Photograph Your Food - Good Enough to Eat

The season is upon us. No, I don't mean the football season, or basketball season, or winter season, or holiday season. The season I'm talking about is the season of stuffing your face until your jaw hurts. The "these pants have an elastic waist - perfect!" season. The butter makes everything better season (this may not be a season, it's just true). Thanksgiving kicks off the winter gorgefest and, it occurred to me last year after hosting for the first time, it's a lot of work. What better way to commemorate those efforts than a quality food photo!

 

I'll get this disclaimer out of the way now, and you can proceed at your own risk: Taking professional food photography is disgusting. It's not glamorous. It smells. It's messy. You get grease on your lenses. You have to touch everything. I shot sandwiches one time and spent more time deconstructing and artfully reconstructing the sandwiches than I did on the actual shot. My fingers smelled of oil and mayonnaise for three days. On top of all that, you never get to eat what you shoot. You wouldn't dare. Lucky for you, the chances of you professionally shooting your turkey day dinner are slim, so enjoy. There are, however, a few tips that boost your chances of getting a great shot that are universal when it comes to food. Here you go:

 

Set the scene

Meals are usually pretty boring served on a paper plate, or don't come with any side dishes. The same philosophy goes for the photograph. Make it look inviting, like you want to sit down and eat it (or drink it!). And add contrasting color, always add color.

 

 

Light is right

Food is often an indulgence, but that doesn't mean we want to feel like we swallowed a brick of lard. Introducing lots of light to your shot makes everything less heavy, and more approachable.

 

 

Get down to food level

Get close, get personal, make it easy to dig right in. I don't know about you, but I like to be right next to my food while I eat it. The photograph should feel just the same, like you can eat it off the frame.

 

 

Lastly, if the food is unappetizing to begin with, chances are you photo is going to be the same. So make it yummy. And always ask yourself this question when looking at the final product: Does it make you hungry? If it does, great job. If not, keep shooting!

 

-wyatt

Tips on How to Make Your Christmas Photo Great

Nothing makes holiday photo cards unique, personal, and memorable like including a great photograph. It offers the perfect opportunity to let your personality shine.

 

While this is all tons of fun, taking a great photo for your holiday photo cards can be more difficult than you might first think. The hardest part is deciding what kind of picture you'd like to take. From formal posed portraits to candid and funny shots, here are a few ideas for taking great holiday pictures for your Christmas photo cards.

 

What Comes First, the Picture or the Card?

 

This question can lead to quite a debate between people who take their holiday photo cards seriously. Some people choose a card that suits a picture already taken while others like to choose their Christmas photo cards first and then take their picture so it matches the card.

 

Regardless of which works best for you, at least looking at the selection of holiday photo cards available will give you some ideas for the size of photograph you might want to take and some ideas for colors that might complement the look of several of your favorite cards. Some of our holiday cards are all about your photographs, such as our All About You Holiday Photo Card or Classy Collage Holiday Photo Card.  They offer the opportunity to include many images, so knowing your choices might help spark an idea for the perfect Christmas picture that wins best of the season.

 

Ideas for Standout Christmas Photo Cards

 

You’ve heard the saying, "The more, the merrier?" Well, it's definitely true when it comes to your holiday photo cards. Don't just put your kids in the picture this year. Jump in the picture yourself along with the dog and your pet hamster to make a merry picture even merrier. While everyone loves seeing pictures of cute kids, your card recipients will also appreciate seeing the whole family in the picture. (That means you, too, Mom and Dad.)

 

If you want to do something a little different, consider taking black and white pictures for your Christmas photo cards. Most digital cameras have a setting that will allow you to shoot in black and white or you can use software to change your digital photo to a grayscale image. Black and white photographs look best when very simple, such as a close up of a baby sleeping or work well when you love how the people in the photo look but the background colors are distracting.

 

While posed portrait shots are gorgeous, sometimes the best pictures are candid shots full of personality. Instead of stiff posed portraits of your children standing in front of the Christmas tree with perfect hair and not a wrinkled shirt in sight, consider taking snapshots of the family goofing around, giggling, acting silly, or doing things they enjoy.

