How to take professional food photos with your iPhone or Android?

Zdi se, da bi moralo biti fotografiranje hrane nekaj povsem enostavnega, vendar je ustvarjanje “profesionalnih” posnetkov velik izziv – še posebej, če imate na voljo le pametni telefon in razpoložljivo svetlobo. Toda nekaj preprostih trikov vam lahko pomaga ustvariti resnično slastne slike. Portal Tech Radar je prosil dva profesionalna fotografa, da razkrijeta, katere so te skrivne sestavine.

Using a smartphone to photograph food is nothing new and at the same time makes a lot of sense since we have our phones with us all the time. So we're always ready if something particularly photogenic comes out of the kitchen.

There are other reasons why smartphones are good for food photography. Because they are small and thin, you can get closer to your food for the best creative angles, which may not always be possible with conventional cameras. Most smartphones these days have modes like 'Portrait' which you can use to create shallow depth of field effects, while multiple lenses can also be used for different compositions.

With all of this in mind, Tech Radar asked some professional photographers to share their secrets for creating fantastic food shots. All of these experts use Android and iOS, so all of the advice here should apply to whatever phone model you have.

1. Hold the phone upright

Professional photographer Tim Clinch has been taking pictures for a long time. About 18 months ago, he did his first professional photo shoot using his iPhone entirely to create images for his client Cardenal Mendoza Brandy's new website. He says he showed the customer comparable DSLR photos, but the customer preferred iPhone products.

Eden njegovih glavnih nasvetov je tudi eden njegovih najpreprostejših. “Daleč največja težava, ki jo vidim, ko gledam ljudi s pametnimi telefoni – še posebej večjimi modeli – je kar imenujem ‘new phone flop’,« pravi. “Basically – keep your phone up! It happens very quickly that the top of the phone tilts forward, causing you to lose all your verticality,” dodaja.

“Sometimes I make sure the phone is really upright by having someone stand by and tell me when my phone is level - it's a very different approach to shooting with a standard camera,” pravi.

2. Look for as many colors as possible

Although black and white food photos have a special charm, a bold use of color will make your food images stand out from the crowd.

Look for vibrant colors when choosing your possible themes, keeping in mind that not all colors will look as good on your phone as they do in real life. Browns and beiges can be a little less attractive, while bright greens, yellows and reds usually look great.

It also pays to shoot in the best possible light, avoiding artificial and low light. Thus, the sensor of your phone will have all the conditions to reproduce all the details. If you're taking food photos at home, try to get close to a window to take advantage of the natural light.

3. Use portrait mode (but be careful)

Večina pametnih telefonov med svojimi načini fotografiranja ponuja portretni način. Včasih se lahko imenuje drugače, na primer “Aperture” ali “Live Focus”. Vsem je skupno to, da ustvarijo plitve učinke globinske ostrine, kar bo vašim posnetkom dodalo profesionalno noto.

Portrait mode works especially well when the subject's outline is clear or well-defined, so be aware of times when the mode in question might not be as effective.

“Portretni način je zelo uporabno orodje, vendar pazite pri fotografiranju predmetov, kot so očala,” pravi. “Pogosto ne more obvladati roba stekla in na koncu se pojavi nenavaden “duh” okoli robov in pogosto lahko steklo preprosto izgine.”

4. Use grid lines

Kratia Garwal, a Dutch professional photographer and content creator, often uses her phone to photograph food. In addition to photography, she also runs food photography workshops to help others improve their style. You can also see her work on her Instagram profile.

Hiter in preprost nasvet, ki ga pogosto priporoča, je vklop mrežnih črt v izvornih aplikacijah kamere v telefonu. Večina pametnih telefonov bo to ponudilo nekje v meniju z nastavitvami. “I always have this feature on as it helps me align the horizontal and vertical planes within my frame and also make the composition correct using the rule of thirds,” pravi.

If you're not sure what the rule of thirds means, check out Kratia's screenshot in this article. Placing your subject where the grid lines intersect will usually give you a pleasing composition, but it's worth experimenting to see what works.

5. Uporabite “pro” način ali katero od “third-party” aplikacij

If you have a smartphone with Pro/Advanced mode, you can use it to great effect in food photography. That said, some models—particularly the iPhone—don't give you as much control over settings as a standard camera would. While this might be good for quick snapshots, third-party apps will let you do more.

Če želite pridobiti nekaj tega nadzora, Kratia Garwal priporoča Adobejev “all-in-one” pristop. “The Adobe Lightroom mobile app has a fantastic feature that allows you to take photos directly from the app,” pravi. “Both Auto and Pro modes are available, but it's so convenient to be able to control shutter speed, ISO or white balance before pressing the shutter button. This is something I often recommend to my workshop participants,” pravi.

6. Take it a step further with a phone holder

Če sledite “foodie” profilom na Instagramu, ste verjetno že zelo dobro seznanjeni s konceptom “flat lay”, pri katerem dobite pogled na subjekt od zgoraj. Posebej dobro se obnesejo s hrano in preprosto jih je ustvariti s telefonom, saj jih je tako preprosto namestiti in premikati po prizorišču.

However, for best results it's a good idea to keep the phone still and in one position. It will also make it easier for you to change the flat position setting without having to re-set the scene every time you take a shot.

Kratia Garwal za “top-down” posnetke uporablja držalo za telefon (kot je preprost model Lamicall Gooseneck). Pojasnjuje: “Tako lahko nastavim časovnik in ne pritiskam sprožilca sama. Ta način sprosti roke in pomaga preprečiti morebitno tresenje fotoaparata.”