Cook, Shoot, Eat. Morning muffins.

[wlou]

Fresh from the oven, all natural. All edible except the string of course. My only trice was to prop up the muffin on a little bowl to give it the royal treatment. Your comments are always appreciated. BTW, I used my kit lens 18-55mm for this shot. I practically never use it and this morning I wanted to give it a try.

[bnnrcn]

Hi Louise I like the shot. First I said to myself ' it's a pity that he didn't have the entire bowl of red fruit in the frame' but then I changed my mind because your main subject is 'muffins' and too much red fruit could distract , because red is a strong colour.

[Shadowman]

Nicely done. I like to use the kit lens every now and then.

[wlou]

Hi Louise I like the shot. First I said to myself ' it's a pity that he didn't have the entire bowl of red fruit in the frame' but then I changed my mind because your main subject is 'muffins' and too much red fruit could distract , because red is a strong colour.

Thanks Binnur. The red fruits are dried cranberry from Quebec and the green ones, dried pumpkin seeds. I wanted to show some of the ingredients I used for the muffins.

[wlou]

Nicely done. I like to use the kit lens every now and then.

Thank you John. I think the 18-55mm gave a good image quality. Better than I expected. I have to put it through all its ranges yet.

[Mike Buckley]

Very nice, Louise! Thanks for tying the string around my muffin before sending it to me.

A couple of suggestions...

The cranberries draw my attention too much, not because of their color but because they are the only items in the scene that are sharp other than the muffins; I think a composition that positions them beyond the depth of field would be better. Lacking that, try applying a very small amount of gaussian blur that is similar to the blur of the pumpkin seeds. In other words, pretend that you used a Lens Baby to change the natural depth of field.

The reflective properties of the cranberries are also different than anything else in the scene. I wonder if using a polarizer would have minimized most of the specular highlights. Lacking that, I would try selecting those highlights and filling the selection with the color of the cranberries.

Notice that the left corner of the background is different from the rest of the background. That distracts my eye. You might want to copy the reddish part of the background into that area.

I'm not sure when I'll be able to respond again to the thread due to my schedule. If you do make some changes and I don't respond, don't think I'm ignoring you or the thread.

[wlou]

Mike they are great suggestions, I shall try them soon. Thank you for commenting.

[Mike Buckley]

Sorry, Louise, but I added another suggestion to my post perhaps after you read it. Check out the paragraph about the reflective properties of the cranberries.

[wlou]

I had notice the "specular highlights". They seem to be everywhere on food. Are they to be banished forever, a little bit allowed or none whatsoever?

Sorry, Louise, but I added another suggestion to my post perhaps after you read it. Check out the paragraph about the reflective properties of the cranberries.

[Mike Buckley]

Are they to be banished forever, a little bit allowed or none whatsoever?

That's up to you. Review the food photos that represent the very highest quality that you hope to emulate. If they include specular highlights and you think the highlights add to the photo, great. If not, that tells you that ideally you want to eliminate them.

The reason I don't like specular highlights in food is because they reveal no information about the food itself -- not the texture, not the color, and not the shape. My thinking is simple: why make a photo of something we're completely in control of (unlike photographing an animal in the wild) that doesn't reveal texture, color and shape?

One could argue that the specular highlights reveal the reflective properties of the food. I would instead argue that they reveal the properties of the photographer's lighting setup.

[Brownbear]

Hi Louise,

Just to say beautiful image, and exceptionally delicious looking. I've admired many of your food images so commenting just to compliment you, and these muffins did me in. I have no expertise to offer but I see that your in great hands with Mike advising you.

[wlou]

Thanks so much Christina. I am on a quest one could say. On top of wanting to write a cook book, I want to improve as a photograph. Food photo is so different than what I am used to, bugs and flowers.The use of flashes, and added lights indoors, making a decor, it is a steep learning curve for me.
Also, food photo is very much influenced by bloggers, adds, the internet in general. What's in and what's not may change on a day to day basis: type of food, angle of the shot, tight crop, lighting, background, props, etc...On the other hand, I do hope good quality photo is here to stay.Since I started this project, I understand better why having a studio would be nice to have. The good news is my cooking will improve along side the photo technique. At least its my plan.

Hi Louise,

Just to say beautiful image, and exceptionally delicious looking. I've admired many of your food images so commenting just to compliment you, and these muffins did me in. I have no expertise to offer but I see that your in great hands with Mike advising you.

[Brownbear]

Truly a pleasure. What a wonderful, (and daunting) project. I bet your cook book will have the nicest images of all.

Wishing you all the best!

Thanks so much Christina. I am on a quest one could say. On top of wanting to write a cook book, I want to improve as a photograph. Food photo is so different than what I am used to, bugs and flowers.The use of flashes, and added lights indoors, making a decor, it is a steep learning curve for me.
Also, food photo is very much influenced by bloggers, adds, the internet in general. What's in and what's not may change on a day to day basis: type of food, angle of the shot, tight crop, lighting, background, props, etc...On the other hand, I do hope good quality photo is here to stay.Since I started this project, I understand better why having a studio would be nice to have. The good news is my cooking will improve along side the photo technique. At least its my plan.