The Food Photography Topic

[JoNorvelleWalker]

7 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

 

Doesn't that depend on the material? Are they all reflective?

 

Before I bought the background board above, I regularly used a white melamine tray without refection problems. I would have thought black boards less reflective.

 

 

Depends I would think on the material.

 

[liuzhou]

10 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Depends I would think on the material.

 

 

Yes. That was my point. It also depends how black the black really is. It is lack of reflectivity that defines blackness, after all.

 

[Mjx]

15 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

For those using black cutting boards:  what about reflections from the surface?

 

 

Sometimes I get a bit of reflection, but slightly adjusting the lighting takes care of anything problematic; Also, I don't use a flash. My cutting boards are quite scratched up, which further dulls the surface   Sometimes I want a dense black background, but other times I really like that clearly, these are cutting boards beneath the food.

[liuzhou]

11 minutes ago, Mjx said:

Also, I don't use a flash.

 

I hate flash! In fact, my main camera doesn't even have flash.

I would add that just sometimes reflections aren't bad!

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

As an example how my life is going, my new Sony lens won't be fully paid off till next year but already I have dropped it on the floor.  Thankfully the lens is ruggedized and it landed on the rug.  No harm seems to have been done.

 

Some of my finest portrait photographs have been made with flash, although I have never tried using flash for food.

 

[FlashJack]

You got off lightly with a warning from the universe Jo. Buy a lottery ticket with the money you just 'saved'.

 

I still haven't got over losing a Nikon 28-200 zoom that toppled from a tripod I hadn't give enough attention to. I had to replace it with a cheaper 28-300 that I still can't love.

 

Flash has its place but sometimes takes a lot of taming.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

11 minutes ago, FlashJack said:

You got off lightly with a warning from the universe Jo. Buy a lottery ticket with the money you just 'saved'.

 

I still haven't got over losing a Nikon 28-200 zoom that toppled from a tripod I hadn't give enough attention to. I had to replace it with a cheaper 28-300 that I still can't love.

 

Flash has its place but sometimes takes a lot of taming.

 

I once had a 1000mm lens pull the bottom off a camera body.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

In another topic @TdeV mentioned the advantages of higher resolution photographs for food.  How high a resolution or how large a file size will the eGullet forum software accept?

 

 

[liuzhou]

On 12/19/2022 at 2:17 AM, JoNorvelleWalker said:

In another topic @TdeV mentioned the advantages of higher resolution photographs for food.  How high a resolution or how large a file size will the eGullet forum software accept?

 

 

 

No matter how large a format you upload, the eG software automatically reduces it to a maximum 1000 pixels at the longest edge.

Edited December 20, 2022 by liuzhou (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

1 hour ago, liuzhou said:

 

No matter how large a format you upload, the eG software automatically reduces it to a maximum 1000 pixels at the longest edge. Files over 5 or 6 Mb probably won't upload at all.

 

As @TdeV said:  "When you post a large image, eGullet will display the image at a smaller size. However, for those viewers who are interested, they can enlarge the image to see all the fine details."

[liuzhou]

You can download the 1000 pixel photograph and enlarge it in some editing software, but it isn't at the original resolution. I've tried it. There is severe degradaion.

[TdeV]

1 minute ago, liuzhou said:

You can download the 1000 pixel photograph and enlarge it in some editing software, but it isn't at the original resolution. I've tried it. There is severe degradaion.

 

My point exactly.

[FlashJack]

On 12/19/2022 at 7:33 AM, liuzhou said:

There is severe degradaion.

Liuzhou are you an Apple man? If so, check out Pixelmator Pro. Made in Blighty with a cheap perpetual licence and frequent improvements.

 

It has a marvellous machine learning 3x upscaling feature you might like. Also excellent denoising.

[liuzhou]

4 minutes ago, FlashJack said:

Liuzhou are you an Apple man?

 

No.

[liuzhou]

On 12/19/2022 at 2:17 AM, JoNorvelleWalker said:

How high a resolution or how large a file size will the eGullet forum software accept?

 

I've just uploaded a 13.6 Mb image. Another at 17.7Mb failed. I'm not sure that size is the main criteria; could be a timing thing.

[PatrickT]

4 minutes ago, Ann_T said:

Baked four sourdough baguettes yesterday morning. The dough had been in the fridge for three days.

