Does anyone have any tips for photographing your bakes? I feel like mine never come out great
idk, sometimes they turn out nicely like the banana pudding cookies and sometimes they kinda look like shit like the croissant/pain au chocolate
i’m shooting just on my iphone 13
thanks!
by HadOne0
33 Comments
neverfoil
You need to zoom in more or crop, the stuff in the background makes for messy pics. Wipe off your camera to make sure the pics are in focus. Up your brightness and you can pump the warmth filter – a blueish tint makes for unappetizing food pics.
Glittering-Tea-4227
This is going to sound silly but try turning your phone upside down and point it towards the bakes and play with lighting! Maybe also slightly saturate the pictures for a warmer appearance
fuckingskeletor
Is your camera preset on one of the cool settings? These pictures all look super cool-toned to me.
C_Alex_author
Change up your plates and background. Colored/shaped plates, fur, satin, doilies, chefs apron, you want those splashes of color and texture to draw attention to the scene, almost like highlighting what you are showing.
twenty9dollars
i’ve noticed my bakes look way better in natural light so i usually end up photographing near a window and it makes a huge improvement!
MurderrOfCrows
Natural light is best so try and find a spot next to a window and experiment with the best angles. I usually take pics from above except with things like layer cakes. Also minimize background stuff in the pics.
Alarming-Prize-405
Your background is the problem as well as angles and lighting.
Sure-Ad558
A clean background always works well for me! Also, those banana pudding cookies look so good!!! Do you have the recipe for it? 🙂
Myiceandf1re
Shoot in natural light, clean background, turn up saturation
Luzi1
That pistachio rose cake looks amazing!
OstrichIcy666
Decide, what you kind of mood/style you are going for and stick to it. It can be bright, colorful, or laid back, bit of vintage or moody, darkish. Get props, different plates, cutting boards, dishcloths (they don’t have to be expensive, go thrifting or check out yard sales), and the most important thing is light. Where the light comes from, is it diffused or not, is the pic too dark, do you maybe need an extra light source etc. You can also play with composition, like the golden spiral, rule of thirds and angles, from where you are shooting from.
_g_j_b_
I made a simple little photo backdrop out of foam poster boards just taped together! I always try to take photos in natural light as well!
quickestsperm6754387
Natural light is a great idea, but not as a backlight. It should be a side light and it should be the left side. Also taking your photos from the same angle every time is likely why you don’t like them. Avoid harsh lighting. 45-90 degrees is not usually flattering, try 20-35 degrees instead. Get closer to the subject, if it’s a slice, it’s the subject, put the cake as background.
walkingonsunshine007
Here for that donut dino
patrin11
Natural light is your friend!
KitchenRemote9510
adjust lighting on camera
valency_speaks
Natural lighting for the win!!! I can take stunning pics of my baked with my iPhone in natural light.
MnSnowtagirl
As a non photographer I happened to notice little things. Like the donut picture, table wasn’t clean, background with TV was visible, chairs in the way.
You want to maybe find some cute pictures online you like and try to replicate
I say that knowing I also struggle with pictures and am really bad at taking them. But every little tip helps
stewarthh
Natural light or a ring light plus a white background with colour plating that contrasts your baked goods
Fit_Fail7660
Where did you get the Trex?
Ok_Anything_Once
Invest in a light box – a super inexpensive purchase with a huge payoff
Basferkat
Get one of those tri-fold science fair cardboard pieces they sell at Walmart and the like. They make fantastic foldable white backgrounds!
chiginger
Search Google or Pinterest for the recipe you’re doing. Look at all the images of the bakes and find the similarities in the ones that you like for inspiration:
Background? Angle? Plating? Props?
Definitely use natural light. I also have a white poster board for using as a reflector to open up shadows. Instagram will save a photo back to your phone after you use filters, so if you don’t already have an account, it’s worth it just for that.
pugbreath
Food photographer here!
1. Back up and zoom in to at least 1.5x to 2x. It reduces the photo quality ever so slightly, but it greatly improves your composition and helps the photos look less odd and empty. It will also blur distractions in the background out of focus a bit. Try getting lower and “into the food” when you do this. 2. Natural night is best if you don’t have legit studio photo lights. That said, the light on your banana cream cookies is the best of the bunch so I think that’s a nice spot for your pics. 3. For food with beautiful cross-sections like croissants, try cutting them in half and stacking them on top of each other. Toothpicks help hold things in place! 4. Investing in some backdrops (Amazon sells tons) can help dramatically. 5. Consider your props to help suggest what the bake is. If you didn’t say it was a pistachio rose cake I’d have no idea. A small bowl of pistachios or some roses splayed out would be lovely. 6. Clean up crumbs and messes in frame, lol. They can be distracting!
