Food Photography Tips

By Danielle Lancaster

The love of food has been rekindled through reality television style shows on master chefs, iron chefs, little chefs, surfing chefs, travelling chefs and the list goes on. 

Here’s a few tips for capturing food!

Styling
The choice of setting needs to compliment but not distract from the food. Work on simple is best and look for contrasting or complimentary colours. The plate should not be the same colour as the food.

Wherever I can I try and use natural light but when I can’t I use off camera flash, generally diffused and to the side - side lighting shows texture.

Timing – you need to shoot quickly. Over time the food will not look as fresh. Juices will start to solidify, cream melt and garnish drown.

Watch the ISO. A lot of what I shoot is at night or in dimly lit areas so I often need to push the ISO up. Having the ability within your camera to do this and produce minimal digital noise in your image is a bonus in this arena.

White balance does matter. Watch for colour casts from different forms of artificial lighting. At times you may be able to use this effectively. Meat under some fluorescent lights can look blue-ish and not very appetising at all.

Move around – shoot it as many times from as many different angles as you can.

Composition does count!

Artificial lighting is used in this image to depict warmth from a restaurant set in an old church for an accompanying article.
Image by Danielle Lancaster

 A classic case of on-camera flash ruining a food image.

Image by Danielle Lancaster

Image 1
In the first image a blue/green cast can be seen in the meat caused from artificial lighting. It was ‘fixed’ by selection masks and colour balance as seen in Image 2 below.

Image by Danielle Lancaster

Image 2

Image by Danielle Lancaster

Journey’s end – for now ….. Guest Blog by Augustine Mathews

One of my favourite poems is My Country by Dorothea Mackellar

“I love a sunburnt country, a land of sweeping plains, of ragged mountain ranges, of drought, and flooding rains”. We’ve all heard it and there is, for me, now an extra element that I have gained an appreciation for - our farmers.

As a city kid I have never really given too much thought to the ‘man on the land’ other than when they appear in the headlines as those doing it tough in the drought. Now I feel completely differently.

The time I spent in the growth region that extends from the Great Dividing Range west to St George has really served to open my eyes. Talking to the people whose livelihoods depend on fickle Mother Nature has given me a far greater appreciation of the tightrope so many of our growers tread. Rain on a ready crop of cotton or wheat will decimate a crop, while not enough water makes it impossible to grow anything. A big ask of a country where rain seems to come in two types – too much or too little.

Our homeward trip was an expedition of crop naming for me; cotton, sorghum, cattle, sheep, fields waiting for wheat. When I asked Danielle if we could go into a field to photograph the sorghum I was horrified to learn that my innocent desire for a photograph could cost a farmer their livelihood. There is a fungus that can be walked into a field and devastate the crop not only for that year, but also for future usage. 

Acres of sorghum

Image by Augustine Mathews

We came across a field where the header (the machine that harvests sorghum and wheat) was taking a sample and we were given permission to come in and take some shots. I have to say – it is a photographers paradise. I could have stayed for hours.

 The header clips the sorghum then separates the grain from the chaff

Image by Augustine Mathews

Our mission as we headed west was to teach photography to those who would learn in St George, but on reflection, I think I learnt more than I taught. I’d like to thank the marvellous people who came along for their hospitality and their willingness to teach the city kid a few things. 

 Mountains of sorghum 

Image by Augustine Mathews

For my city cousins I say – go west. There is an amazing part of the country with visual images to stun and people who will welcome you and share their stories. I’m home again now but I have to say – I’m looking forward to my next chance to head west again … I hear the early April harvest of cotton from the dazzling acres of white is pretty impressive.

Rainy Days and Photography

Here in south-east Queensland, Australia it is grey, overcast and raining and has been for days.

While many think this is not a time to get the camera out think again! Rainy weather can provide some of the best conditions for exploring our creative side of photography.

Rain provides a myriad of opportunities. There are reflections, patterns, and even diffused lighting to be used. Surfaces glisten, contrast and saturation is increased when objects are wet.

And don’t forget as the rain disappears we are often treated to a stunning sunset and if the weather warms up the forest should produce plenty of fungi!

While working on a paper I would often consider the best way to shoot:
1. Use an umbrella and juggle camera, flash, tripod and umbrella
2. Or cover me and my gear – I found this the easiest.

So don’t let our dismal days dissuade you. Shelter can be found and images made.

Image by Danielle Lancaster (c)

The essentials in my photography kit.

Guest post by Sheryn Ellis after her trip to Lake Eyre, outback Australia.

