My 52 Project: Homemade Food

This is nice. I wouldn't worry about the wall.
Next time you shoot pancakes, try to let the syrup drip over the front edge

piQturesQue wrote in post #18804822
Clearly I have been trying to introduce some human elements into my last shots. I think it breaks up an otherwise very static scene nicely. I struggle very much with where to place hands and what poses look natural in camera vs what poses actually feel natural, but look awkward. Also lighting hands can be very difficult.
WEEK 15:

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I'm not sure about the composition of this one: my eyes shoot right through this image on a diagonal without resting on the focal point.. I think applying the rule of thirds to this one would have been nicer.

piQturesQue wrote in post #18804827
Yay, I did not need all my ingredients, so I had some left to use as props Good planning, this time. Whilst placing the tomatoes I remembered Renata's comment about the rule of odds and specifically included the third one in frame.
WEEK 16:

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Nice concept. And I'm glad you remembered the rule of odds.
I wish the lighting was more uniform.
The worn chopping board under the white bowl makes no sense to me and it really spoils the clean image.
Also the bowl would be much nicer if it was placed more to the left; again the rule of thirds is really begging for that placement. The garlic would be even more attractive if a few cloves were scattered around it.

Generally great progress

piQturesQue wrote in post #18804822
Clearly I have been trying to introduce some human elements into my last shots. I think it breaks up an otherwise very static scene nicely. I struggle very much with where to place hands and what poses look natural in camera vs what poses actually feel natural, but look awkward. Also lighting hands can be very difficult.
WEEK 15:

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Not an expert but all things are too much in a straight line. Coffee needs more life.

piQturesQue wrote in post #18804827
Yay, I did not need all my ingredients, so I had some left to use as props Good planning, this time. Whilst placing the tomatoes I remembered Renata's comment about the rule of odds and specifically included the third one in frame.
WEEK 16:

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I know this shots says 50mm but it seems wider angle to me specially on the bottom left side, like it is stretched. Soups, chilli are harder to shoot IMHO. Maybe add some fresh chopped parsley etc on the top.

bobbyz wrote in post #18805322
Not an expert but all things are too much in a straight line.

I agree with this. Coffee is kind of like a comfort food. It's associated with work breaks and socializing and settling in with a good book. Smooth, relaxing curves suit it. One could design a spare, geometrical coffee shoot using straight lines and sharp angles (do square mugs exist?). It might be very good for the purpose of illustration. It just wouldn't fit with a typical drinker's feelings about coffee.

Haha, looks like I overdid it with the lines. Have seen a lot of YouTube videos lately focusing on lines in compositions. I'm currently thinking about re-shooting every single image once I pass the halftime mark. That would allow me to keep shooting randomly now and later put all the good advice into practice.

bobbyz wrote in post #18805328
I know this shots says 50mm but it seems wider angle to me specially on the bottom left side, like it is stretched. Soups, chilli are harder to shoot IMHO. Maybe add some fresh chopped parsley etc on the top.

Well, right now I only have my nifty fifty for the 5D, so I'm pretty sure about the focal length on this one

But I will play around with the distortion tool, maybe it can reduce some of the visual stretch.

Turns out that hangover days are perfect for some breakfast in bed. Good thing the photo does not show how late my breakfast was
WEEK 17:

You should try flash at say 2-3 clock instead of 4-5 clock location. For breakfast shot, I would even put some 1/4-1/2 cto gel to get more sunlight look.

bobbyz wrote in post #18807703
You should try flash at say 2-3 clock instead of 4-5 clock location. For breakfast shot, I would even put some 1/4-1/2 cto gel to get more sunlight look.

Why would you place the light slightly behind? Would that not make the front of the food darker?

I sold some old equipment and got myself a lightstand and softbox from that money.
Today I tried a little before and after, because the summer rolls lent themselves to it.
WEEK 18:

piQturesQue wrote in post #18815988
Why would you place the light slightly behind? Would that not make the front of the food darker?

Mainly show more texture in the food, opposite of what you typically do for portraits.

piQturesQue wrote in post #18815996
I sold some old equipment and got myself a lightstand and softbox from that money.
Today I tried a little before and after, because the summer rolls lent themselves to it.
WEEK 18:

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Clean setup with good lighting/ Shot number 2 is good. The first one would have benefited more from a smaller aperture. The wrappers are out of focus and the garnish on top looks strange. If you shoot at a low angle, I really believe that f8 or even 11 would have been perfect. I would have shot at perhaps 45 degrees to show the ingredients nicely in focus as you did in the second shot.

Nice lighting in both images and too shallow a field in #1; Renata beat me to it on these points. In #1, I think the wide-angle distortion is a minus. I'd like to see the bottles vertical and the pan and bowl at the left and right edges looking level. #2 seems to have the plate about to fall off the board. Good-looking food throughout.