The pies have it

Shoot from above

A classic flat-lay gives a top-down view, which is the ideal way to showcase a spread, and we used this technique to display our opening shot of a cheeseboard and this image of our mince pies. We arranged the pies on a battered old baking tray and added a generous sprinkling of icing sugar before removing one of the pies, leaving a tell-tale gap on the tray. To further dress the scene we dolloped brandy butter into a serving pot and spooned some into our chosen pie. Placing a tea towel on the edge of the baking try suggests that these have come fresh from the oven, while a sieve adds additional interest. We rotated the centre column of the tripod at a 90º angle and ensured our camera was perfectly level, then set a midrange f/8 aperture – the sweet-spot of many lenses – and focused on the top of one of the pies so that everything was in sharp focus.