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  • Tips for Better Food Photos
    • #1 Tip Don't Be Lazy
    • #2 Tip Take Your Time
    • #3 Tip Use Adequate Equipment
    • #4 Tip Color Matters
    • #5 Tip White Balance
    • #6 Tip Get Involved
    • #7 Tip Depth of Feild
    • #8 Tip Get the Correct Angle
    • #9 Composition Matters
    • #10 No Diagonals!
    • #11 Add a Human Element
    • #12 Tip Shoot to Frame Size
    • #13 Tip Use Filters Wisely
    • #14 Eat to Shoot
    • #15 Stay motivated
    • #16 Practice. A lot. Have fun!
  • Contact Me
  • Cooters 24th Annual Crab Fest
  • Tampa Greek Festival 2017
  • Sweetwater Organic Community Farm Go for the food!
  • SmashBurger South Tampa- it's complicated
  • Epicurean Theater presents The Art of Sushi with Chef Viet Vo
  • Armani's- Old School Gold Standard
  • Anthony's Coal Fired- These ain't no Buffalo wings...
  • Piccola Italia Bistro- Don't tell anyone!
  • YHS China Bistro- Yummy House Comes to South Tampa (Finally)
  • The Lure- South Tampa
  • Yummy House Opens a Bistro in South Tampa
  • Best and Worst Restaurants for 2017

#13. Filter Wisely (or not at all)

Photo filters on different photo apps like Instagram and online photo editors can be fun. They can also enhance the look of your images in a positive way. But use them judiciously. Unless there’s a reason to turn the white rice blue or fade the color in an image, take it easy on the filters. If you are creating art or have some reason to use them, awesome. If it is part of your creative style or you just want to do something unique, rock on! Otherwise it looks amateur! 
Picture
Adding a blue or high contrast filter to food might be creative, but it doesn't reveal the food very well. Image from Instagram.
Picture
Using a filter to remove contrast makes sense for some images, but since online filters apply globally (over the whole image) it doesn't' typically work with food shots. This filter is probably trying to look vintage. Cool, but it doesn't lend itself to a great food photo. Image from Instagram.
This goes for filters on your camera as well. The photos above are added with editing software. The pictures below are from an in camera "filter". It's sort of the dumbing down of food photography because it tries to replicate a process that narrows the depth of field. As you see, it does a terrible job. If you enlarge the photo by clicking on it you will really see how bad it is. Don't get sucked in with amateur tricks!
Hamburger using the food filter from Galaxy 8 Note
This shot was taken using the "Food Filter" on a Galaxy Note 8- a really nice camera for a phone rig. But the filter tries to create Bokeh (blurry background) in the photo which blurs out really important parts of the composition (like most of the food!) Click to enlarge.
Hamburger without food filter
Here's the same burger using the same phone, without the food filter. Notice how the food is in focus and the background still blurry.
More tips for better restaurant photos
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Chip Weiner is a Tampa food blogger, and an award winning freelance photographer specializing in portraiture, food photography and photojournalism . He has been a photography instructor for over 10 years and teaches Tampa photography classes throughout the year.  Have a suggestion for a food event or restaurant? Contact him here

For information on  photography classes and workshops, feel free to call me or look under the Tampa Photography Classes section of my website. Photo 101 is by far the most popular!  I also give private individual lessons on camera operation and making better photographs and would love to work with you one on one to make you a better photographer. Photography instruction gift certificates are also available. They make great gifts for the photo enthusiast in your life. Let's talk about what you need! 813-786-7780. See you in class!

© Chip Weiner 2018- All Rights Reserved. The use of any of the content or images herein without the express written consent of the copyright holder is prohibited.

  • Home
  • Bay Area Restaurant Reviews
  • Tampa Bay Food Events
  • Tips for Better Food Photos
    • #1 Tip Don't Be Lazy
    • #2 Tip Take Your Time
    • #3 Tip Use Adequate Equipment
    • #4 Tip Color Matters
    • #5 Tip White Balance
    • #6 Tip Get Involved
    • #7 Tip Depth of Feild
    • #8 Tip Get the Correct Angle
    • #9 Composition Matters
    • #10 No Diagonals!
    • #11 Add a Human Element
    • #12 Tip Shoot to Frame Size
    • #13 Tip Use Filters Wisely
    • #14 Eat to Shoot
    • #15 Stay motivated
    • #16 Practice. A lot. Have fun!
  • Contact Me
  • Cooters 24th Annual Crab Fest
  • Tampa Greek Festival 2017
  • Sweetwater Organic Community Farm Go for the food!
  • SmashBurger South Tampa- it's complicated
  • Epicurean Theater presents The Art of Sushi with Chef Viet Vo
  • Armani's- Old School Gold Standard
  • Anthony's Coal Fired- These ain't no Buffalo wings...
  • Piccola Italia Bistro- Don't tell anyone!
  • YHS China Bistro- Yummy House Comes to South Tampa (Finally)
  • The Lure- South Tampa
  • Yummy House Opens a Bistro in South Tampa
  • Best and Worst Restaurants for 2017
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