 

Lopped off a piece of dough for Matt and he made himself a pizza for breakfast. It was out of the oven before 7:00.

Potato pizza with three cheeses. Mozzarella, with just a little cheddar and finished with fresh grated Parmesan.

He loves the sourdough crust for pizza.

I cut one of the baguettes to make a sandwich using leftover roast beef. 

Taking it to work for lunch with leftover au jus for dipping. 

 

Your breads are always perfection @Ann_T - and your post here is no exception. But I really have to call out your husband today for his impeccable photography. He consistently brings out the very best qualities of your baking and other culinary gifts!

[Ann_T]

15 minutes ago, PatrickT said:

 

Your breads are always perfection @Ann_T - and your post here is no exception. But I really have to call out your husband today for his impeccable photography. He consistently brings out the very best qualities of your baking and other culinary gifts!

 I shared your comment with Moe and he found it really amusing.     He said he wouldn't even know what button to push on the phone. 

I don't think he has ever taken a photo of anything. 

[PatrickT]

1 minute ago, Ann_T said:

 I shared your comment with Moe and he found it really amusing.     He said he wouldn't even know what button to push on the phone. 

I don't think he has ever taken a photo of anything. 

 

Am I mistaken? If so I apologize. I thought he was the one who took all the photos of your baked goods. Is it you - or Matt?

[Ann_T]

5 minutes ago, PatrickT said:

Am I mistaken? If so I apologize. I thought he was the one who took all the photos of your baked goods. Is it you - or Matt?

No need to apologize.  I take the photos. If you knew Moe you would understand why he found it amusing.  

 

They are all taken on a Samsung phone.  Recently upgraded to the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. Prior to that I used the S10 Plus and before that the S5.

Edited February 2, 2024 by Ann_T (log)

[PatrickT]

Just now, Ann_T said:

I take the photos.

They are all taken on a Samsung phone.  Recently upgraded to the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. Prior to that I used the S10 Plus and before that the S5.

 

Well you are twice blessed, then. Kudos to the Chef and Photographer! 

[Tropicalsenior]

29 minutes ago, Ann_T said:

They are all taken on a Samsung phone. 

So glad to know that someone else just uses their phone. Galaxy has a  great editing feature so if they don't come out perfectly you can tweak them a bit. I do have a fine camera but in order to use it and to share pictures I have to drag out the computer. It's not worth all the effort. Not when you can get good results with a Galaxy phone.

[liuzhou]

Although I have four top end DSLRs and multiple lenses and other toys, 95% of my food pictures are done with my cell phone.

 

Quicker, easier and, importantly, unobtrusive in restaurants etc.

[Tan Can Cook]

21 hours ago, C. sapidus said:

Mom Leuang Neuang's famous sate, from Thai Food. Marinate slices of chicken thigh meat with coconut milk, sweetened condensed milk, palm sugar, fish sauce, turmeric, whiskey, and a spice paste of shallot, peanuts, and toasted/ground coriander and cumin seed. Grill over charcoal, and serve wrapped in Boston lettuce leaves with peanut sauce.

 

Peanut sauce: ginger, garlic, jalapeno and habanero chiles, scallions, palm sugar, and chunky peanut butter, simmered with coconut milk, fish sauce, and lemon juice. I am fairly certain that Mrs. C would commit at least minor crimes for good peanut sauce. 😉

 

 

I see you know your way around both your kitchen and your camera. Well done. I am assuming you fixed or corrected for (if any) white balancing issues, yes? Then again, my monitor is calibrated via a dedicated colorimeter.

[C. sapidus]

4 hours ago, Tan Can Cook said:

 

I see you know your way around both your kitchen and your camera. Well done. I am assuming you fixed or corrected for (if any) white balancing issues, yes? Then again, my monitor is calibrated via a dedicated colorimeter.

 

That is very kind, thank you! Yes I usually correct white balance and exposure with Lightroom (camera) or on the phone.

 

I should figure out how to calibrate my monitor. I got a hand-me-down second monitor from younger son, and its colors are quite different. 😕

[Tan Can Cook]

14 hours ago, C. sapidus said:

 

That is very kind, thank you! Yes I usually correct white balance and exposure with Lightroom (camera) or on the phone.

 

I should figure out how to calibrate my monitor. I got a hand-me-down second monitor from younger son, and its colors are quite different. 😕

 

I still have and use my i1 unit from Xrite. It is still working after all these years.