Category: Guest Blogs

Hello guys! I am Shilpa, a food content creator based in Bangalore, India and the person behind my blog and Instagram page: Vanilla Trails.

A little about myself

I am an engineer by profession and quit a 9 year stint in the IT sector to  finally follow my passion for food. I discovered my love for food quite recently. Until 10 years ago, I didn’t even know I liked exploring new cuisines and flavours nor did I know that I was capable of cooking even rice let alone bake fancy desserts.

It was my love for baking and creating healthy recipes that began my journey of food photography. I wanted to be able to share these recipes and pictures with everyone.

A self taught baker and food photographer most of my knowledge is thanks to generous people who have shared their knowledge on their blogs and YouTube channels. Here is my humble attempt to share a few tips on shooting close ups with standard lenses that I have learnt along the way.

Shooting Closeups doesn’t have to be an expensive affair

We all love the magic of a good closeup shot- the beauty in the details that our eyes don’t commonly register.

For clicking a good closeup shot, one needs a macro lens. It lets you get closer to the subject, capture the details that our naked eye can’t even see. That’s why most of us find a close up shot so fascinating!

Macro lenses undoubtedly are the best way to capture a closeup. However when one is beginning their photography journey it may not always be the most economical option.

So what do you do if you love closeup shots and you don’t have a macro lens? Well, here are some things that will help you take beautiful close up pictures with your regular lens.

Things to keep in mind while shooting close-ups

The first thing to understand when you are trying to click closeups shots, is – the more enlarged an object more visible the details. So one has to focus on capturing as much details as possible to take a good close up shot. Here are some factors to consider.

Shooting Closeups with Standard Lenses-Tips & Tricks

Aperture

Use a high F-stop number. This means that the aperture is high leading to a wider depth of field. Wide depth of field indicates that it keeps maximum things in the frame in focus. It is always a good idea to have as much detail of the object in focus as possible. Because when we see the object enlarged, which is what happens when we shoot close up, the details are that much more visible. Blurry closeups are hardly attractive. A good F-stop number to work with in this case, will be just 1 or 2 stops below the maximum value on your camera for that lens.

Light and ISO when shooting closeups

The second thing to consider while clicking closeup is to shoot in enough light, even if you want a moody feel to your pictures. Clicking in low light always affects the details. It will also require you to shoot with a higher ISO to increase the amount of light in the frame. But this in turn will introduce noise in the picture and the details will not be as sharp as needed for a closeup shot.

Tripod is key when shooting closeups

The next thing that helps big time is using a tripod. Clicking handheld can create a blur with even the slightest movement of our hands. A tripod ensures that there are no compromises in terms of sharpness because of any camera movement. This results in sharper images.

Minimum focus distance when shooting closeups

Another factor that plays a big role when trying to click closeup, is not to get too close to the subject physically when shooting.

What is Minimum Focus Distance?

Every lens has a minimum distance at which it can start to focus well. The minimum focus distance is the shortest distance at which a lens can focus. Set up your camera at the closest point from where you can clearly focus on the subject, without compromising the quality/sharpness.

Click pictures from this distance, even if it means you end up framing more area than needed. You can always crop out the unwanted details later.In this case, it is always good to crop the image to focus on the area you want. This ensures we do not miss out on those beautiful details and avoid distortion around the edges. 

Here are some examples of close up shots that have been well appreciated on my blog/instagram account along with  the EXIF data:

Blueberries

Camera settings: F 22 | 8” | 50mm | ISO 200 

Cherries

Camera setting: F 18 | 2” | 50mm | ISO 100

Popcorn

Camera settings: F 18 | 4” | 50mm | ISO 100

Sesame seeds

Camera settings: F 22 | 4” | 50mm | ISO 100 

Editing

One last thing to consider for good closeup pictures is post processing. While editing, do not be afraid to increase the sharpness and clarity just a little bit more. Also sometimes intensifying the shadows makes the image look sharper. So, play with various parameters while editing and see how you can increase the sharpness and intensify the details. And you are all set to create some beautiful closeup pictures!

For more such informative posts do follow my blog and instagram account:

Blog link: https://www.vanillatrails.com/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/vanillatrails/

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You may also find the below :

Behind the Scenes & Styling Tips by Ritumbhara Chinnabalan

 

Hello! I am Ritumbhara – Food photographer and Recipe Developer based in India. A simple country girl living in a small town in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu . Had you asked me my future plans two years back, you would have heard a surprisingly different story unveil but here I am today – having found my true calling 🙂

Of all the different things I’ve tried to do, cooking has had my fascination since childhood- from jumping in joy upon sighting a fruit vendor to enjoying chopping vegetables! Few things have never changed for me! I still remain that girl who enjoys the simple things in life. My work is deeply influenced / inspired by exactly the same thing – “ LIFE ”

My town, my culture, the mundane and humble everyday acts that take up my day including feeding and cuddling my chicks. These are some of the things that reflect in my work. One of my mantras is – Art should be evocative, convey a message and make the viewer feel deeply connected . And each of my images is a reflection of the same.

When I am not behind the lens you would find me reading, singing and randomly gazing into nothingness!! If at all you could call it a hobby, lol!!

I would love to start this conversation with one of my favourite quotes by Albert Einstein –

IF AT FIRST, THE IDEA IS NOT ABSURD, THEN
THERE IS NO HOPE FOR IT.

How powerful is that to think over right? And this thought is always a driving force behind all my images. After all, aren’t absurd ideas fun?!

