When I photograph food, I’m very particular about everything that goes in the frame. The tabletop, textiles, colors, and dishes all play a role to bring a the scene together. I typically set everything up ahead of time, even before the food is cooked, so that things are ready to go well ahead of time.

Once the food is on the plate, I don’t stop paying attention to those details.  In a recent shoot, I had a small cup of coffee in the background of my scene. I filled it up with coffee and a little bit of cream, and placed it in the background of the frame. After previewing my first few frames, I noticed that the coffee in the cup was not visible! It was there, but at the angle I was positioned I couldn’t see it.

© Nicole S. Young — nicolesy.com

© Nicole S. Young — nicolesy.com

I immediately added a small amount of coffee to the cup to balance it out. That tiny little bit of coffee completed the photo! Without it I would have had too much white area in the corner of my frame.

© Nicole S. Young — nicolesy.com

© Nicole S. Young — nicolesy.com

When I photograph food, I’m very particular about everything that goes in the frame. The tabletop, textiles, colors, and dishes all play a role to bring a the scene together. I typically set everything up ahead of time, even before the food is cooked, so that things are ready to go well ahead of time.

Once the food is on the plate, I don’t stop paying attention to those details.  In a recent shoot, I had a small cup of coffee in the background of my scene. I filled it up with coffee and a little bit of cream, and placed it in the background of the frame. After previewing my first few frames, I noticed that the coffee in the cup was not visible! It was there, but at the angle I was positioned I couldn’t see it.

© Nicole S. Young — nicolesy.com

© Nicole S. Young — nicolesy.com

I immediately added a small amount of coffee to the cup to balance it out. That tiny little bit of coffee completed the photo! Without it I would have had too much white area in the corner of my frame.

© Nicole S. Young — nicolesy.com

© Nicole S. Young — nicolesy.com

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Nicole is a photographer, published author, and educator specializing in Lightroom, Photoshop, and photography. She is best known for her books on food photography but is widely versed in various photographic genres, including landscape, nature, stock, travel, and experimental imagery.

2 Comments

  1. Jennifer Gwinn December 1, 2014 at 10:16 am - Reply

    That looks delicious!

  2. Cherie @ FoodRecipesEasy June 18, 2015 at 3:01 am - Reply

    It’s really a good tip to consider. Thank U.

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