It all looks sooo delicious by the way.
meep221b
More T. rex will help.
Sorry, I have actually nothing help to contribute
pgwquill
Your bakes look delicious and I would eat them anyway.
Echoing general tips already given: clean background, or at least blurred to focus on your bake; avoided extraneous items in the photo; Try to using complementary colors for the background; natural light is best, if your bake is ready in the evening, use a diffuser over your light source; clean up most of the crumbs/smearing with a wet paper towel around your finger. You also seem to take the pictures in portrait mode. Play around with the positioning. Some of these would be better if you held the phone horizontally. Post processing also helps.
Some specific suggestions: 1. Pistachio cake: cut a larger slice, if the slice is not clean enough to photograph, take a pic of the cake angleing it so you can still see the layers inside and the side of the cake. So I would move the camera lower and turn the cake about 45degrees counter clockwise. clean the crumbs from the knife and the edges of the cake plate. Leave the ones where the slice is missing from.
2. croissants: place them on a clean piece of parchment paper (lightly crumpled) and take the photograph from on top. Move the lighting around so that there is no shadow from your camera or the croissants. You should only be able to see the croissants and the paper. The crumpling effect will increase the interest of the background.
3.Donuts. I love the dinosaur. Move the plate closer or place on a higher surface with the dinosaur in the background. The background could be half of the table and half of the wall. No chairs/tv should be visible.
4. Generally slightly messy looking (although delicious looking) foods will look messy because of the texture. Move closer or just photograph a serving on a plate. Make the plating neat though.
5. Cookies: Open the photo you’ve already taken. Hold it with two fingers and zoom in until the bottom of the plate hits the bottom edge of the phone. The plated cookies are at the bottom of the screen and the cookies on the sheet are at the top of the screen. It’s ok if some of the cookie is being cut out.
Ok-Amphibian
Overhead lighting makes everything look bad
Try to use natural lighting if you can or bright studio type lights and a clean intentional backdrop
lazylittlelady
Lighting is either too low or not warm enough and colorful or interesting plates or a tray and tablecloth-maybe flowers-to add a mood.
Crafty-Sympathy4702
Natural light. Square setting on your phone. Take out stuff from the back
MyEggDonorIsADramaQ
Need more dinosaur!!
churrascothighs1
Send me a slice of that pistachio rose cake and I’ll tell you.
RareBeautyOnEtsy
Color. Everything is brown. Even a flower, or anything with color would help. That’s one reason why the banana picture is the best, color.
Junglebook82
1- make sure to wipe the table 2- just use portrait mode if on iPhone. Will look exponentially better immediately.
33 Comments
You need to zoom in more or crop, the stuff in the background makes for messy pics. Wipe off your camera to make sure the pics are in focus. Up your brightness and you can pump the warmth filter – a blueish tint makes for unappetizing food pics.
This is going to sound silly but try turning your phone upside down and point it towards the bakes and play with lighting! Maybe also slightly saturate the pictures for a warmer appearance
Is your camera preset on one of the cool settings? These pictures all look super cool-toned to me.
Change up your plates and background. Colored/shaped plates, fur, satin, doilies, chefs apron, you want those splashes of color and texture to draw attention to the scene, almost like highlighting what you are showing.
i’ve noticed my bakes look way better in natural light so i usually end up photographing near a window and it makes a huge improvement!
Natural light is best so try and find a spot next to a window and experiment with the best angles. I usually take pics from above except with things like layer cakes. Also minimize background stuff in the pics.
Your background is the problem as well as angles and lighting.
A clean background always works well for me! Also, those banana pudding cookies look so good!!! Do you have the recipe for it? 🙂
Shoot in natural light, clean background, turn up saturation
That pistachio rose cake looks amazing!
Decide, what you kind of mood/style you are going for and stick to it. It can be bright, colorful, or laid back, bit of vintage or moody, darkish. Get props, different plates, cutting boards, dishcloths (they don’t have to be expensive, go thrifting or check out yard sales), and the most important thing is light. Where the light comes from, is it diffused or not, is the pic too dark, do you maybe need an extra light source etc. You can also play with composition, like the golden spiral, rule of thirds and angles, from where you are shooting from.
I made a simple little photo backdrop out of foam poster boards just taped together! I always try to take photos in natural light as well!
