STEP BY STEP SET UP YOUR CAMERA AND LIGHTING

Use your tripod to position the camera over the food and to keep it steady

1 Set up your camera and lighting

Placing my camera on a tripod, I used the central column to extend the camera over the food. I lit the scene with an external flash and experimented with settings. After starting at 1/80 sec at f/8, ISO 100, I slowed the shutter speed to 1/160 sec to get a darker image. One thing I found useful was to employ a metal baking tray as a reflector to bounce light in.

2 Use manual focus for precision

Another thing to introduce is manual focus, so you can fix on key details you want to highlight in your photos. A remote trigger will enable you to multitask while shooting and adjusting your lighting. Experiment with different aspect ratios such as 1:1 or 16:9 – it’s pretty straightforward to the aspect ratio, and it will really help make your food the main feature of the photo.