Guest Blogging - Food Photography #4

It's been long since I updated my blog.....simple reason...I am at my mom's place...relishing, relaxing, rejuvenating and rejoicing....My lil one MM is fully enjoying all the attention and pampering getting from her grand parents and sweet aunt.....Now coming to today's post....as by now most of you know about food photography series being featured on first of every month. After talking much about light, camera, angles and settings....I thought of moving on with blog props. Blog props play much important role in food photography.....where food photography has involved as a new hobby/passion blog props play a major role in making the food appealing to the eyes....

The guest who is going to share her asset of blog props and who is going to make a clear cut notes on blog props is someone who has acclaimed heights of blogging with in no time since she started her blog. I choose her because I am always bowled by her unique and distinguished look of her food pictures. Colorful props and elegant backgrounds and cute hand made articles are signature in the food pictures of her blog...I am talking about none other than friendly and charming Nithi Rajasekaran of The 4th Sense Cooking. When I contacted Nithi to make a guest post on blog props, she enthusiastically accepted my invitation and being busy with her work she manged to send a detailed post on the topic. Scroll down to check what Nithi is going to tell us about backgrounds and blog props....

A warm hug to Lubna for giving me such a nice opportunity to write on her blog and for choosing a favorite topic of mine as well.

I was surprised and also was wondering if I would be worth it to talk about photography! But then the two topics that she wanted me to cover were my most favorites. First being backgrounds and next the properties involved in food photography. Though not sure if I am an expert at it, I have always enjoyed that specific phase of food blogging or rather photography. So I happily agreed to share my behind the scene secrets with you all :)

I always believe that colors have the ability to bring a canvas to life. I enjoy playing with colors in my photographs.

BackgroundBackground of an image is as important as the foreground or the subject as such. The dish that you make gets really highlighted only when the background is supportive and pretty.There are various items that you can choose as backgrounds for you photograph

• Colored charts
• Hand made papers
• Wall papers
• Planks of wood roughly painted
• Colorful napkins
• Gift wrappers
  
• A dining table as such
• or even a simple Dhupatta or saree can do wonders to your pics.
  

Colored charts that I use as background

Properties A wonderfully cooked up curry which tastes amazing could look absolutely unappealing when presented in a cooker that it was made!!!(excuse exceptions) That is not what you want right??!!Its not just the dish that gets one's attention to the pic. It could even be the serving bowl, or the flowers used at the background or even a simple napkin could grab the attention. So do concentrate on all the properties on the setup to make it a beautiful pic on the whole.

I choose colorful bowls and plates that suit the dish and highlight it very well. Plastics, ceramics or glass!! what ever they are made of have their own attraction quotient definitely :)

Flowers never fail to make us smile :) Choose pretty flowers that compliment your dish as backdrops.

Now comes the most important and interesting part of the post - factors that help us choose the best backdrops and settings.

I go by following simple rules of colors or color theories that help us choose the best schemes that pleases our eyes.

Monochromatic Color Scheme:

Monochromatic color schemes are derived from a single base color and extended using its shades, tones and tints.

Using one single color in the picture from its lightest shade to the darkest can keep the focus on the subject color and would register in the viewers mind easily.

Simply go ahead choosing background and properties of the same color of the dish :)

Example:I have used only shades of yellow as the main color and have extend to its lightest shade being white in mango yoghurt parfait picture below.

Complimentary color scheme

Complimentary colors are colors that are opposite to each other on the color wheel.

Complementary color schemes have a more energetic feel. The extreme contrast between the colors creates a vibrant and fresh look.

Example:

I have used Purple and Orange as prominent colors which are complimentary to each other and highlight the picture.

The vibrancy is phenomenal when such opposite colors are used.

Analogous color scheme:

Analogous colors are colors that are adjacent to each other on the color wheel. Analogous color schemes are pleasing to the eye. They usually match well and create serene and comfortable photographs.

Example:I have used Yellow, Orange and Green in this picture that blends well and gives a pleasing effect.

Bi-Color and Tri-Color: Restricting the number of colors in a picture to two or three result in extremely pleasing pictures. Example: I have kept it simple and classic by choosing background and properties of just two colors(yellow and brown) in the first pic and three colors(Yellow, pink and green) in the second photograph.

Apart from having such colored backgrounds you could simply choose to have nature as the background at times too. The photos give a very pleasing and homely appearance when they are shot next to a window :)

Example:The apple tea photograph below was shot next to a large window. The blurred trees at the backdrop give it a nice tropical look isn't it?!!!

Saying all that, we can also have simple vegetable or fruit carvings as our properties too.

Use the prominent veggi or fruit used in the dish to carve out simple flowers or creatures and place them next to the dish. You would score extra points for this from your viewer :) It shows your creativity and also enhances the presentation factor of the picture.

Example:I have carved out frogs from green bell peppers and used it as a property to decorate my Bell pepper rice.

The aim of food photography is to make people drool, so keep clicking pics with different backgrounds and settings until you reach your goal :)

Food photography involves a huge scope of creativity and I have realized it in the two years I have been blogging. The best way to learn is to try and keep on trying different things.

Enjoy clicking :)

In case if you have missed the entries under this series, here are the links to the posts.....

Guest Blogging - Food Photography #3 by Nisha of Look Who's Cooking Too.

Guest Blogging - Food Photography #2 by Kulsum of Journey Kitchen.

Guest Blogging - Food Photography #1 by Namitha of Collaborative Curry.