Photography 101: Food

Photo courtesy of Bake or Break

My mom and sister are amazing photographers. I’ve found it easy to fall back on their photography for the big events in my life. My mom is always ready and willing to shoot amazing photos of the kid’s birthdays and other events. She handles the pressure well and I am free to work on the details of entertaining. Being spoiled, I’ve managed to put off improving my own photography skills. Now that I am blogging, I have new incentive to step it up.

Recently I have noticed some of the best photography on the web is found on food blogs. Jennifer at Bake or Break is the perfect example of this. I am always impressed by her depth of field and how true her colors and lighting appear. Her photos are so mouth watering, I want to reach through the screen to sneak a bite. 

So, I’ve been inspired to pull out the camera whenever I cook with the kids. It’s great practice for me, plus the kids love that their hard work is worthy of photography. Lately we’ve been making recipes out of Jack’s book, Wookiee Cookies: A Star Wars Cookbook. Surprisingly, the recipes are easy enough for a five year old AND quite tasty. Who knew? So far our favorite is Yoda Soda, which tastes fab, but looks somewhat repulsive, so no photos. Other recipes we’ve enjoyed are Skywalker Smoothies and Wookie Cookies. 

Below are some photos of our kitchen creations. The photography is a work in progress. Think of it as a self imposed homework assignment. I hope to make improvements with every meal. Here is a sampling from our first week of “class”. Bon appetite!

Basil, Tomato & Cheese Panini: I'm happy with the appearance of the bread, but need to work on the lighting and background.