Ahh, the bliss of a bank holiday weekend! I decided to use the bonus day to try something that’s been on my list since I bought my DSLR camera and 35mm lens a few weeks ago. In fact, this was only the second time I’ve used my new camera at all so I’m still trying to get to grips with its most basic functions. I have to admit, I didn’t think it would be quite so complicated!
Undeterred, I grabbed the three most promising props I had to hand – my trusty Falcon pie dishes, a £1 tea towel from the weird curtain shop down the road and a bag of plums – and set about copying a food photography tutorial I’d seen on Pinterest.
{all Decorator’s Notebook}
These are the best of over 400 snaps – all completely hit and miss technically if I’m honest. I had the camera set on aperture priority and played around with the exposure compensation a bit. At times I held a bit of white foam board to the left-hand side because I’d read that was a good idea although I’m not sure what difference it made!
So, do I have any photography enthusiasts reading? What do you think? Should I edit them somehow? All ideas and comments most welcome!
Oh, in case you’re interested, here’s my funny little “studio”…
{Decorator’s Notebook}
Decorator's Notebook blog 
Hi! I found your blog through search while looking for bloggers who use nikon d3100. I see that the pictures turned out quite good. Could you give me a little insight about the camera. As to was it easy to use and if you had any trouble with it?And if you are you still using it?
Photohraphy is just soo tricky. I wish I had an eye for it…. but it seems you have! This looks really good for a first timer! I especially like the close up on the blackberries :) Hope to see more like this from you, and hope you’ll share if you learn anything along the way!
I notice you have a really lovely wooden floor – would you mind sharing what type it is and where you got it from?
Hi Tamsin – the flooring was actually already there when I moved into the flat so I don’t know where it was bought from. However, it is solid oak – I think it’s just oiled rather than varnished (it’s not shiny which is nice but it does mark if you spill water on it).
Hope that helps!
DN x
Lucky you (and ps your blog is great)!
Really impressive! I would say you have the styling down pat – no surprise there. I’m impressed you are already playing around with the camera settings because it took me about three years before I moved off auto!
I’m thinking of doing a photography and styling course at Morley college in Lambeth which I am hoping will help. They seem to offer some other good looking courses for very reasonable prices.
I’m determined to ban myself from ‘auto’ with this camera – it’s that trap that led me to stupidly sell my last one!
Haven’t heard of Morley College but it must be quite near where I live so will definitely check it out. I used to do an evening class for 1-2 terms every year but haven’t done one for a while so it would be nice to try something new.
Thanks for the tip and feedback!
I think they turned out really well! I have to say I find taking photos quite challenging. I always use aperture priority and I usually sharpen, adjust the levels and sometimes play with the curves in Photoshop. I think it’s the lighting which is the biggest challenge. I read a blog post about back-lit photography so I’ve been trying that a little bit. Also, I hate my tripod, I can never get it to angle where I want it to! I’m going to pin your images – think they’re very pretty!
A good effort I’d say! The final images look nice and “warm” despite the fact that the ambiant light looks quite cool from the setup shot.
The white board acts as a reflector and you can see that it subtly “fills” the shadows that would otherwise be evident on the left hand side of the subject.
You could go to town with editing an image like this, but I think for the natural feel you were going for, you got it pretty much spot on. Well done!
Aw, thanks bro… you are too kind!
Brava!
Particularly like the close up of the corner of the dish.
And like that you included the set-up shot at the end.