 

Gift Boxes - Put some open big gift boxes under your tree and let your child, cat, husband, or whoever sit in the box and put their hands up just like they popped right out on Christmas morning. You can even set the scene by strewing wrapping paper and bows around or even place a bow on their head for a super cute photograph.

 

Include the Year - If you have at least four people in your shot, you have the perfect opportunity to include the year in your photograph. Simply buy large wooden numbers from your local craft store and paint them with a holiday theme or make your own creative numbers for the year of your photograph. Have the people in your photo hold the numbers up in a fun or unusual way and no one will ever have to think back to remember what year you took this Christmas photograph.

 

Trimming the Tree - This is an oldie, but a goodie that still makes for a great picture for Christmas photo cards. This can be Norman Rockwell type image where you set up something funny like Mom decorating the tree, Dad placing a star on top, and the kids sneaking a peek at their presents under their feet.

 

Antlers and Santa Hats - Overdone? Perhaps. But still as cute as ever for holiday photo cards, especially on kids and pets.

 

With many styles and colors of holiday photo cards available, we make it easy to try something different or stick with traditional pictures for your Christmas photo card this year. Start planning early and let your imagination go wild for the most special holiday cards of the season.

Pocket Photo Holiday Cards

Starting to stress out that you don't have your holiday photo picked out yet or aren't sure what you're even going to do? Would you LOVE to get your holiday cards ordered and addressed but think you can't do that without having your photo ready? You're not alone. I'm right with you.

Introducing our Pear Tree Greetings Pocket Holiday Card collection where you insert your own photo.

Not only are they beautiful and unique but they solve all of the above problems! You can order them and even address the envelopes without having to pick out your photo yet. Plus, if you have had your photo taken by a professional this allows you to order 4x6 prints directly from them and place in one of these beautiful pocket cards.

So, problem solved, stress reduced.

Here are a few of my favorite pocket designs for 2009.

Jump for Joy - Holiday Photo Card

Sweet Blossoms - Photo Holiday Card

Holly Haven - Holiday Photo Card

Great Fall Photos: Round One

Did you see Wyatt's post yesterday on how to take great fall photos? If not, check it out. It definitely inspired me to get Connor outside this morning...even though it was 35 degrees and wet. As you can imagine...Connor was NOT that thrilled to be doing this but he did well once I found him a stick to bang around.

So here's how this will work. Wyatt, our expert photographer, will give us normal people some ideas, tips and tricks on how to improve our photography skills and take better pictures. I love this. It's why I bought an SLR...I want better pictures. For me personally, this is not about trying to replace the professionals, because they will ALWAYS take better pictures than me, but it's for these little occasions and seasons, like Fall, that I want to be able to take better pictures so my scrapbook looks just that much better.

I'm getting off track. Wyatt will post, then I'll use Connor for practicing whatever Wyatt just taught us, I'll post those pictures with Wyatt's critiques and ideas on how I could have done it even better. Cool, huh? I'm excited. I love to learn. Plus someday, someday, I will take my camera off of AUTO.

Enough talk. Here come the pictures.

 This was one of the first I took. I think I changed my flash setting to 'fill flash'...don't ask me why, and I have no idea if that's something I should be doing. Ever.

Fill flash is fine, especially to soften things up a little. Your challenge here was you were a little close to Connor, and your light source (the flash) was right in front of him, so his face has white areas in it. It especially brings out that attractive glob of drool on his chin. Nice job working those colored leaves into your background! -wb

My attempt at getting down on the ground. I don't love how it turned out, but I do love the leaves on the ground.

I agree - great job changing perspective, and the leaves on the ground are perfect. I'd like to see Connor more off-center, and maybe even laying down with his chin propped up on his hands. You'd get the color in the leaves tighter in with his face. -wb
 
 
So then I just took this shot.

And this one. (note entrance of stick and somewhat happier little boy)

Again, love the leaves, but the stick obviously got in my way on this one.

