[Smartphone OK] Explaining how to take delicious food photos

Hello.
I'm Goto from the Web Services Division, and I'm on hard diet mode because I've been running out of money and eating only rice and bread as a result of splurging recently

I want to have the lowest health checkup numbers in my history, so I'm going to get serious about it starting tomorrow.

By the way, rice and bread are really cost but think that bread and rice can give you such a delicious experience and even save

Well, this time, for the first time in a while, I would like to post a blog that provides tips for photography

I talked about bread and rice at the beginning, and this time I'll food photography and explain some tips.

*The above was taken with a single-lens reflex camera.

When I ordered a fancy menu at a cafe what was this at a restaurant? horse! ! Food photography skills are useful in a wide range of everyday situations, such as when you come across a delicious meal, or when you want to share on SNS that you can cook for yourself

The first job I started after entering the workforce was as a photographer so I've been working with photography for quite some time, so I'm a little bit good at photography.

However, even though I am good at it, it does not mean that I am doing difficult things that are less reproducible

Rather , I believe that I am able to take beautiful photos because I have mastered photography tips that everyone knows and can put into practice right away

, I would like to introduce three tips for food photography that will help you become better just by knowing them, based on the skills I have gained through my experience.

can be applied to any device that can take photos , whether it's a high-end camera a smartphone

Why the food photography tips introduced this time can be applied on smartphones

*The above photo was taken with iPhone8 Plus

After all, you can't take good photos without a good camera, right? I think there are some people who think so.

can express exquisite color tones , atmosphere , and three-dimensionality that

However, as smartphone cameras have evolved considerably in recent years, the performance difference between them and high-end single-lens reflex cameras is becoming smaller and smaller.

In the article below, we will explain why you can take beautiful photos with a smartphone shooting know- how using a smartphone

[With examples] A photographer explains tips for taking beautiful photos with a smartphone

Author's career and achievements

First of all, thank you for reading this far.

However, at this point, some of you may be wondering, "Are this person's tips really useful?"

Therefore, in the blog below, will be posting about my career and achievements so far, based on actual photos

Please take a look if you like.

Do you have an in-house photo studio? A story about employees creating welfare benefits

Examples of photos you will be able to take by reading this article

I would also like to introduce some food photos that I actually took with my smartphone.

*Smartphone used: iPhone 8 Plus (released in September 2017)

Now, we will introduce some tips below.

3 tips for taking delicious-looking photos of food and rice

*The above was taken with a single-lens reflex camera.

Below are the three tips you need to take photos of food and rice that look delicious.

• Know the direction of light suitable for food photography
• Understand lens characteristics
• Take pictures with delicious colors

You will need knowledge and experience to take more creative photos it will be delicious! You will be able to take photos that will make many people feel that way

I will explain each one below.

Know the direction of light suitable for food photography

It is no exaggeration to say that the most important thing
in food photography the sizzle Sizzle is like the realism and presence of cooking.

In order to create that sense of sizzle, I am conscious of the way the light hits when shooting.

It doesn't just have to be bright to take a good photo.

 

*The above was taken with a single-lens reflex camera.

To take good photos, you should take them in a bright place! I think there are many people who have this awareness. I think this is generally correct, but not essential.

To be precise, is
one that skillfully controls the shadows that are brought to the subject by the light outdoors during the daytime when there is sufficient light , so it is best to take photos in a bright place! It is assumed that this recognition has become widespread.

Photograph food with backlight or semi-backlight

There is a standard direction of light that can easily bring out the realism and presence of food. That is backlighting and semi-backlighting .

can be broadly divided into front lighting, side lighting, back lighting, and semi-back lighting

It looks like this when drawn as a diagram.

To take backlit or semi-backlit photos, shoot with strong light directly or diagonally behind the subject to bring out the realistic texture and presence of the food, or in other words, the sizzle

Use windows for backlighting and semi-backlighting

*The above was taken with a single-lens reflex camera.

There is a way to easily create a retrograde/semi-backlit shooting environment without any special equipment.
In conclusion, for backlighting and semi-backlighting, take advantage of the light coming through the window.
For example, when you go to a restaurant, we recommend choosing a seat with a window facing you or to the side.
important to choose a seat as close to the window as possible

If you're at home, you can create an environment where you can easily take photos of delicious-looking dishes by setting up a table near a window.

Understand lens characteristics

*The above was taken with a single-lens reflex camera.

Next, I will explain the characteristics of the lens.
Camera lenses actually have the characteristic that the wider the angle of view, and the closer the distance between the lens and the subject, the more likely it is that objects will be distorted.
When photographing food, using a wide-angle lens will distort the food, making it look different from what it looks like with the naked eye,
making it difficult to make it look delicious.

By the way, architectural photography , there is a technique that takes advantage of this characteristic to make a room appear larger than it actually is.
In the past, I have posted photos of Beyond Office using a wide-angle lens on my blog, so I would like to know what photos taken with a wide-angle lens actually look like. If you are interested, please see the article below.

[Also explains tips for architectural photography] I took some photos because I moved my office.

Lens angle of view suitable for food photography

*The above was taken with a single-lens reflex camera.

The angle of view of a lens is expressed as 〇〇mm the lower the number, the wider the angle, and the higher the number, the telephoto.
It is said that the angle of view closest to the naked eye is 50mm the angle of view of lenses installed on smartphones is often around 28mm, which is closer to wide-angle lenses.

When professional photographers take food photos, they often use lenses of 100mm smartphone cameras are not originally suitable for taking food photos.

Therefore, when taking food photos with a smartphone, you need to be careful.

Use zoom when taking pictures of food with your smartphone

In conclusion, if you want the angle of view of the lens installed on your smartphone to be suitable for food photography, you can just zoom in
when a pseudo-zoom that crops the screen , but this makes the angle of view more telephoto, making it less likely to cause distortion.

Please note that some people are worried that
zooming will degrade the image quality It's true that the image quality will be slightly lower, but modern smartphones have good performance and can maintain the quality without worrying about the deterioration much even if you crop the image, so you can just zoom in without worrying!

Take pictures with delicious colors

Once you understand the key points of light and angle of view, the next thing to consider the color .
Color is important to express the sizzle of food.
To achieve the desired color tones in food photos, they need to be natural and vibrant.
retouch (process and edit) the photos after taking them .

However, retouching food photos is difficult, and trying too hard to express vividness often results in unnatural colors .

Therefore, if you are not good at retouching, we recommend using a photo editing app

Recommended apps for processing food photos

Source of the above image: Foodie - A camera that colors your everyday life

There is a free app that allows anyone to easily make food photos look natural and vivid.
That "Foodie" .

With Foodie, you can easily edit photos without the need for difficult settings.
It's a famous app, but if you haven't downloaded it yet, please give it a try.

It's easy to use, just choose your favorite filter and apply it.

You can either edit previously taken photos or take them as-is with Foodie.

Foodie is also used for all of the food photos taken with smartphones that I introduced at the beginning.

Please try it!

summary

These are the three important points when photographing food!

The three important elements for good food photography are:

• Create a sense of sizzle with backlighting or semi-backlighting
• Take pictures with an angle of view that does not distort
• Create vivid and natural colors

I hope this is helpful.

a practical version based on the data actually shot , so we hope you can look forward to it!

Author's Instagram

Thank you for watching until the end.