Food Photography 101
- 1.5 hours on-demand video
- 6 articles
- 18 downloadable resources
- Full lifetime access
- Access on mobile and TV
- Assignments
- Certificate of Completion
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Try Udemy for Business- How to improve your food photography.
- How to work with natural light to get great food photos.
- How to style & compose your food photos for maximum effect.
- This course is designed to be most useful if you have a DSLR camera (any brand).
- You will get maximum value from this course if you have a basic understanding of your camera's settings.
With Food Photography 101, you will learn how to get better results with your food photos. When you know how to use your camera’s settings and learn some creative composition and styling tips, you will be proud of your food photos and they will get noticed.
Master Your Camera and Composition to Take Great Food Photos
Learn what “perfect exposure” means and how to use your camera’s settings to get it
Understand how technical decisions affect your food photos
Master natural light to bring out the best in your food photography
Recognize how to use or break the rules to make your compositions stand out
Create impact using food styling tips and tricks
If you’re frustrated with your food photos, this food photography course is for you.
I want to share with you all the things I learned that helped me get my food photos published. Whether you want to be an instagram influencer, food blogger, or magazine food photographer, I designed this course to give you the information and tips you need to take your food photography to the next level.
In addition to the video instruction, you get to download lesson summaries that you can save to your mobile phone to have with you at every step of your food photography journey. These portable tips & tricks graphics mean you have me in the palm of your hand during every food photo shoot.
And I invite you to use the Udemy platform to connect and stay in touch with me with your questions and success stories!
What you will learn:
How to make light work for you when taking food photos
How exposure decisions make or break your food photos
How to use your camera’s settings to get perfect exposure
How shutter speed, aperture and ISO decisions help you take great food photos
When to use a tripod or hand-hold your camera
What location in your house or restaurant is the best place to take food photos
What kinds of household tools can help you use natural light to your advantage
How the location of the natural light affects your food photos
How to manage dark locations and still get good food photos
What composition rules to use and what rules to break to create compelling food photos
How important your background is to help frame your photo and tell your story
What angles to shoot at for good food photos
How to use negative space, leading lines and diagonals to make food photos stand out
How to create compelling scenes using food styling tips & tricks
Why simplicity is your friends
How to have fun when styling your food photos
What role the color wheel plays in your food styling choices
How to use texture and other food in food photography styling
- Advanced beginners or intermediate food photographers who are frustrated with their results and want to get better.
In this introductory video, I share my journey to becoming a professional, published food photographer. Learn what this dynamic course has to offer!
• Throughout this course, all photos included are copyright Barbara Cameron Pix, unless otherwise noted.
• Video Editing & Instructional Design: www.learningxdesigns.com
• Music: https://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music
Your first homework assignment is to connect with me! Listen to this quick video to learn what you can tell or ask me.
And then, I want you to do some field research to find food photos that tell a story.
Do a search for #foodphotos on Instagram (or flip through a food magazine), and pick out 1 image that really captures your attention, a photo that you think tells a story very well.
Send me a message telling me the story, and if you can, the URL for the image. (On instagram, just click on the 3 dots to the upper right of the image and tap copy link, then paste it into the message box.)
Happy searching!
I know that most beginning photographers are so excited to capture photos that they set their camera on all auto settings and start clicking. And then they are disappointed with the results.
Knowing how to use your camera's settings is super-important, especially with food photography!
So I have structured this course to start with instruction on the technical aspects of food photography, and I encourage you to start here before diving into the creative sections.
So this technical considerations section will help you learn the fundamental technical decisions you need to take before you begin to photograph your subject.
Learn about your camera's exposure meter and how you can use it to take better food photos.
Note: in the video I show you how to use the focus spot/exposure meter using live view on the LCD on my Fuji mirrorless camera. Your camera may be different, and you may not use the live view feature. But you should be able to see the focus spot in your viewfinder when you press the shutter half-way. That's what is important. Learn how to change the location of your focus spot on your particular camera, just like I move it around on my Fuji. If you have questions, go ahead and use the Udemy Q&A feature so I can respond to you and all students.
