Gratitude and Great Photos

Thanksgiving is a time to cherish your family and friends, to be grateful, and to eat well. It’s also a great time to try your hand at food photography. The variety of dishes and colors should give you plenty to work with. But food photography can be intimidating starting out, especially with the prevalence of so many professional shots on Instagram.

There are some simple ways to immediately elevate your food photography. The angle you shoot at is one of the most important considerations for any good food photograph. Shooting at an awkward angle will ruin the composition of a shot, even if your lighting is perfect. To start, try shooting directly above your subject at a 90º angle or shooting at the level of your subject at a 0 º angle. The shot from directly above works with almost any dish, with the exception of something like a burger where the top bun blocks the rest of the food. The level shot is also versatile and can make you look like a professional straight away, especially if you are using a large aperture to put one part of your dish in sharp focus while blurring another.

Lighting conditions can also provide challenges to a great photo. Often the light in kitchens is an orangish-yellow, making white balance difficult and increasing the likelihood of too much grain. The easiest way to avoid this dilemma is just to shoot with natural light. If you’re in a warmer area like California, Texas, or California this Thanksgiving, try bringing a dish outside and using the sunlight, particularly if you can find somewhere where shade softens the sun. If the family is eating outside, that’s even better. And for those who have to stay inside, try to get a source of light that is as close to neutrally balanced as possible, but you might have to introduce flash. In that case, try angling it. You can bounce your flash off the ceiling or a wall to get a softer light on your subject. That way, you’ll bring out the colors of the food.

Following these tips and experimenting with what you like will give you great shots, whichever dishes your family enjoys on Thanksgiving. Whether you’re looking forward to diving into mashed potatoes and gravy or cranberry sauce, we know your camera does not feel the same way. Our wrist strap is perfect for keeping your camera secure when taking macro shots where you have to maneuver the camera to capture interesting angles. Buy it now while our Thanksgiving sale is in effect!