Book Review: Plate to Pixel

This time of year with Thanksgiving festivities happening on both side of the border is a good to think about photographing some of your favorite meals. This book review deals with photographing food, not so much a dinner party or at a restaurant but your own or other's creations that demonstrate the joy and beauty of a well prepared food delicacy.

Title: Plate to Pixel – Digital Food Photography and Styling

Author: Hélène Dujardin

Publisher: Wiley

ISBN: 978-0-470-93213-1

After setting up my own little food studio for raw foods for the SOFOBOMO 2010 book project I thought that this book would be an interesting adjunct with what I learned during the SOFOBOMO project.

The book is soft cover and comprises 256 pages of text and of course many food photographs.

The first 2 chapters 'Photography Basics' and 'Camera Settings and Modes' are the standard materiel that every beginner in photography needs to understand. Her photos demonstrate the effects of white balance (WB) settings, Depth of Field (DOF), ISO settings, exposure and shutter speeds (pouring liquids). Those new to photography find these concepts and terms confusing at first but here the photos show the principles involved.

The next 2 chapters (3&4) deal with Natural Light and Artificial Light. Natural lighting is easy enough to understand with time of day, harsh direct light, soft light with diffuser, using reflectors for bounced light. Under artificial light she shows how to use off-camera flash and some of the smaller lighting accessories for table top studio work. In each case supporting photos are used to show setups and the different lightening effects. Photography is about using or controlling light and how it can accent key focal points with the various moods of light.

Chapter 5 covers composition of food placement within the camera frame and covers subjects from centering to off-center, ¾ placement, DOF, viewing from overhead and at eye levels. It also covers using the rule of thirds, focal point(s) and perspective with item placement.

Chapter 6 covers setting up for capture before you press the shutter. It's about thinking about items in the recipe and how light will interact with these components. Establishing your own work environment and working with clients and their setups and art directors. How to use props to test and plan shots with foods that can fade quickly on the set. Describing a story behind the recipe. Using natural props, surfaces, linens and background to tie elements together. It also covers items using heights and color to create accents and accentuate items.

Chapter 7 is styling and this photographer tends to prefer only natural items that for the most part can be eaten afterward. It's not about using high-tech materials that can't be found in the kitchen. This section has specific sub-sections about bread, nuts, fruits, and vegetables both cooked and uncooked. It covers the main dish for fish and meats and their sauces. Stews, stir-fry, pasta, breakfast baked good and deserts are all covered. Using tools such as tweezers, cotton swaps, drip bottles etc. Many good photos help to demonstrate key points.

Chapter 8 covers the standard digital related items of file transfer, formats, storage and software editing programs. There is also a glossary and a list of the authors photographic equipment and why she uses them. There is also a list of recommended resources from books to websites and stores to buy the various odds and ends that go into foods shoots.

About the Author: 

After leaving her position as pastry chef Helen launched the award-winning blog Tartelette, where she dedicates herself to the art of food, photography and styling. Her food photography and styling work has been praised online and in prints by publications such as Elle magazine. Forbes magazine, The Times Online, Caveur magazine, CNN, Martha Steward and more

Conclusion and Recommended Audience

Food photography may not be for everyone but it is clear that the author/photographer has experience with this genre. Throughout her book she has ample photographs to demonstrate principles as well as discussing the setup and any problems that need to be addressed.

This is not a book about over-the-top food images that have food floating in the air or extreme art shots that may use all sorts of mechanical devices or materials to create the appearance of real food. This book is all about real food found on many peoples dinner tables and at the end of the shot could be eaten by anyone. In fact, one of my favorite things about this book is that it is about real food, something that we might see on our tables

This book is intended for any photographer who has a passion for food and wants produce photos that all will enjoy. It's for the inexperienced photographer with only a point and shot camera or someone who is becoming familiar with a DSLR but wants to understand composition and styling in a home or small studio setup. This is not a book about which camera or lens is better but rather how to use your camera to create interesting food photographs.

