Food Styling and Photography For Dummies

Discover how to style and shoot delicious food photos

Whether you′re an amateur taking shots for a food blog or a professional who captures culinary creations, Food Styling & Photography For Dummies shows you how to take the next step in your passion for food and photography. This attractive, informative, and fun guide gives you the inside scoop on the tools and tricks to style and create scrumptious photos.

Before you say cheese — find out how to make food look appetizing and interesting for the camera, from selecting dishes and linens to adding garnishes and accents

Get technical — discover all the photography equipment and know–how needed to take mouth–watering photos

It′s a piece of cake — explore image composition and camera angles to use for capturing cool stuff like drips and textures

And for dessert — get the scoop on what to do after you put the camera down, including saving, backing up, and editing your photos

Open the book and find:

Full–color examples

Food styling tips and tricks

How to set up your lighting to achieve the perfect look

Tools and techniques specific to food photography

How to get started in the food styling and photography business

Info on editing and archiving photos

Postproduction tools and processes

Advice on creating an online and traditional print portfolio

Learn to:

Make food look attractive and camera–ready

Use lighting and composition to get the best shot

Choose the right equipment

Get your food photography business off the ground

IN FULL COLOR!

Part I: Introducing Food Styling and Photography 7

Chapter 1: Exploring Food Photography 9

Chapter 2: Photography Know–How and Equipment 25

Chapter 3: Your Stylist Toolkit 41

Chapter 4: Dealing with Employers, Personnel, and Sets 67

Part II: It′s All in the Presentation (Styling) 85

Chapter 5: Preparing for an Off–Site Photo Shoot 87

Chapter 6: Getting the Yummy to Translate on Film 99

Chapter 7: The Ice Cream Is Melting! Problem Solving for Tricky Foods 123

Part III: Shooting the Food: Techniques with the Camera 141

Chapter 8: Composition Basics 143

Chapter 9: Lighting, Lighting, Lighting 161

Chapter 10: Working with Tilts and Angles 181

Chapter 11: Exploring Focus 195

Part IV: And for Dessert: Managing Your Photos and More 211

Chapter 12: Post–Processing 213

Chapter 13: Editing and Saving Your Photos 225

Chapter 14: Making Your Photos Available in Print and Online 239

Chapter 15: Starting Your Food Styling and Photography Business 253

Part V: The Part of Tens 269

Chapter 16: Ten Tips for Growing Your Business 271

Chapter 17: Ten Indispensable Items for a Food Shoot 281

Chapter 18: Ten Awesome Garnishes for Food Images 289

Index 299

Alison Parks–Whitfield is a successful technical writer and food photographer in the San Francisco Bay area. Her tasty images have been published in books, magazines, newspapers, and on packaging, as well as in many online venues.