This is a good series that could be slightly stronger if only Connor was a little off center. The rule of thirds is a big one for composition. Split your frame up into vertical and horizontal thirds, then put your subject on one of those dividing lines. Here's an example of your same stick photo with a little cropping. Connor appears a little closer to the camera so he's more engaging, and the space to his right gives him a little area to move, at least in our imagination. -wb

 "Come ON, Mom...what are we doing here? Let's GO"

Thanks, Wyatt, for the great tips and feeback! Hopefully this photography tip series inspires you just as much as it will me to get out there and take pictures, because, that's what it's all about. We'd love to see the photos that Wyatt inspires you to take! Send them to christy@peartreegreetings.com so we can feature some of them on the blog!

How to take great Fall photos

Capturing great fall photos can be challenging. We've all seen rich, colorful, New England fall photos; the white birch trees turning a golden yellow, dusting the tops of white picket fences along winding roads. While we'd all like to be able to capture iconic images like these, the truth is those moments are magical, and the vast majority of us just aren't magicians. However, there are great fall photos everywhere you turn. To prove it to you I headed out this morning determined to show you how to capture a great fall photo.

I only had one shot of getting today right, and by today I meant a few short hours. The sky was 100% overcast - no sunshine in sight. It was late morning so all that moody mist had long since disappeared. The leaves had started to turn, but the deep reds and oranges just hadn't yet blossomed. Knowing that the conditions were less than ideal, I needed a subject. I grabbed my black lab, Stanza, and headed out. [Admission: Stanza is well trained. She'll sit and pose for photos if I ask her to (especially if I have treats in my pocket). But, she's not ideal. Kids, spouses, friends–they all make great subjects for photographs, and are generally more appealing than a slobbery dog. So, if you have an opportunity to put real people in your photograph, you're already one step ahead of me!] 

Portraits

Pumpkins, dried corn stalks, and leaves. Incorporate these elements into a photograph and let your background set the mood for you. Keep your subject the primary focus! In this particular occasion, I didn't have much to work with. I found some yellow and orange leaves on the opposite side of a creek and tried to make do. I knew Stanza wouldn't sit still unless she was tired, so I let her run around and splash and do all those things labs love to do. Plus, it'd make her a more interesting subject with some wet fur (on a sunny day this would be much more difficult because the water on her coat would end up being blown out highlights). Today, though, a wet dog was a good dog.

I tried some different angles of this shot, but the best ended up being not showing the creek at all. I laid down to change the perspective (I ended up with very soggy knees and elbows), blurred the background, got my subject sharp, and snapped away.

The key to portraiture is to make your subject work with your background, not compete with it. I knew my background elements weren't strong, but I introduced enough color to make it seasonal. If I had kept the leaves sharp, the photo would have been too busy. Also, tighten up on your subject and have fun with them! If they are enjoying themselves, you'll get better photographs (even if your subject is a dog).

What to do when you don't have anything

The most challenging part of taking great photos is making a photo happen when you just can't seem to find anything. Today I had adverse conditions, and stripped of my model (who was now rolling gleefully in a pile of dead leaves), I had to make something happen. When you don't have great conditions, get up close, real close.

These seed pods were interesting to me. They had a sort of wizard-like quality to them and hinted at a rebirth to come after a long winter. I set up shop next to one that had a some color behind it (to warm up the gray of the pod) and snapped this photo.

If you're ever lacking fall color, look for moisture. Find a lake, a creek, morning dew, go outside just after a rain–just find colorful leaves when they are wet. As I had mentioned, the red leaves hadn't turned yet, but I found this cluster of fallen leaves swirling in a pool of water. I ended up precariously about 4" from the water for this shot, but I got the fall color I was looking for.

Fall is a great time to take photos. There are always photographs to be taken, but sometimes you have to work a little harder to find them. Hopefully these tips can help you capture some great shots. Remember, you'll never get great photos unless you go take the pictures. Get out there!

- Wyatt enjoys wearing tweed caps and his size 13 Chuck Taylors, especially while hunting down great photos with his black Lab, Stanza.

Photo Cards - Selecting the Perfect Photo

What's the most important piece of photo card? Whether it's your holiday card, birth announcement or save-the-date? Your photo of course. That's what everyone wants to see. The family, the new baby, the lovely couple, the dog...