I recommend this book for those wishing to peruse food or small studio photography.

Link to Amazon store below.

Plate to Pixel: Digital Food Photography and Styling

Niels Henriksen

Disclaimer: Other than receiving a book to review, which will be given away, I did not or will not receive any remunerations, gifts or any considerations for this review from the publisher, author or anyone affiliated with this book.

Mini Home Photography Studio

This morning is starting off as those perfect summer days. Sitting on the porch reading the paper and listening to the rain fall.  It also gives me a few moments to catch up on a few indoor activities like writing this article as this afternoon is forecast to be sunny and 28c (85F).

If you live in a climate that gets -40c (-42F) in the winter and snow, then the summer is not a time to be indoors too much, which includes computer time. Also the fact that I got a 150cc Vespa scooter a couple of months ago is keeping me constantly on the road. I did throw the camera in the back a few times and drove to sections of the city looking for interesting shots. Great view and easy parking.

Home Photography Studio
For the SoFoBoMo 2010 project this year, I decided to use a few items I already had (light box & light tent) and built a fabric holding frame out of PVC tubing for seamless backgrounds.

The PVC tubing is the regular beige-ish 1/4” plumbing tubing cut to lengths and pressed together into a frame.  I haven't glued the frame together as it makes it easier for storage when taken apart. It's reasonably strong but may come apart if handled roughly.

Image of cut tubing & joints and assembled frame

Image of individual pieces

Light Tent
The light tent is made of Corplast sheets for frames and mylar sheets. Corplast are coloured or translucent plastic sheets made with square tubing format. This makes them somewhat rigid and ideal as a light box frame because it still lets some light through.

One frame with cutout for mylar paper and laying on a cutting mat.

The assembled frame and light box is shown below. Each of the frames, four (4) for a three-sided box, is held together with the green masking tap (easy removal) for quick setup. This makes it easy to remove panels or place at strange angles.

On the right side of the light tent you will notice there is an extra whole corplast sheet used to block a little more light. Extra panels between tent and light box.

Light Box

The light box was actually made of a light table for my 4x5 or 120  film negatives but I quickly found other uses. The box consists of a;
square ceiling light box with dual U-tube florescent blub (broad spectrum),
wooden frame to encase metal box,
foil lined inside to bounce more light back and diffuse source intensity,
white (5700c) 1/2” plastic translucent sheet to cover light box surface and provide for diffusion of light direction. (This is at the bottom of light tent, as I liked the slightly reflective surface)

Light box opened showing fluorescent tubing and aluminum foil lining

In the above image, I am using the fabric PVC frame as a stand to hold the Mylar light tent panels with small clamps.

With just a few materials, which can be configured in many ways, creative lighting sources and light modifiers can be setup easily.

2005- 150 ET4 Vespa scooter (box is aftermarket purchase)

 
Niels Henriksen

SoFoBoMo 2010 Finished

Last week I managed to finish the SoFoBoMo 2010 Photo book project. This is the 3rd year I have completed the joint photography projects with many photographers from around the world.

While it is still a fair bit of work to complete this from start to finish within the 31 days, it is getting easier. The easier part is now not being stressing out over the various steps that are needed to finish the book as I better understand the effort and various steps.

The hard part is still deciding what to include in the book theme as, if you are like me, you might tend to grab too much at one time and then worrying if your photos are good enough.

The image link below allows you to download the 2.7 MB pdf file.

I had planned another elaborate theme but events this year once again caused me to change course. Its a good thing I learned early on to always have a plan 'B' and even plan 'C' in place for when events change not as planned.

One photography genre I haven't spent a lot of time with is studio settings with controlled lighting, diffusers and other light modifiers. I do a lot of cooking and one of my thoughts is to one day create a food blog where I write recipes and use my photography to highlight components of the prepared food.

