Hi, I'm Saaleha
I'm a food and lifestyle photographer
And these are the sorts of images
I enjoy making.
Today I'm going to show you how
with Canon you can achieve that
perfect shot that just leaps off
the screen with deliciousness.
It's the first part in a
series of great online videos that
will take your photography to the next level.
I hope you're excited.
This is #CanonCollectiveSA
and this month the
focus is on FOOD, glorious food.
Let's begin with what you'll need
a DSLR or mirrorless camera,
a long macro lens for close-ups,
a wide-angle lens for flatlays,
a tripod to help keep things steady,
a diffuser to help you soften the light,
props and a basic styling kit,
your food of course and a Wi-Fi enabled
tablet or cell phone that will
help you connect to the camera connect app.
Tip 1 is to harness and shape the natural light
that you have, so ideally
you would want to find a space close to a window
where the light is coming in nice bright and evenly, you can use
something like a diffuser to help soften the light and you
can actually see the effect of that by looking at these cupcakes
which are quite glossy and then the diffusion is helping to
just even out that light. If you'd like to introduce more
light into your scene use a whiteboard to bounce the light
back in. So place the board opposite
your light source and instantly you can see how it's going
to lighten up for a nice airy feel. If you're looking for
something a bit moodier use a black board and place it wherever
you want the shadows to deepen and instantly you can see
how that's a lot more dramatic and moodier.
Tip 2 is to pick the right lens for the scene you want to
capture. So I've got three lenses here with me today.
This is the Canon 15 - 35mm lens
The cool thing with this one is you will be able to take
really wide scenes.
So this is especially helpful
If you're doing a flatlay and you aren't able to shoot from
very high up right,
because the 15mm will allow you to capture a lot
more because it's a much wider lens.
What I will be using today is the 24 - 70 F2.8 and this
is quite a handy lens
because it goes all the way from 24 to 70 mm
I've got quite a range to work with so I can actually use
it for wider scenes like flatlays or I could then go
up to 70mm and use it for close up shots. A really nifty lens
for food photography that I really love is the Canon 100mm
F2.8 macro. A longer lens allows you to compress
the scene the other nice thing with a long lens or even a
longer lens is you get a beautiful background blur.
It really pulls things together.
So if you're working in a very sort of restricted area and you
don't want environmental distractions to creep into your
image, you will use this lens and it'll just like bring
all that focus onto your hero.
My next tip is to arrange your food and props in layers
to create a multi dimensional image that just leaps off the
screen in deliciousness.
We're going to start with our hero here and one way to add
interest and layers is to make sure that I'm creating a bit
of drama.
And height with this image, make sure you've got your styling
tools on hand.
It's handy to have tweezers to pick up really finicky things
and place them. To add additional layers to your image consider
the linens, the cutlery and crockery that you're using.
I'm bringing lots of different textures.
So I've got my baking tray.
I've got lovely antique cutlery which will add another dimension.
All of these things are working to set the mood.
So what I've got here is a little water spritzer in this is
a neat trick to just pep up some of you veg or fruit that's
looking a bit dry.
My next tip is to wirelessly connect your camera to a tablet
or a phone via the Canon Camera Connect app.
Once the connection is made you'll be able to see on screen
whatever it is that your camera is seeing so this is quite
nifty to see at a glance
If the composition you've just done is working.
Another handy thing is you can automatically focus using
the app.
So just tap on screen where you want the focus to be and
immediately you'll see the change.
You can even shoot directly from the app.
Before attempting a drip or drizzle shot you want to nail
the focus first. Focus on a point
that's just at the very tip of the food item
it is that's going to be poured or drizzled on. Make sure
you lock in that focus and then switch to your camera's manual
focus and then you've got that locked in. Once that's done
get your insta-spouse to come into the scene and help you.
No, no, you have to help me.
Once you've got your insta-spouse in position set your camera
to burst mode just before they start pouring...and begin pouring.
So here are my top five tips for better food photography,
in summary; harness the light you have, pick the best lens
for the scene, arrange your food and props in layers, use the
Canon Camera Connect app,
and nail your focus.
I hope this has given you the confidence to get started.
We look forward to seeing the shots you take so please remember
to tag at @CannonRSA on Instagram or find us on Facebook
and use the #CannonCollectiveSA and
#liveforthestory so we can see how you're progressing.
Oh and if you're keen on winning, there's a great competition
running on the Instagram page.
So give them a following check it out.
Good luck! In the next video Roger from Canon is going to
be taking you through top tips and equipment to ensure you
have the right tools for epic food photos