(Part 2) Best products from r/photocritique

Food photography is all about textures, and for that you need strong light, so this is pretty flat and doesn't entice us with the creaminess of the ice cream, and even the sparkle of the glass can make it more appetizing. Our eyes naturally seek contrast, so giving them what they want in that regard just enhances the overall viewing experience. Also, get closer so we can see every creamy fold and chocolatey sprinkle.

Desserts are tough. Any commercial image you see of ice cream isn't ice cream, it wouldn't last under the lights. Which brings us to styling. It has to look perfect, so no smudges on the rim of the glass, the sprinkles need to be arranged perfectly, and the scoop on top needs to really look heroic.

If you really want to get into food photography I highly recommend assisting. For now, get this book, in which a few of my images are featured :) There's a Kindle edition as well. It will show you a lot of great tips and secrets for making your food shots look irresistible.

Ninja edit to add a note about desserts.

I don't think you can force a style upon yourself without blatantly copying someone else.

Based on the style you are currently shooting in, the fact that you have only 38 photos on flickr, and your approximate age (assuming you are the subject in the photos), you need to shoot a lot more.

Keep shooting the way you do maybe. Try to improve your technique both at the camera and at the computer in photoshop while thinking critically about what you like/don't like about your work. Your style will develop organically as you introduce or take away things that are either lacking or over pronounced in your work. Eventually you fill find a way of working that really flows well for you.

I think the best advice is to move slowly and try not to get too frustrated with yourself if you dislike your results.

There is a theory that it takes 10000 hours to master any craft: source. That's a lot of time, but think of any truly talented person you follow. People don't wake up one day with flawless photographic technique, much like someone that runs casually will not be taking any medals in the olympics.

Concepts may appear out of the blue, but the ability to translate it exactly as you wish into any artistic space is really the holy grail of any artform. And it takes a lot of practice.

Practice practice practice :D

Just try to be uncompromising while keeping yourself conscious of every artistic decision you make. Your style will flow out of you with little effort if you are practiced and confident.

And don't fake it - we'll know ;) :D :D

Definitely a biased subject, but that's a good thing in the long run. It just makes learning to be critical initially hard, because it's difficult for any parent to go "Wow, my kids look like ass here." Not that they look like ass here, but that's the mentality you will have to develop.

Any photographer will produce their best work when given subjects they're passionate about. Your kids are a subject you are passionate about, and are going to put in the extra work to photograph. Keep photographing them.

The time for passion and zero judgement is when you're actually shooting and making images. At your workstation, the critic has to be the predominant force. John Cleese has a talk on youtube about creativity and the two modes, if you're interested.

Here's one of my favorite books on composition. It has virtually nothing about the camera itself or workflow, except insofar as it applies to composition itself. Short, focused, and dense with information/examples.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0817454195/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Get more level with the object, and throw in some catch-lights. As for keeping the background true black, you can place a piece of flat cardboard on the end of each light box to discourage light from going to the side instead of just straight out. We call them flags, but I like to call them blinders. Call them anything you like, it's your studio.

Lastly, invest the best you can with two [Yongnuo flashes] (http://www.amazon.com/Yongnuo-560-Standard-Shoe-Flash/dp/B004GZNBH4/ref=sr_1_16?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1412171284&sr=1-16) and a [Cowboy Studio radio transmitter set] (http://www.amazon.com/CowboyStudio-NPT-04-Speelights-extra-receiver/dp/B005IQRMN4/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1412171336&sr=1-1&keywords=cowboystudio+trigger).

I have the flashes I linked to and they are fabulous - been through a lot with them and they are still going strong. Yongnuo has a ton of different types of flashes, so you have a plethora to choose from depending on what you're looking for.

Lastly, should you be into the flash option, I would say you can save yourself the trouble of outfitting them both with transmitters and just have one with the transmitter and one on S (slave) mode.

Yeah, you should, but I don't think it's hurting you in the meantime. If you can't afford 3-4 lenses and a fancy camera body yet, there's also some amazing point and shoots with manual settings and really good sensors, and they work with standard flasshes etc.

I have this one and I love it. These used to go for around 600 bucks and they're really good in low light situations

just a thought :)

If you didn't turn IS off it can over react and correct for vibrations that aren't there. Newer lenses are supposed to detect tripods and "park" the IS group but if it's on a tripod you might as well just turn IS off. You also definitely want to be in manual focus mode. You can use liveview to zoom in on a distant pinpoint light source to truly nail infinity focus.

A $25 walmart tripod can also do this.

A $60 manfrotto would help. But I'd recommend buying a nicer one with a removable plate.

Make sure your camera strap wasn't hanging/blowing in the wind I always gaff tape mine to the tripod so it doesn't blow in the wind like a damn sail.

Going deeper you can install magic lantern and use mirror lock up (the T5/T5i might have it built in). When the mirror swings out of the way it causes small vibrations. That's not your problem here but the mirror is another source of vibrations that you can eliminate. But for this shot you wouldn't notice a difference just FYI in the future.