With that in mind I decided to setup a table-top home studio lightning setup and to photograph food that I regularly eat. As a sub set I also decided to limit the food to those with a hard edge, which would exclude foods that are mainly leafy. Those will be left for another day or is it salad.

In the next article I will show the studio setup and light modifiers I used.

Having already finished 2 books The pressure was off this year. I was doing photography I liked and if I didn't finish in time I would be disappointed but not devastated. The journey and learning were more important than actually completing the book within the set time frame.

This year I was just as excited with producing the book as I was the first year but my grandiose dreams of where it may go in the future are toned down with some reality from the other 2 books. But I do have some ideas for some future books that will be produced in hard cover and that I hope to sell a few copies of and one of those is to work more with food.

The great benefit of working with edible food well.., is that its edible. You get to eat it after you are finished. Not a bad way to work.

For those of you who have not as yet undertaken the SoFoBoMo project I can't overstate the learning opportunities both in photography, telling a story, and then producing a real book even its an ebook, its still real. Also for many photographers the taking of pictures is normally a reaction to a scene/event unfolding and therefore a somewhat unplanned happening even if is one that you made a decision to visit. Producing the photo book is about planning ahead of time for a story in pictures and then finding the images that convey that story. A different way of thinking for me.

Do visit the SoFoBoMo 2010 site and browse the many goods books being produced. I am certain that seeing some of these books will give new ideas about where to take your photography.

Niels Henriksen

Yousuf Karsh and SoFoBoMo 2009 update

I was very fortunate to be invited to the opening ceremonies, Thursday 11 June, for the Yousuf Karsh Image Maker exhibition which is coinciding with his 100th year birthday, were he alive today.

He is mainly recognized with his classic portrait of Sir Winston Churchill at the start of World War II. This is were Karsh had the audacity to rip the cigar out of his hands which left Churchill with the slight scowl on his expression.

The Science and Technology Museum was the first venue to open and the Portrait Gallery of Canada is opening a few days later.

The images are all taken with my iphone. My first real trail with the new phone, and while the images are not great, they’re not bad when you consider how dark it was. Though many were also blurred.



Mrs. Karsh (images above) cut the ribbon into hall and also gave a great speech on the legacy of one of the finest portrait photographers. There sure were a lot of people waiting to get into the exhibit. There is something special in gazing at the beautifully rendered Black and White images that hang through the museum. One room is all black and only large portraits are lit around this circular room. The white dots are the few ceiling lights that provide a measure of safety for movement.

Because it’s a science and technology museum, they not only display his photography but also the equipment he used in the studio.

The set of brushes were a gift from Karsh’s mentor, the Boston Portrait photographer John Caro. There was this giant, almost 9 foot enlarger in one of the rooms. And best of all, there was his 8x10 View camera There is even a positive photograph that is back-lit, of Karsh and Ansel Adams standing side by side and by their expressions, somewhat reluctantly agreeing to being photographed. There will be another exhibit at the National Archives. Mrs. Karsh indicated in her speak that they are now showing some prints from negatives that he had never made a print of before.

SoFoBoMo 2009 Update


Originally I had an idea for this years SoFoBoMo’s project, which was to do a photographic study both in distance and in time as I travelled from the Capital of Ottawa to Algonquin Park. The journey was to show how nature and people are viewed near urban centres and how their lifestyles (external) change as they live more in remote areas.

My trip to Denmark used up a lot of vacation time and I was unable to undertake this journey when I got back. While in Denmark, we went for a walk around this park with a very small lake, almost a pond. I thought at the time that if I got enough reasonable images I could do a book just on this subject. To try and show how one could capture many different perspectives and views from what may seem so ordinary at first.

Many of the images are not great to my standards and I had thought I would try and find another pond near where I live and that way I could do a 2 lake study and hopefully get a better set of images.


Part of undertaking the SoFoBoMo project is to enjoy the process and learn to be flexible in your approach. There are always some things that will pop up that causes a change in the course. If you enjoy what you are doing and are not concerned with what others are achieving or how they will view your book, then adapting should be part of the excitement and not a frustration.

