Food Photography

The cool thing about photography is all the things you can document and let your mind shoot. While on vacation aboard a cruise ship, we had breakfast every morning, and I knew I wanted to document some of the food we had on board the ship.

Breakfast

This day we ate outside, and I was looking at the light and chose to take a picture of my breakfast sandwich. Why? Because I wanted to. I can’t remember what camera I used, my iPhone or my Canon. I looked at different angles, and this was the one I wanted. I used my white napkin to add some more light to the subject. I have done a few jobs with food and find it fun to take pictures of. Plus, it tells the story of our cruise.

Vacation Time is Over

Once again, it's been some time since I posted. I took some vacation and have been busy with jobs I can't post yet. Lisa and I had a great time on vacation. We started in Coco Beach, the Hilton on the Atlantic side. It's been some time since we stayed on the Atlantic side of Florida. We headed off to the beach, and the surf was great for the surfers. I had to bring my camera down.

I headed down and used my 100-400 with a 2x adapter. I believe I was in shutter priority at 2000 and ISO in auto. I like this mode when things are bright and I want to stop motion. (like birds flying) I had fun that day. Next found out that they were going to have a rocket launch. They tried three times, but it was not my day; it did not happen. While on the beach, I played around with airplanes and, of course, the seagulls. Next was getting ready for the Cruise ship.

Environmental Shooting

For those of you who follow my Facebook page, I said there would be more, and here is the more.

To keep up with your photography skills, it always helps to go to workshops to learn and practice. Plus, I love working with professional models. This was no different. With the help of @Robertsphoto in Indianpolis,In and our model Afton, the class was on an environmental shoot. This class was terrific, for we took pictures in a 10-yard diameter and made the best using lighting. In the above photo, when I was going through the shooting, I could not help thinking this was a teacher escaping her class for a bit of downtime. So I told her to pretend that she was holding a wine glass, for I added this in photoshop to get the image my mind was thinking. The above picture was a 3 light shoot.

If you saw where these pictures were taken, you would say how? It’s a simple look at the background and asks whether it will benefit. If it helps, if it does not, don’t show it. As you know, I love flash photography and have a lot of fun using it. In this case, we used from one light all the way to 3 lights and again in a very small area. That is one way to help with the background. Another is the angles of the picture; another is putting the background in focus or not. (you thought it was just pint and click :) ) I bet we had about 10 shots, and all we needed to do was look.

I can’t say enough about working with a model. For me, it allows me to use my creativity and wait for the moment before clicking. I am a big believer in education and learning. No matter how much you know, you can always learn more. I love workshops for two reasons. First, I get to see things live, and last, I get a chance to see other photographers and learn from them. Photographers are like campers. We love what we do and love to talk.

Commercial Work

What is commercial work when it comes to photography? For me, it means anytime the work is used for advertising something. This may be a magazine, billboard, or maybe a web page. Since my start in photography, this is an area I have enjoyed. My style is more of a photojournalist like I do for weddings. I guess I like things that appear natural.

I was recently hired to take pictures for a company website. We sit down, and they tell me what they are interested in or have in mind. This could be done verbally, using Instagram pictures they have in mind. After I hear or see, I do what I think they are looking for. Let’s face it, competition is everywhere, and trying to get someone to buy from you may come from on professional picture. Your company is only as good as it looks, and I am sorry, the selfie will most likely not do it. Look at the picture below; what are they trying to sell?

Yes, if you said she was trying to sell her podcast, you would be correct, and I did my job by taking the vision of the podcast. She is not a professional actor, but by having her do what she was comfortable with (podcasting), I waited for moments and then took the pictures.

The reward (other than getting paid) is seeing your work in a magazine or on their web page. Maybe when you are driving and seeing your image on a billboard. That's the reward for me. I did my job, and hopefully, they are making money with the pictures they used. Over the years, I have done a lot of commercial work. I have done Medical, teaching, many products, Political campaigns, and companies. What's next? I don't know, but I look forward to whatever it will be. A boating campaign would be one that I would like to do sometime on my bucket list. I love water and boats or possibly do a vacation spot.