The 10 Commandments of Food Photos

Let's face it: Most of us didn't get into blogging because we love taking photos of our food.  I, for one, have no idea what most of the buttons on my camera do, much less what an f-stop is.

Luckily, it's not all that hard to take a decent food photo.  Sure, you could get really into it, read Digital Photography School, and make your photographs one of the highlights of your blog.  But if you're like me, you'd rather get in a quick six miles than take an hour out of your busy life to learn about shutter speed.

I've managed to figure out what I need to do to get a decent photo of what I cook, and this is important if you want to leave a good impression on potential advertisers, companies looking to send you samples, and (oh yeah) readers.  And I can sum it all up in…

The 10 Commandments of Food Photos

1.  Thou shalt not use a flash. Except in a restaurant, there's no reason you should need a flash.  Photos brightened afterward, using some sort of software, look a billion times better.  Which brings me to #2.

2.  Thou shalt use photo editing software. The only one I've ever tried is Picasa, which is free and completely idiot-proof.  I press one button ("I'm feeling lucky"), and 95% of the time the lighting magically becomes perfect.  Note the difference:

3.  Honor thy tripod. You can get one of these little miracles for under 10 bucks.  Without it, I can't get that annoying "shaky photo" icon off the screen.

4.  Use thy "macro" setting. I swear this is the only setting I know.  (You may know it as "the little flower icon.")  For the longest time, I had no idea why some days I just couldn't take a clear photo.  Then I got really brave and picked up the user's manual, only to find out that the macro setting makes closeups crystal-clear.  Just remember to turn it off for non-food shots.

5.  Thou shalt not, under any circumstances, take an overhead photo of your entire plate. Ignore this at your own peril, for you will end up with unappetizing shots like this one:

6.  Thou shalt shoot photos immediately after plating. Ever see what five minutes does to melted cheese or fresh chopped basil?  Enough said.

7.  When it doubt, move closer to thy subject. Next time none of your photos seem to do justice to your kitchen creation, try zooming in or moving closer.  As a general rule, the closer you get, the more artistic-looking the shot.  (There are, of course, exceptions.)

8.  If thou wants to get really dorky, get thyself a tabletop studio. Someone actually gave me one of these for Christmas.  I didn't know they existed, and I kind of thought it was a gag.  But I tried it out, and now I use it all the time.  Can't say the wife is too fond of it though.  (And just wait until I put the newborn baby in there!)

9.  If thy blog theme doesn't automatically put frames around photos, get a plugin that does. The one I use is called Shadows, and it gives you several options for which size shadow you want behind your photos.  The most annoying part is that it doesn't automatically add them; I have to type something in the options of each photo.  Anyone know of a better one?

10.  Honor thy loved ones. This isn't as much blog advice as it is unsolicited relationship advice: If it's a really special occasion, like an anniversary, give your loved one the special gift of knowing that unspoiled time with them is more important than any blog photo ever could be.

As I said at the beginning, I'm a hack when it comes to photos, but I manage.  Can the experts among us share some more tips?