So, it makes sense to try and get your photo looking as good as it can, which means a few things.

• Editing. I am by no means a skilled photo editor, as much as I aspire to be one. I know how to turn things black and white, adjust contrast, and crop. But even those things can dramatically help your photo! Don't have a photo editing software? If you're personalizing your card on Pear Tree Greetings, we offer those tools for you.
• Card design. There are a LOT of cute designs out there, but keep your photo in mind when selecting your card. If the design on the card is really busy...and your photo is really busy...that combination might not create the most beautiful photo card ever. Try more of a simple, solid colored background. Or if your photo is really simple, maybe a portrait with a solid colored background, find a super fun background design to really make your photo card pop and express your style!

I'm working on trying to get some examples pulled together showing you some do's and dont's...coming soon!

Tips for Infant Photography

This weekend we went to my aunt's and took some photos. A few family shots potentially for our photo Christmas card this year, but mostly for Connor's 6 month photos. He's getting so big and growing up so fast! They turned out really cute but I don't think we quite have 'the one' for our Christmas Card this year.

Lucky for me...we have a few professional photographers on staff so I went and talked to one of them today, Brent, for a few ideas and tips for Connor's next photo shoot.

His tips for us today...

The first thing that comes to mind when photographing babies is patience, patience, patience. Don’t expect to get a good shot in a couple of minutes. You are at the baby's mercy and on their schedule. Be flexible, if the baby is sleeping or crying you can still get some great shots.

• Use a plain solid colored background, stay away from patterned blankets.  This draws attention away from the main subject.
• Get down on their level. Get down on the floor and shoot from different angles.
• Sleeping shots- If you want some shots of them sleeping lay them down for a nap on the floor where you can do some shots with plenty of room around them.
• Take a lot of shots, you won’t get it on the first shot.
• Capture their different moods, whether that is crying or smiling.
• Experiment with natural light. Put your baby by a window and use the light coming in. Sometimes the flash from a camera will take away all your shadows in the face.
• Zoom in, try close ups that are cropped really tight.
• Shoot hands and feet, put something in the shot to show how big (or small) the hands and feet really are, like a parent's hand.
• Take one shot with a favorite stuffed animal, you can take this shot every month or so to see how your baby has grown. When they get older it will be fun to show them how they have grown compared to the stuffed animal.

Now if you're a little more advanced (not me) and have control of the camera yourself, here are his suggestions for you.

Use a fast shutter speed for babies 6 months to 1 year old. They don’t stop moving. Many digital cameras set on auto use 1/60th of a second for the shutter speed, set your camera to shutter priority or manual and use 1/125th  to 1/250th. Be careful over 1/250th and make sure your flash will sync that fast (look in your manual under flash instructions if you don’t understand this).

Another tip is to be aware of the background.  Watch for shadows, if you are interested in a blurry background use as low of aperture setting as possible, F4 or lower is good. You can do this by setting your camera on manual or aperture priority. If you set it to aperture priority then your shutter speed may change.

Finally, experiment BEFORE you do the actual photo shoot.  Try different things and see what it looks like. It is difficult to see the results of aperture and shutter speed when viewing images on the camera LCD, if you have the option look at your test shots on a computer screen to be sure you are getting the results you want.

Remember patience, patience and more patience!

A little about Brent...

Like film in a bath of darkroom chemicals, Brent Johnson's passion for photography developed over time. He began to explore the area after meeting his birth mother (Brent is adopted), who put a camera in his hand and encouraged him. He later attended the School of Communications Arts in Minneapolis, which exposed him to every type of photography. A professional photographer for 19 years, Brent got his start in darkroom work, then shot team, group and commercial photography for a photo studio. He left to become a staff photographer for a large national company and was promoted to manager of the studio, which is 100% digital. Today, his favorite subjects are sporting activities (I enjoy trying to represent motion with still photography) and his wife and three children -- ages 10, 7 and 5.

So, hopefully you all have been having a great week! If you have any questions for Brent or the rest of our professional photography staff, please email me and I'll get in touch with him (them)!

Happy Thursday!