For the past 2.5 years, I have honed my skills in portrait photography, mastering the art of posing different body types and capturing people of various ages across multiple genres. While there’s always room for growth, I now feel confident enough in my abilities to expand my offerings into new areas.
One genre that has unexpectedly captivated me is food photography. The visual appeal of professionally photographed food in menu images, advertisements, and television commercials has always intrigued me, but I never considered the artistic nature behind it. After receiving several inquiries about my availability for food photography, I decided to dive into this new creative genre and discover my personal style.
Today, I finally had the opportunity to practice. I set up my home studio with a budget-friendly constant light from Amazon and a table by the window for natural light. To elevate the aesthetic, I made a quick trip to Marshall’s for some props and grabbed a few apples from the pantry as my first test subjects. I wasn’t able to find some of the items I needed for my assignment today so I pivoted and tried with apples.
During the session, I experimented with various setups, tried different bowls, adjusted the lighting, and shot from a range of angles and perspectives. I focused on using backlighting to enhance the apples’ dimensionality and create deep shadows for added depth and drama. The backlighting was bit harsh and probably needed another layer of diffusion. I had to put my thin white curtains up to diffuse the light from the window and hide the panes. I could not find my glycerin and really wanted to try spraying it on the apples for a little bit of creative effect.
To improve my portfolio and practice food photography, I’ve begun creating more self-assignments. Now is an ideal time to explore this genre since it’s spring?a season of renewal and fresh, vibrant ingredients. With our garden going in soon this year, I’m excited to create delicious whole-food meals and capture their beauty through my lens. The styling portion of learning this genre will be the most challenging part for me. There are so many different ways to style and I still have several other ideas just for apples alone. That’s the exciting thing though. Next time though, I think I’ll bake an apple pie and have a treat at the end of the session.
So what do you think of my first assignment? What do you think can be improved on? Any suggestions on my next assignments?
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