tool. If you try to upload one to your blog or your work portfolio, chances are it’ll be rejected. It’s not you; it’s the file. Much like a negative going through various chemical bathes, your RAW files needs to be edited and converted into viewable files, such as a JPEG format.
Thanks to the world we live in, there are as many editing software options as there are ways to bake a cake. So take some time to look around, do some research online and read reviews to decide which editing program matches your needs.
Photo-Editing Software
Many manufacturers of digital cameras offer free photo-editing programs that are specific to their products. Read your manual and find the program that’s offered for your type of computer (Mac or PC).
Privacy, please!
Some free software programs offer online sharing gallery applications. These may be fine if you want to share your sister’s baby pictures with your friends and family. But they should not be used if you want to prevent your image from being posted somewhere else.
Thankfully, online editing programs will not automatically share a photo that you edit and save. But if you care about protecting your images, share them via email or create a private album … and always upload low resolution.
Free online editing programs are also available for download if you aren’t satisfied with the one that comes with your camera. Not all of them will let you transfer and edit RAW files, so read the specifics and make sure that the program you use is appropriate for your goals and your camera.
Some of the most popular free online editing programs include:
• GIMP (www.gimp.org)
• Paint.NET (Microsoft specific)
• PhotoFiltre (www.en.softonic.com)
• Photoscape (www.photoscape.com)
• Photoshop Express (www.photoshop.com)
An online search will reveal many more options. Just be sure to read the site’s specifications, terms of use and online reviews to see if one you like will be a good fit for your editing needs.
GIMP Editing Software
Not all free editing programs, whether they come with your camera or are available for download, are good and not all of them are bad. Some, like GIMP, have good reviews and are easy to navigate. But some are quite limited as far as options and results go, especially because not all have the capacity to handle RAW files.
So if you take pictures on an daily basis and edit large files, it’s probably well worth an investment in a pro-grade editing program. The following list of popular options is by no means exclusive, but for professional results and a higher level of control over your editing work than the free programs offer, check into these:
Adobe Photoshop, including Photoshop Elements, Lightroom, Creative Suite: www.adobe.com
Photo Mechanic: www.camerabits.com
Downloader Pro: www.breezesys.com
Apple’s Aperture: www.apple.com/aperture/
The choice you make for which photo-editing software to use is as personal as your brand of toothpaste. The program that’s best for you is the one that meets your needs and accomplishes the tasks you desire. Take advantage of free trial versions to explore the capabilities and limitations of various programs.
Adobe Lightroom Editing Software
Apple Aperture Editing Software
Corrections and Adjustments
Depending on the image-editing program you choose, you’ll have various kinds of tools for correcting and/ or enhancing your pictures, especially if you shoot RAW files. As explained in Chapter 1, RAW files are the digital equivalent to negatives before chemical baths in the days of film. They require a little bit more editing than a JPEG.
I always encourage new photographers to train themselves to shoot as if they were shooting film and not rely on their editing software to fix things digitally. It’s time spent at a computer that could be spent practicing photography instead. But nothing is 100% perfect; there will be times when you need a little post-processing help.
You can, if you need to, use editing software to correct and remove spills from a scene, erase finger prints and clean up crumbs. Most offer ways to correct these problems, but some programs produce better results than others. While each company has proprietary ways to name and place those functions in their programs, look for words such as cloning, erasing and healing.
Enhancements can make your image a bit better than the version you shot. Again, it would be too easy if each manufacturer used the same words to describe applications, so I can only give you keywords to research your options. I recommend looking on amazon.com or at your local library for more thorough guides on how to use the various photo-editing programs.
Some of the most common enhancements relate to exposure, contrast, tones, saturation and white balance.
Exposure: Balance your lights and darks if your out-of-camera photo is under- or over-exposed.
Contrast: Enhance or minimize the gap between highlights and shadows in your image. This is especially helpful if you work from RAW files, as they tend to be less contrast-y than JPEGs out of the camera.
Tones: Control the degree of shadows and highlights to balance the look of your photo.
Saturation: Adjust the intensity of the colors in your photo by lowering or increasing saturation.
White Balance: Adjust the white balance of a photo if needed. This is particularly helpful if you forget to reset the white balance on your camera when your lighting situati
on changes.
Digital Noise Reduction: Reduce the digital look of grain in an image shot with a high ISO. Not all programs offer this, but it’s a great tool when you need to minimize digital noise in your pictures.
Pretend It’s Film
Despite the wonderful—and seemingly magical—power of post-processing editing tools, I strongly recommend capturing images as if you are shooting film without access to these tools. It’s really no fun to spend hours post processing a shot when you could be taking ten new ones for another project. Save time by putting extra care when first capturing a scene.
Color Space
An important factor for post-processing is color space, which is the range of colors available for an image. The AdobeRGB (1998) color space produces a wider range of colors than the sRGB color space, which is used for most web applications and has less nuances of colors available. Most people know how to handle sRGB, but to ensure your picture is presented in the best way possible, it’s a good idea to see if your end user(s) can work with large resolution Adobe RGB files.
HP and Microsoft cooperatively created sRGB in 1996 as a standard color space for use on monitors, printers and the Internet.. Print labs typically use sRGB as their default color space, but since AdobeRGB (1998) has a larger color range than sRGB, you want to process your images in AdobeRGB as much as possible. When you are completely done and settled on a finished image, you can convert to sRGB for printing. Oh, by the way, RGB stands for red, green and blue.
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