Tip: Watch this video now, and then come back and watch it again after you've finished Lecture 10. It may be confusing the first time but it should make more sense after you move through the other lessons.
This lesson includes a downloadable graphic that you can save to your mobile phone to have handy during your food photo shoots.
Learn how shutter speed decisions can help you get perfect exposure, and help you create better food photos.
This lesson includes a downloadable graphic that you can save to your mobile phone to have handy during your food photo shoots.
(Additional photo credits: Pixabay, Hassan OUAJBIR, JESHOOTS.COM, palu)
Learn what aperture means, and how aperture decisions can help you get perfect exposure, and help you create better food photos.
Tip: After you've finished this lecture, go back and view Lecture 5 again. You may understand how the exposure meter works now that you understand the how shutter speed, ISO and aperture work together to create perfect exposure.
This lesson includes a downloadable graphic that you can save to your mobile phone to have handy during your food photo shoots.
(Aperture Image Source: http://jimmccarthy.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/DepthofField_Aperture.pdf)
Photography means painting with light, so lighting is one of the most important aspects to think about when you want to create great food photos.
This lesson bridges the gap between technical and creative decision making, giving you tips and tricks on how to strategically use natural lighting and other simple tools to create a well-lit scene for your food photos.
In this lesson, I deconstruct several food photos to teach you about:
tripods vs. aperture settings
diffused lighting
side lighting
backlighting
highlights & shadows
dark locations
This lesson includes a downloadable graphic that you can save to your mobile phone to have handy during your food photo shoots.
And, I've also included a couple of set-up samples showing:
north window lighting with foam core to bounce light back on the subject
south window lighting with foam core plus diffusion (shower curtain) taped to the window
I know you're excited to be done with the technical information, it's time to get creative! That's what you really want to know, right?
Well congratulations for getting through the technical considerations. I know it can be boring and daunting, but when you have the knowledge and get good at making all the right technical decisions before you click your shutter, I know you will take better photos.
In this lesson, I deconstruct several food photos to show you different compositional rules and techniques, and how you can use them, or break them, to create great food photos. We will cover:
backgrounds
rule of thirds
horizon line
negative space
odd numbers
animation
framing
angle of view
leading lines
diagonals
And this lesson includes a downloadable graphic that you can save to your mobile phone to have handy during your food photo shoots.
Learn how the creative use of props and styling can dramatically affect the overall outcome of your photographs.
In this lesson, I deconstruct several food photos to give you an idea of how props and styling choices can help you create better food photos. You will learn about:
simplicity
color
texture
other food
dishes, utensils, linens
other props
And this lesson includes a downloadable graphic that you can save to your mobile phone to have handy during your food photo shoots.
(Additional photo credits: Dmitry Zvolskiy, Hiago Italo, Aditya Moses, Duong Nhan)
Thank-you for taking my Food Photography 101 course. I hope you have learned a lot of information that will help you take great food photos.
As a little gift for sticking through to the end, I've added a final download with a list of my top tips for food photography. Keep this handy as you move forward in your journey.
One of the first students who completed Food Photography 101 made a very good suggestion.
He said, “What I think would be helpful for me, and possibly other users, is to add a [lesson] where you construct all the pieces of the photo starting with the story, background, lighting, what aperture, shutter speed and ISO to select and why, then onto props and styling.”
Well, I thought that was a very good idea!
In this bonus lecture, I walk through a food photo shoot from start to finish. In a series of downloadable resources you will learn about:
setting the vision for the story you want to tell
what pre-production tasks have to be done ahead of time
why test shots on location help you choose the right camera gear and settings for the lighting situation you are in
what kinds of shots to make sure you take
what post-production tasks to do when you're done shooting