“It was soon apparent what I could and could not live without while travelling and photographing the outback…

The essentials in order of use:
• Canon 5D MII with battery grip;
• 24mm-70mm f2.8L lens: my favourite lens, I took at least 95% of my photos with this lens;
• Circular polariser: used at all hours of the day, only came off for star trails and when I didn’t want to ‘stack’ filters;
• Cleaning cloths: I always had one or two in my pockets at all time and every few shots was checking to see if dust and/or sand had blown onto my lens;
• Blower: used constantly to blow dust and/or sand off both the camera and the lens (used first to avoid scratching when wiping with a cloth). The blower was used every single time a lens change was made.
• Tripod: my Vanguard tripod was my first choice this trip, it’s lighter than my Manfrotto, easier to change from vertical to horizontal positions and I’m comfortable with the ball head. I’ve got to say I used my tripod more on this 8 day trip than in the previous 4 months.
• Lockable cable release: generally it was plugged in so that as soon as I put my camera on a tripod I was ‘good to go’! Definitely a must for star trails.
• LED Cap Light: a gift before my trip from another avid photographer. This is an awesome little light and should take off with photographers as it makes life so much easier once that sun starts to set.
• Second camera: Canon 20D – taken along for Michael to ‘play’ with but I did pinch it a couple of times rather than change lenses in the windy, dusty landscape.
• Lowepro camera bag: plenty of storage room, well padded and zips securely to keep out 99% of dust and debris.

After this trip I have promised myself that I WILL ‘practice what I preach’ – it is truly essential to keep all your kit clean and well maintained – I discovered on day one that my Manfrotto tripod, which has been floating in the back of my car for the last 5 months, had just enough sand in the head for it to have ‘fused’ itself on and it took several hours of frustration, WD40 and a screwdriver to get the tripod back in working condition.

My final tip is for ‘downloading’ on the go: ALWAYS check the number of files that you are downloading from your card to ensure it matches the number of files that actually download to your external hard-drive.

Photograph by Michael Ellis.
Birdsville Track, Cooper Creek detour road.
Sheryn standing on top of the ‘Pathy’ – anything to get that ‘shot’

Photograph by Sheryn Ellis.
Taken during a Wrightsair 2 hour scenic flight over Lake Eyre.
Canon 5D MII 24-70mm lens with circular polariser

A Man I Met Yesterday

By Danielle Lancaster
Getting away from the city and into the country for some may mean dust, flies and isolation. For me it means a chance to meet new people, see new sights and have new experiences. The Queensland outback is full of interesting characters. Walk down any town’s main street and there is one word you learn to say very quickly - g’day.

It was such an encounter I had recently on a visit to Hughenden. Frank was leaning out a window and as I walked past I heard the all too familiar g’day. His face, beneath a big broad brimmed black hat intrigued me and I stopped, ‘g’day’ I replied. With a few dark clouds in the sky it allowed me another avenue to keep our conversation going. ‘What’s this weather going to do?’ I asked.

‘Geez mate I dunno, it could rain or it could piss off,’ was his reply in a rough yet friendly voice as a dog came out announcing my arrival by barking. ‘Sit down, you bastard,’ scowled Frank and the dog cringed back under the timber house.

It was now or never and I knew if I let the opportunity go with such limited time in this outback town it may be gone forever. ‘Would you mind if I took your photo?’ I asked and of course presented my best grin. ‘What you wanno do that for, geez I’m just an old broken ringer,’ replied Frank rolling his eyes and tossing his head almost in disgust at my question. And that’s exactly why I wanted to take his photo.

He agreed and hobbled to the front of the house, his legs bowed from years in the saddle. ‘Come around in the morning if you like, tell me a time and I’ll be here,’ he said. Quick as I could a time was set and the next morning I was on his door step calling out g’day.

The dogs of course heralded my arrival but it was me this time telling them to sit down, though not calling them by the same name as Frank had done the day before.

Photographing the old men of the bush can be a tricky subject. They are not patient and once they hear one click of the shutter they presume the session all over rover. They are shy about their lives –of often extreme hardship living in drovers camps, shearing hundreds of sheep per day, working in excessive heat, lives where luxuries are rarely heard of and if they are its a clean set of clothes, a hot meal in their stomach and maybe a rum or three.

I like to photograph them in their own surroundings. At their house, in the shed, by their vehicle and prefer only using natural light. It means I have to work quickly. They fidget, their eyes roam and there is always something they need to do even for those in retirement – a word they don’t seem to use.

Frank was born in Julia Creek in western Queensland and is now ‘retired’ in Hughenden. All his life he’s been a shearer or a ringer wandering the vast western properties of Queensland’s outback. The years of work in the sun have taken a toll and he looks older than he is. He’ll be 67 in a few days time. He tells me there’s not many people he does not know, he’s on dialysis a result of too much salt and his ‘kidneys being cooked from working in the heat. I use to cut an orange in half and fill it up with salt to try and help stop the heat cramps, not just a bit of salt, fill it right up I did.’

I work quickly and sit and chat for a bit before bidding him farewell and thanking him saying I look forward to catching up again. ‘Geez ,’ he says, ‘that should be alright if I’m not under the bloody ground next time you come!’

Thanks Frank, you were a great subject and I look forward to seeing you again on a return to Hughenden – I’m sure there’s a few good years left in you yet.

Please note: Images are unprocessed

Frank at his front door in Hughenden
Image by Danielle Lancaster

Frank sitting on his favourite chair
Image by Danielle Lancaster

I  rarely can let a good set of weathered hands not be captured.
Image by Danielle Lancaster