Now, before I take you behind the scenes and my creative process for this image , I would break down the complete process into three parts, just for ease of understanding  –

1) Ideation
2) Preparation
3) Actual shoot

In the ‘ Ideation ’ part, we shall go through my thought process prior to the shoot which would cover all the minute details of planning a mood board. This is my most favourite part I must admit 🙂

In the ‘ Prep ’ part we shall go through the trials that take place before the actual shoot

And then the ‘ Actual Shoot ’ itself where we shall discuss the technical aspects of photography- from lighting to composition

 

Ideation

As mentioned earlier, the time spent on ideation is my favourite part as I feel it gives me the most creative satisfaction.

There are a couple of things I consider and make note of before actually picking up the camera :

• First and foremost – deciding on the dish that is to be shot – our HERO
• The story or emotion that I want to convey to the viewer
• The mood that best helps in bringing out the story- Lighting/Colour scheme/Props
• Angle of the shot

The dish

I wanted to shoot mini chocolate bundt cakes as you can see in the image. I always love miniature versions of food not just because they are cute but also because you can gulp down your individual portions! lol!

Also, these were super yum and hard to keep my hands off of them while shooting! I know you hear me on this!! So, the heroes in our frame- Mini Chocolate Bundt Cakes.

The story

While I was baking these mini bundt cakes I couldn’t help but note that:

• they are cute
• they are geometrical and artistic
• each one is an individual serving that can keep people at a table happily engaged
• also, the colour and taste of these minis would evoke a feeling of warmth

Hence, the above had to be translated in the final image too for the viewer to truly enjoy the picture

The mood

A warm mood would do justice to the above story is what I gathered.The kind of warmth which is a reminder of a cozy evening.

Few important tools that would help me achieve this warmth:

• Lighting
• Colour scheme
• Props and the Angle of the shot -Extremely critical in bringing together the desirable mood

The lighting

While we shall go into the details of light source later, here, during the ideation – I considered soft light and shadow play in the frame unlike my usual style where I love deeper and dramatic shadows.
Visualise those really soft shadows cast while the sun begins to set? I thought that would render the warmth that I intended.

Colour Scheme

I wanted to go for an almost monochromatic look where all the elements in the frame are in shades of the same hue / colour. In this case, Brown would be that colour for us. I was not quite sure if it would work at this point because we know – an ALL BROWN image isn’t fun and easy to achieve at times!

So if you notice, not only is the Hero brown here but so is the background different shades of brown.

I chose to compose an all brown image because I thought brown is a colour that exudes a great deal of warmth relative to other colours.

Props

I love this part!! Which food photographer doesn’t love props right? I am someone who goes gaga over beautiful props all the time!!

Also props can make or break an image!! So, it is very important to choose the right props that can elevate the story we intend to convey to the viewer. Here the props I have used are mini and large tart tins and black terracotta plates. There are 3 reasons why I used the tart tins here:

• First- Their pattern is almost similar to the pattern of the bundt cakes. So, by bringing together the pattern of food and props we can add to the visual interest
• As I mentioned earlier- the bundt cakes are cute, geometric and artistic. I wanted to use the tart tins as a tool to emphasize these features
• Layering by using the same prop in different sizes adds drama and a lot of visual interest as well

Another important prop that brings everything together thereby playing a major role in this image is the surface or the background . In this case it is a large vintage door we had at home.

Reasons I wanted to use this door:

• While flatlays are beautiful, they can sometimes look boring and less appealing with the use of normal plain surfaces that we usually see. So, I wanted to use a surface that was eye catching and had more visual appeal
• The door had grids and lines that can add different heights to the flatlay
• The different shades of brown in the surface was perfect to achieve the monochromatic look

Angle of the shot

I wanted to shoot the bundts in a flat-lay mainly to bring in the feel that they could be enjoyed as individual portions by people at a table.

 

Preparation

Now, after ideating and jotting down all my ideas as discussed above, I usually test shoot to know whether these ideas can become a reality.

For this, even before I start cooking a dish, I set up the complete frame without the food and take trial shots to see if the frame looks good and the results are what I intend to achieve.

Actual Shoot

Lighting

This image was shot in natural light.The source of light here is a south facing window and the image is side lit.

The room I shoot in is really dark with a single source of natural light which is the window. So, I had set up the background (the door) on a table right next to the window (light source).

Composition

When it comes to composing the scene, the surface aka the background (the door) here plays a major role. If you can see its placement , I have placed it diagonally instead of laying it straight.
The main reason behind this was to add to the drama by having the grids run diagonally through the frame.

I also placed the props along the diagonal grids of the door so as to lead the viewer’s eye along the lines and subsequently from one bundt to another
A quick note to add that I am not really a follower of composition rules when it comes to composing an image! Yup! You heard it right 🙂

However if I did have to break down this image as per the various composition guidelines/rules, the following have been at play here:

• Diagonals- As we saw earlier, the diagonals has worked in 2 ways – By placing the door diagonally & the grids of the door running diagonally
• Leading Lines- I have used the diagonal grids of the door as the leading lines that leads the viewer’s eye from one bundt to the other
• Triangles- I’m sure you noticed – the bundts have been placed along triangles which I thought would add to the artistic effect creating a visually intriguing image

And that is all! I am so happy to have shared my knowledge and I really hope you enjoyed this little behind the scenes and found it useful. Please remember – Being a creative is a boon and always be guided by your heart !!

Much love

Ritu

Follow my work on Instagram where I share similar Behind The Scenes & Styling Tips :

https://www.instagram.com/happytummybyritumbhara/

https://www.instagram.com/happytummybyritumbhara/