After all it is only another form of a slide show with some text added and I am sure we have all created slideshows from some of our images. This image shows how small the lake is with the other side being so close.

Niels Henriksen

Indoor and Outdoor Studio Photography – Table-Top Flowers

Occasionally the weather does not permit us to be able to go out to get the flowers shots we would like to capture. Maybe even the flowers that are interesting are not available at the moment due to wrong time of season for flowering.

Why not cut some flowers from the garden or buy a bouquet at your local flower shop. The benefit is that after the shoot your house has a flower arrangement for display and enjoyment.

The important element with the indoor flower photography is finding an appropriate background. I’m sure that the dining room hutch, other furniture or those purple walls may not present the flowers in their best setting. The choice of a suitable backdrop becomes a key decision in presenting your subject in its full glory and prominence.




The Favourite – Black Cloth

For the images in this article, which are singular in design, I used a black fabric. Not just any fabric, but thick felt material. The reason for this choice is I wanted material that, even though black, would reflect very little light. Some black fabrics have a bit of sheen and depending on the strength of the light will reflect some of this light. It can be removed in Photoshop, but when it is used outdoors you will be surprised that the material has turned into a dark grey tone.

I selected a heavy felt material, as I wanted this fabric to not show any folds and creases, which a thinner cloth might show when removed from storage.

For singular flower images I like the black background as it keeps the focus on the subtle colours and tones of the flower. The Gladiolas flower, while very beautiful and delicate, is also difficult flower cluster to isolate a single flower for a photographic image.

To better present the singular flower cluster I decided to overlay a close-up section to form a composite image.

These images were lit by direct light from a side window and the fabric was moved back far enough in order not to receive any of the direct light rays.

I wanted the long stalk to dominate and the close-up image to add extra texture and volume to the image. An Angle Gradient tool was used to create the mask pattern as I found the standard linear did not create the right effect. I wanted the tones to vary in the background to add more interest and depth.

A Photoshop action (they sure make life easy) was used to create the framing effect.


Other Flowers as Background

Other flower arrangements can be used as backdrops but these need to be larger to fill the entire field of view and also be far enough in the background to be blurred by the lens.

In the article I wrote on using the reverse 50mm lens for macro images, I used other flowers behind the main subject for different colours and textures.

The above image is Red Gladiolas converted to B&W as I found that even when adjusting the saturation it did not add to the image. I highlighted the pistols in the main flower to add more focus and darken some of the top petals.


Use your own Photographs or Paintings

Depending on the size of your flower arrangement you can even print one of your images or find an image on the web that has the copyright set to creative commons for such use. Even a painting that you have hanging of the wall would be suitable.

In a previous article I used a copper plumbing tubing to create a moveable vase for outdoor photography and thereby you could have any of the nature scenes around as a suitable backdrop.




Do make sure that the backdrop image is set far enough back for adequate DOF blurring. The subject needs to be pin sharp and the background soft and diffuse in detail.

This was taken outdoors on the patio table with the black cloth as a backdrop. The cloth was placed on an angle so that the direct sun did not light any of the material directly.




Niels Henriksen


Photographer’s Showcase

Thomas Laupstad form the Photos from Northern Norway: highlight in his photographs and stores some of the unique and mystical charm of Norway.

This country in the last few years has taken on a special meaning to me, as in 2004 I found out that I have 11 brothers and sisters in Denmark I never knew existed. My parents and their ancestors are mainly from Trondheim. Norway. This August I am heading back to Denmark to visit 4 sisters I haven’t met and my 3 brothers. Over the last few years these 3 brothers have come to Canada to visit me. I may tell this story one day.


Davidlind has a blog Virginia Breeze that include writings, good poetry and image about his life in Virginia and Virginia Breeze II , which is his main collection of nature images from the same area.