Natural light is a great idea, but not as a backlight. It should be a side light and it should be the left side. Also taking your photos from the same angle every time is likely why you don’t like them. Avoid harsh lighting. 45-90 degrees is not usually flattering, try 20-35 degrees instead. Get closer to the subject, if it’s a slice, it’s the subject, put the cake as background.
Here for that donut dino
Natural light is your friend!
adjust lighting on camera
Natural lighting for the win!!! I can take stunning pics of my baked with my iPhone in natural light.
As a non photographer I happened to notice little things. Like the donut picture, table wasn’t clean, background with TV was visible, chairs in the way.
You want to maybe find some cute pictures online you like and try to replicate
I say that knowing I also struggle with pictures and am really bad at taking them. But every little tip helps
Natural light or a ring light plus a white background with colour plating that contrasts your baked goods
Where did you get the Trex?
Invest in a light box – a super inexpensive purchase with a huge payoff
Get one of those tri-fold science fair cardboard pieces they sell at Walmart and the like. They make fantastic foldable white backgrounds!
Search Google or Pinterest for the recipe you’re doing. Look at all the images of the bakes and find the similarities in the ones that you like for inspiration:
Background?
Angle?
Plating?
Props?
Definitely use natural light. I also have a white poster board for using as a reflector to open up shadows. Instagram will save a photo back to your phone after you use filters, so if you don’t already have an account, it’s worth it just for that.
Food photographer here!
1. Back up and zoom in to at least 1.5x to 2x. It reduces the photo quality ever so slightly, but it greatly improves your composition and helps the photos look less odd and empty. It will also blur distractions in the background out of focus a bit. Try getting lower and “into the food” when you do this.
2. Natural night is best if you don’t have legit studio photo lights. That said, the light on your banana cream cookies is the best of the bunch so I think that’s a nice spot for your pics.
3. For food with beautiful cross-sections like croissants, try cutting them in half and stacking them on top of each other. Toothpicks help hold things in place!
4. Investing in some backdrops (Amazon sells tons) can help dramatically.
5. Consider your props to help suggest what the bake is. If you didn’t say it was a pistachio rose cake I’d have no idea. A small bowl of pistachios or some roses splayed out would be lovely.
6. Clean up crumbs and messes in frame, lol. They can be distracting!
It all looks sooo delicious by the way.
More T. rex will help.
Sorry, I have actually nothing help to contribute
Your bakes look delicious and I would eat them anyway.
Echoing general tips already given: clean background, or at least blurred to focus on your bake; avoided extraneous items in the photo; Try to using complementary colors for the background; natural light is best, if your bake is ready in the evening, use a diffuser over your light source; clean up most of the crumbs/smearing with a wet paper towel around your finger. You also seem to take the pictures in portrait mode. Play around with the positioning. Some of these would be better if you held the phone horizontally. Post processing also helps.
Some specific suggestions:
1. Pistachio cake: cut a larger slice, if the slice is not clean enough to photograph, take a pic of the cake angleing it so you can still see the layers inside and the side of the cake. So I would move the camera lower and turn the cake about 45degrees counter clockwise. clean the crumbs from the knife and the edges of the cake plate. Leave the ones where the slice is missing from.
2. croissants: place them on a clean piece of parchment paper (lightly crumpled) and take the photograph from on top. Move the lighting around so that there is no shadow from your camera or the croissants. You should only be able to see the croissants and the paper. The crumpling effect will increase the interest of the background.
3.Donuts. I love the dinosaur. Move the plate closer or place on a higher surface with the dinosaur in the background. The background could be half of the table and half of the wall. No chairs/tv should be visible.
4. Generally slightly messy looking (although delicious looking) foods will look messy because of the texture. Move closer or just photograph a serving on a plate. Make the plating neat though.
5. Cookies: Open the photo you’ve already taken. Hold it with two fingers and zoom in until the bottom of the plate hits the bottom edge of the phone. The plated cookies are at the bottom of the screen and the cookies on the sheet are at the top of the screen. It’s ok if some of the cookie is being cut out.
Overhead lighting makes everything look bad
Try to use natural lighting if you can or bright studio type lights and a clean intentional backdrop
Lighting is either too low or not warm enough and colorful or interesting plates or a tray and tablecloth-maybe flowers-to add a mood.
Natural light. Square setting on your phone. Take out stuff from the back
Need more dinosaur!!
Send me a slice of that pistachio rose cake and I’ll tell you.
Color. Everything is brown. Even a flower, or anything with color would help. That’s one reason why the banana picture is the best, color.
1- make sure to wipe the table
2- just use portrait mode if on iPhone. Will look exponentially better immediately.