#AskMahaMonday: How to make the whites look whiter in one click!

Have you ever struggled getting your photos to look pure white? I always get asked how I make my photos bright and make the colours pop! Well, if you manage to get the white to be pure then you are one step closer to getting your colours to look great.

One of the biggest struggles for me when I started out with my photography was to make the whites look whiter, somehow shooting white on white always turned out blueish or yellowish depending on the time of the day and quality of light, especially since I shoot with Natural Light almost exclusively!

Editing at first used to take too much of my time, and as much as I enjoy the editing process, I always look for ways to save time on editing, this is why when I came across this tool in Photoshop, it was a lifesaver!

Check out this quick video using one of my favourite tools, it will literally take you less than 5 mins and your photo will be ready to be shared, whether it's for a client or your Instagram feed:

Now it's your turn!

Getting better & faster at editing your photos requires practice, so here is what I want you to do:

1. Spend the next 10 days using this tool with different photos and different scenarios till you master it.

2. Connect with me to let me know what worked and what didn't, I am always happy to answer your questions :)

As always, if you want your question answered or featured on #AskMahaMonday, feel free to submit it HERE

And if you'd like to see more editing videos like this, let me know in the comments below :)

Love,

Maha, xx

#AskMahaMonday: What is your biggest challenge with Food & Lifestyle Photography?

Thirteen years ago I silently wept as I held a DSLR for the first time, I couldn't figure out how to preview the photos I took and was too embarrassed to ask!! Everyone else seemed to know what they were doing and they knew how to take really good pictures, and I felt like I was the only one struggling, the photos I took looked nothing like I thought or hoped they would.

Today I am on a mission helping others unleash the Photographer within and create photos they are in love with!

When I created #AskMahaMonday almost a year ago, my goal was to help others feel less frustrated and more excited to take out their cameras and start making photos they are proud of!

We are all on this journey together and building each other up will help us all grow into better photographers and storytellers, and I am honored to be part of your journey :)

This is why I want to know what do you struggle with the most when it comes to Food and Lifestyle Photography? This is a safe place for you to ask anything, no question is too small or too big, I want to serve you better and create content that is relevant to you.

Click here to submit your questions and I'll do my best to get them answered.

With Love,

Maha, xx

#AskMahaMonday: iPhone X vs. Canon 5D Mark IV - What's the best camera for Food Photography?

Which Camera do you use? which lens shall I buy?

These possibly are the questions I get asked the most by people who want to start their journey with Food Photography!

So today, I decided to do a quick comparison between iPhone X (Apple's new flagship iPhone) and 5D Mark IV (Canon's most versatile DSLR) and just for the fun of it, I've also added images from iPhone 6 and Samsung Galaxy S4.

Now that I ran out of phones to compare, I would like to note that this is not a technical post with specs and camera details, this is purely to compare the quality of photos and depth of field when photos are taken with different cameras shot in the same conditions and edited pretty much the same way!

All photos were taken with natural light (north facing window) and a reflector.

In Food Photography, there are three common angles to shoot from:

1. Overhead (Flatlays)
2. 45 degrees
3. Straight-On

So let's take a look at how the photos compare:

OVERHEAD SHOT

Honestly, with an overhead shot it's pretty hard to notice the difference between these images at first glance!

45 DEGREES

The difference is a lot more noticeable with the 45 Degree angle, especially when it comes to Depth of Field (how blury is your background)

Now let's take a closer look at these images side by side:

In terms of "Depth of Field", the iPhone X with portrait mode is pretty great at mimicking the 5D Mark IV and achieving a shallow depth of field (Less things in focus), whereas iPhone 6 and Samsung S4 are pretty much the same and can only produce images with a deep depth of field (more things in focus).

STRAIGHT-ON

This is my famous "Chocolate and Banana Pancake Stack" and the photos taken with an iPhone X are pretty impressive when compared to 5D Mark IV.

Conclusion: Which is the best camera for Food Photography?

In the words of one of my favourite photographers, Chase Jarvis, the best camera is the one on you!

Now don't get me wrong, it's probably unfair to compare Canon's 5D Mark IV with any of these phones because it's definitely going to win in terms of everything, except size and price!

The point I am trying to make here is, Photography is about YOU "The Photographer", your vision, skill set and creativity. Great gear will definitely get you closer to where you want to go, but if you can't drive a car, buying a Porsche is not going to make you a better driver.

My personal advice is to master light & composition with whichever camera you have before you decide to upgrade.

You should also consider:

1. Budget
2. Needs in term of camera size and weight (DSLR vs. Mirrorless vs. Phone)
3. Use of Photos (Print vs. Web)
4. Whether you are starting a career in Food Photography or not.

If you want to know how to start your journey in Food Photography, check out my advice here.

Now it's your turn, what is your favourite camera when it comes to Food Photography? 

Let me know in the comments below!

As always, feel free to hit me up with your questions, and I can't wait for next week and a new episode of #AskMahaMonday!

Love,

Maha