Good for you for braving the cold and getting a nice photo! I shoot weddings and have found a small umbrella with a stand is the easiest way to "run and gun" those types of images. This set-up is a cheap and easy one and it's basically what I use whenever I need to travel light but still want great flexibility. Shooting through an open umbrella will soften your light and make your flash "bigger" without producing as harsh a shadow. Shoot through the umbrella collapsed and you'll get a smaller lightsource but still softer than direct flash. Check out this Strobist 101 article on umbrellas. Honestly, one of the best parts about umbrellas is they're relatively cheap for the beating they will take when you're out making great pics!

Sounds like you've got plenty to work on already. It takes time and effort to cover the basics, so don't feel like you need to get everything at once.

Concentrate on consistently making well-exposed, technically sound images first. Then you can start thinking about the next steps in making more powerful images. In the meantime, you'll be learning a lot without even realizing it.

Critique, in my view, is best when you've already exhausted the low-hanging fruit of beginner efforts. You'll know when you really need outside help.

Also, for a cheap tripod that's super useful and lots of fun, try this mini guy from Monfrotto: http://www.amazon.com/Manfrotto-MTPIXI-B-PIXI-Tripod-Black/dp/B00D76RNLS

I've one of the adaptors linked below for both a canon FD -> Fuji and Tamron -> Fuji. The Tamron is a great macro for my needs. It way too short for insects and the like but im not into that.
I also have a old canon 135mm f2.8 that is equivalent to 200mm. I picked the lens up super cheap and gives acceptable results. However, it can't match my previous canon 200mm L.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008BBIAUW/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Well, the idea is good, if maybe a little corny, as other posters mentioned.

The execution is not bad per se. You haven't done anything wrong here, but something like this is really hard to get right. I guess balloons just don't make for good subjects in a studio?

Have you read a book called Light: Science and Magic? It's a really really good book about lighting, and lighting different subjects with different light and angles and all sorts of details. It might be able to help you here :)

ah awesome. That's probably it. interesting. i've read about the adapters but never bothered to buy them. I've been meaning to try fisheye myself and thinking of just buying a cheap lens. the rokinon 8mm f/3.5 is supposedly pretty good, and by lens standards, cheap.

you have the composition right. good shot.

If you've been reading lots of blogs and watching tutorials I'm sure you've been picking up lots already. Some general things are the rules of composition, which aren't really defined but you can find some here. But as others have been saying you don't need to follow the rules, they can just make it easier, or if you feel something is off about a photo but can't tell what, it may be them.

If you're more interested in long exposure then maybe you might want to get a set of filters like [these](XCSOURCE 24pcs Square Full + Graduated Filter Set + 9 Size Adapter Ring Filter Holder for cokin p series LF78 https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B008H34H88/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apap_pJElhsd8NFhbB) you might not need all the colours but the ND filters at least I really like because they let you take long exposures during the day.

I think what you're really missing here is proper lighting. The valley is shaded except for that lip of sunlight in the back-right of the photo. You can play around with some color settings to try to get what you're looking for, but I don't think it'll come off looking quite as natural as what you'd want.

I always suggest taking a look at Understanding Exposure.. It's a great help in learning 1) the relationships between ISO/Aperature/Shutter Speed to achieve proper exposure, and 2) how lighting affects your image.

The exposure seems correct for the lighting situation, but the timing/composition is where you missed the boat on this particular shot. Good work, though, composition just comes down to lots of practice and exposing yourself to other photographers' works!

Sure. I would buy the cheapest Yongnuo flash i could find, just to experiment.

How about this flash $71 - YN560-IV - Amazon
And then for firing it off camera $23 - YONGNUO RF-602 - Amazon


If you are in the US, this is a good way to try out flash photography with off-camera flash for under $100. I just goggled this quickly so there may be even cheaper/better options, but i'm confident this would let you learn manual flash techniques and be a lot of fun! (Just remember to buy rechargeable batteries, otherwise you'll be spending a pretty penny on replacement AA batteries if you use it a lot)

Honestly, since you're just starting out, I can't recommend this book enough. I think I bought the 2nd edition when I started, and have since given it to friends (and even bought a copy for a good friend when she was starting out). It's fantastic, and will get you shooting in manual mode before you know it.

as a cheap lense for now, how would something like this do? It's super cheap and just screws onto the existing 52mm threads on the end of my lense, and the customer photos on amazon seem to be pretty good. Maybe I can pick one up just until I buy a nice lense. Food for thought I suppose.

Levelling your horizon will improve the shot somewhat. In this photo, there is foreground interest, but it fills the frame from top to bottom almost entirely. Anyway, practice makes perfect. And I highly recommend Bryan Peterson's book, Learning to See Creatively.

I just recently started using this one. Maybe not the highest quality, but I do photography just for fun right now, so there's not much point in shelling out $50 or more for a nicer one. It does the job and it's easy to carry.

The standard Bible.
https://www.amazon.ca/Understanding-Exposure-Fourth-Photographs-Camera/dp/1607748509/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1510675108&sr=1-1&keywords=Understanding+Exposure&dpID=51RRgrqGUgL&preST=_SX258_BO1,204,203,200_QL70_&dpSrc=srch