By June Smith

Were ever your look you will experience food photography. We are embedded in a sea of it. Open a magazine or newspaper and it will be there hurling its mouth watering images out at you exciting your taste buds into action.

When you see some of the pro photographs of food you may think that you may never be able to take such good pics but you could surprise yourself. Much of food photography is about technique and tips and tricks.

Light as always with photography is King. Get it right and you create magic. Get it wrong and we all know the result! Treat the food you're photographing as you would any other still life subject and ensure that it is well lit. Most of the bad examples of food photography you will come across would have been drastically improved with adequate lighting.

One of the best places to photograph food is by a window where there is abundant natural light - perhaps supported with flash bounced off a ceiling or wall to give more balanced lighting that cuts out the shadows. This daylight helps to keep the food looking much more natural.

If you are going to be doing a lot of food photos then consider creating a food light box to make your job simpler and quicker. This consists of a framed area covered in diffusion screens with lights behind on stands or attached to flexible tubes so you can move them easily into position. The food sits on a plain smooth single coloured background cover that is usually white so there is no background to remove with Photoshop later. Make sure the cover is easy to wipe in case of food splashes.

Slow shutter speed is king for food pics to capture the depth of the image. Make sure your camera is well mounted on a strong tripod and of course you should be using a shutter release cable to stop any camera shaking resulting in blurring.

Use the right props with your pictures and they will bring your photos alive. We eat food literally with our eyes first so feed the eyes with lots of variety and colour.

Use professional equipment when you do food photography and you will see the results. Using good quality lighting and a high quality camera are the main equipment your will need. You have to use a SLR camera with food photography if you want to get the best results. You will need to be able to zoom in and control the shutter and aperture settings to capture the full depth of the image.

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