Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Breakfast Food Photography - Need Help Selecting A Photo for Submission


I always ALWAYS have difficulties with selecting photographs to submit to events/competitions/blog postings.

I'll blame it on my trigger-happy-made-for-digital-photography fingers. I could easily take a hundred shots of one object from identical angle....sigh...thus, as expected, selecting a couple of pictures is a pain in the ass for me, not to mention, just one photograph.

I desperately need help T_T

These are pictures I shot for Still Life Fotografi group, and I can't decide which one to submit for the round up...

In this case, may I shift all the responsibilities to you? ^_^

The shot above is Working Breakfast #1
It's a coconut cream bun from local traditional bakery, simply placed on my laptop (laptop can act as a food heater too hehe), the lighting is from my living room window on the left, reflected with a white cardboard from the right. I was pretending to read the South China Morning Post online, although what I would really read should be Perez Hilton.
- Manual mode
- Aperture 3.5
- ISO 400
- Shutter speed 1/50


Working Breakfast #2
Focused more on the bun, got rid of the empty tea cup and milk bottle, replaced it with blue and white tea pot.
Same lighting and camera setup as the above shot.


TV Breakfast #1
I love eating in front of my TV. If I had my way, I'd eat all my meals while watching my favorite bad TV shows. I am trying a new setup with this shot. Back lit, no reflector, shot from further distance, same camera setup as the above.


TV Breakfast #2
Closer shot of the above setup.


TV Breakfast #3
I wanted to include a bit of my beloved TV in the shot.
Do you like the raggedy old folding stool?


Breakfast Table #1
Do I really have my breakfasts like this? Surely, no.
I've been really lazy with food styling these days, but it was weekend, so I gave it a bit more effort.
The lighting still came from living room windows, reflected from the left with white cardboard, and I've increased the aperture to 2.8.


Breakfast Table #2
A closer shot of the above setup, as I found the black chair pretty out of place :(


Breakfast Table #3
Frog eye view (is there such a view?) of the above setup. I can see the lid of my beloved blue thermos here ^_^ you like?


The photog
Just woke up, haven't had breakfast, haven't showered...(OK, stop there. Too much info!)


The height booster
Many of you must recognise the green stool. Obviously my 154cm height is not enough to take the shots.

Now, tell me, which shot is your favorite and why?

All shots taken with CANON EOS 400D with 50mm f/1.8 lens.

21 comments:

"Joe" who is constantly craving said...

there all seemed abit "placed"..try a natural approach..i dun think u will usually place ur brekfast items like in ur pics..i prefer things where there are, n focus is on the items

Coffee and Vanilla said...

TV Breakfast #2
Love the detail and pillows.

Breakfast Table #3
Perfect compositions and colours.

Hope it helps, Margot

Anonymous said...

Tv breakfast #1!

They're all nice photos, but I get a better feeling from looking at it haha

Anonymous said...

On second thoughts, I like tv breakfast #2 as well :P

anyway I've added you to my blogroll hope you don't mind. Good luck!

pam said...

I like working breakfast 2.

Little Corner of Mine said...

Wish I can help, but I am bad at composition, lighting, etc. I don't have the eyes for it. But I like the old school milk bottle. Nice!

Diana B. said...

I really like TV breakfast no. 1! It's the most expressive! And the pillows are lovely!

Indonesia Eats said...

i like breakfast table #3, componya pas

EatTravelEat said...

I think I like Working Breakfast #2 as well as Breakfast Table #3 the best. I do however also like Breakfast Table #1 due to that everything is more colorful but Table #3 looks like the better angle to me.

Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella said...

That is a hard one! There are so many and I admit I have trouble figuring out which ones to use too!

Raye S. said...

Working Breakfast #1
has the best concept going, and good tight compo.

Breakfast Table #3
Has the best point of view and more traditional "food photography" look. It also has the best focus.

My pick?
Breakfast Table #3
It makes me want that little coconut cream bun! : )

daphne said...

I like breakfast 3 best-because of the angle and the "rustic" feel of it.

[ sherrii ] said...

My favourite is actually working breakfast #3. It has really good composition, and the milk jar is so cute~

But TV #1 does make it seem heaven-sent. =D

tigerfish said...

You gave me another headache cos' usually I have difficult selecting photos too!

For me, either breakfast table #1 or #3? Hahahha, I really don't know!

Foni said...

gue suka working no 1,
tv no 2, table no 2..

foni said...

rit, gue suka working no 1, tv no 2 and table no 2 juga..

HoustonWok said...

tv breakfast 1 I enjoyed it!

Unknown said...

thanks for all the suggestions and kind comments, guys...

i was super torn between the choices. finally, i went with tv breakfast #1, being one of the most popular choices, and because it's a style i haven't tried before.

Really appreciate your input, guys! thanks a lotttt

therry said...

Brilliant, Rits! I wish I had a DSLR too, you're such a food photo hero! :)

The tai-tai (wannabe) said...

I hope its not too late to contribute here, but I love working breakfast and TV breakfast no.2

SteamyKitchen said...

oh I looove the raggedy old stool...such character.