I can’t even begin to tell you what a fun Saturday I had!  I took a food photography class in Seattle and learned SO MUCH.  For those of you who know me well, you know that driving myself to the “big city” is a very rare event.  Well, I did it!  All by myself.  In the pouring rain.  Just me and my GPS. It was soooooo worth it!  My main goal was to learn more about taking great pictures.  Settings on my camera and lighting issues are still areas that don’t come naturally to me. I thought this would be a good way to learn and practice at the same time.  My secondary goal was to learn about food styling.  When I take pictures, I take a cookie, plunk in on a plate, and take a picture.  I know there is more to it than that, so having someone teach me how to style food was a gift!

As I’ve said before, I’m not an adventurous eater, so I didn’t actually eat too many of these things.  We had a professional chef create a few things for us to photograph.  Then we were given the run of the prop shelves.  We chose our own linens, plates, bowls, etc.  Clare, our instructor, came around and helped us with our questions and gave pointers.  We played with things like mirrors and reflectors to bounce light back onto the food.

She also showed us how to prop up different backgrounds, when dealing with ugly backgrounds at home.

We played with different angles for our shots.

At the end, each participant shared a few of their favorite photos from the day.  Then she gave us feedback on things that work and things that don’t.  It was so helpful to hear from someone with an eye for this stuff!

This was one of my favorites.  It’s so simple, but the colors and lighting really make a beautiful picture.  The top piece of information I learned was that natural light is best.  She didn’t even have the overhead lights on in the room.  We just put our food on a table by the window.  I’m not lucky enough to have a wall of windows in my house, but boy does natural light make a difference!  My second favorite tip is to take your lens off of auto focus when you are shooting food.  I didn’t think I’d like that, but the difference in picture quality was amazing.

Friends, be prepared for some amazing food pics coming your way!  I’ve learned a lot and now it’s time to practice.  Hmmm…. I hear some peanut  butter calling my name.  Off to make a peanut butter pie!

If you’re in the area and want to check out Clare’s workshops, here is the link.

Here are a few linky parties I like to participate in.