Photography

#AskMahaMonday: How to Take Great Food Photos With Your Phone - Part 1/2

#AskMahaMonday: How to Take Great Food Photos With Your Phone - Part 1/2

If you are anything like me and would love to take better photos with your phone without having to upgrade your gear or the phone that you currently have (unless that’s your excuse to buy a new one, then you have my blessing, haha) then you’ve come to the right place.

In this post, I will explain to you the three main skills you need to master to step up your game, but as always, I will start by sharing what my setup looks like because I think it’s very important for you to know how simple it is and that you don’t need an elaborate setup to create great pictures

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

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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

OVERHEAD SHOT

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

45 DEGREES

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:

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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-ONThis 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. 

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

 

7 TIPS TO INSTA AWESOME PIX

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You've heard it over and over again, growing your Instagram requires crafting a beautiful feed which means you have to be consistent & post high quality pictures that tell your story.

Sounds great, except; your pictures are all over the place, the only consistent thing about your feed is lack of consistency and you can't figure out what to do & where to start. ARGHHH!

Trust me, I've been there, I know how frustrating it is, when all you want is to share what you love, yet you can't seem to have a consistent theme or prominent style. That's why I wrote this guide with you in mind.

Download "7 TIPS TO INSTA AWESOME PIX"  HERE and learn how you too can craft a beautiful & consistent Instagram feed today!