I Love Food Photography!

It's so easy and accessible to become a great photographer now, and sooo many of us can and do. It's my newest passion that fully ties into my agricultural, drinking, sustainability, all things food-and-wine passion. 

Now unlike many bloggers out there that NEED to get that newest Canon EOS Mark 2 for $2,000 and then never learn how to use it, or are more obsessed with what they LOOK like while taking the picture than what the picture looks like, then this post probably isn't for you.
But if your interested in a great camera, or getting the most out of the one you already have? Read On.

I've had a great little point-and-shoot since 2007, and it's been a road warrior, but it was time to upgrade to something new. Now like most food bloggers, I needed to stick to a budget, find a great deal, and make sure that it wasn't going to be a one-hit-wonder (meaning I needed to have multi-use ability). So I started looking for something that would work, I knew I wanted a camera that provided an excellent shot when I had the time to adjust all the preferences (light, shutter speed, etc), but a camera that would also take a great quick pic when I wanted to eat immediately or let the party members eat with out the resident food blogger badgering them for a foodie photo before they eat. So after much researching, talking to camera dealers, reading reviews, saving (which was really hard as I always spend every last time on food and wine around the city) I went with an all around camera that would take a wonderful super-macro food photo, and also go traveling with me everywhere I want to go. It has the heft of a dSLR, the fully manual capabilities, and the fully auto capabilities when time is SHORT. 

Still thinking of names....I'm thinking Charlie.

There are sooo many great choices now. No need to use film and hope that great shot you think you took turned out like crap because it was out of focus. So if you have ANY interest in photography, much less this wonderful growing niche of food photography, I would check out something that not only works better than an older 35 mm film cam but also suits your budget, taste, and what you know you enjoy focusing your time, and photography on.
Too many people are getting dSLR's because they think it's the camera To-Have (this was me 5 months ago, before I talked to a camera friend), they want to look cool, they think ONLY a dSLR will get you that Pulitzer-worthy great shot right?, or their friends have one and you HAVE to get one too!

After talking to the camera guy, I not only had a laugh, but came to some sound conculsions.

1. dSLR's are GREAT if you take the time to set up the shot, take multiple angles, and HAVE A TRIPOD
2. When you DON'T have a tripod the image stabilization goes down dramatically and your $1,500 camera gets about only 30% of it's use = $450, a $1,050 loss!
3. dSLR's are heavy, they don't always fit in your purse (should really be in a case anyway), can get banged up if your not careful, and when you have an annoying heavy object in your purse, you stop bring it to parties, events, ...because it's TOO heavy - take your lifestyle into account before you buy
4. Lastly, the most important thing to consider, their expensive. So unless your into dropping cash for the SAKE of dropping cash (like to tell your friends how much you spent), then look into what would acctually work for you and then buy - there are some OUTSTANDING cameras on the market for less than $300, that will give you a stunning shot, HD video, and portability. 

If you have increased interest in food photography and want to make the best of what you have, whatever that may be check out this great blog, Learn Food Photography, it's a great resource for all photo needs; such as how to increase the light in a ambient room's formal dinner using a water glass to draw bouncing reflections, how to draw a focus to the object, and so much more. So check out this post and get their FREE how-to "Create Stunning Food Photo's" guide!
Plus don't forget to FULLY read your user guide, sooo many people flip through, think they've got the gist and are really missing all the really good stuff, so READ YOUR USER MANUAL, it'll be the most instructive part of ANYthing you can do when taking a picture.

Hope some of this was helpful, and happy fooding!