Another newbie learning to take food photos (+ food reviews)


Hi Wacky,

Great effort and thanks for sharing your review. :thumbsup: If you don't mind, a few humble inputs:

- as mentioned by bro ntheni, do watch out for the exposure as some look under-exposed. It's great to have nice bokeh but too thin a DOF doesn't really work, it can't portray the subject properly. As to what f. no to shoot really depends on many factors (like how close are you to the subject, how much of the subject do you intend to present, the size, the background and so on), the best way is to shoot in multiple (of different f) and choose the best. The low lighting does sometime limit the use of small apertures, you can do stacking of photos taking from diff focus point.

- (most) prime lenses have advantage over the kit lenses (usually sharper) so even if you don't shoot at its largest aperture, it's ok. I do shoot with 30mm & 50mm f1.4 for food but I seldom use anything larger than f3.2.

right... i'd try experimenting with smaller aperture next time... especially if i am taking photos from a steep angle -- which typically is my preference cos i find that taking photos too much from the top down is rather boring... :embrass:

- white balance; I see most of your photos are taken in auto WB and some are very off. This can be easily corrected in post processing. I do understand it's best to have it right straight out of cam but if it doesn't, no harm correcting it. Apart from making your shots right, you can also make them better (adding contrast, vibrancy, cropping, cloning and so on). You can improve your photography skill and believe me, post-processing will not hinder you in anyway. Do not shy away from pp.

actual not all are auto WB... those taken indoors i use the WB correction feature (the one where u are supposed to snap a piece of white paper to adjust WB... so i always carry a piece of white paper around... lol...) from the camera to adjust WB... those taken outdoors or with plenty of natural light shining in from the windows (like the RWS malaysian food street) i use auto WB...

as for post processing... i guess it wouldn't hinder in picking up photography skills... but then i still want to avoid post-processing because by leaving the trail of old photos behind in the thread... say a year down the road... i could compare the new photos from the old and see how much i have improved as far as photography skills are concerned... and also perhaps see if there are certain limitations that my current equipment can't easily overcome w/o post processing...

so if i had done post processing now... it won't be so straight forward to do the comparison then and see how much differences are there... :)

(ok ok... u can also say i'm coming out with alot of excuses to be lazy and avoid doing post processing... :p)

- the composition; you can work on it too. There are many good read on food photography online, you can google for it.

hmm ok....

Finally, there maybe some harsh comments along the way but please take them with a pinch of salt and keep shooting (and sharing). You will only get better

Cheers....

dun worry... no comments are harsh as long as they are constructive... and it's not like comments that goes "your photo sux..." which doesn't offer any explanations why they sux nor any suggestions on how to improve.... nor comments that are simply down-right sarcastic where by out of the blue telling me not to comment on things that ppl don't like to hear (sorry this part is a rant as i've had bad experience in some other forum so i think i'd rather post less there now) ... so any constructive comments are great comments...!! so feel free to keep critical comments coming... :)

ahh...now I can see when I use my office com :p Can't see from my lappy last night

i see... weird... maybe u can try tonight see if u can view the pics... the only reason i like imageshack is that the duration the photos are maintained on the server is virtually forever.... so i dun have to worry so much about the photos being deleted after several months... :sweat:


regards,
wacky
 

Le Cuisson @ Queen's Street -- french food in coffee shop...
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had the foie gras salad ($10)... i am totally NOT a fan of salads so don't ask me how good the salad taste... i only ordered for the sake of the foie gras... which i tot is kinda disappointing... the foie gras at saveur @ joo chiat is much better and more value for $$$... the one here is not flavourful and fatty enough...
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the lamb stew ($14) on other hand is very nice...! the sausage is bursting with flavour... the lamb is tender and have fatty bits.... the sauce goes well with the mashed potatoes...
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overall ratings: 4/5 for the foie gras... not something i'd specially travel from far just to eat... plus considering in the price i'd rate it 3.8/5... 4.5/5 for the lamb stew... this is really good.......!


regards,
wacky
 

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tom's palette @ shaw tower -- my fav ice-cream place...!!

this is my umpteenth time eating it... this time went to try the month's flavour - just coconut.... coupled with just coconut is lychee & rose flavour... love tom's palette ice-cream... i like that it has all kinds of interesting flavours and many really are quite unique and tasted like what it really is... plus the texture is just nice... not too hard nor too soft... and it doesn't leave behind milky feeling in your mouth so wouldn't feel "gilat" after eating it...
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overall rating: 5/5... best ice-cream joint in singapore.... enough said...! as for the coconut + lychee & rose flavour... i'd rate it 4.5/5...

hokkien mee stall near my house @ blk 56 new upper changi road... the are 2 coffee shops there... the next door coffee shop has a branch of the famous Kims hokkien mee... which i have eaten b4... so i wanted to try this stall here as it looks good...
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ordered the oyster hokkien mee ($4.50) instead of normal one... and i LOVED it...! it's fried with plenty of egg... which are moist and tasty.... and i remember counting about 9 (or 10??) medium to large oysters!!! not to mention it comes along with quite some sotong too.. that's really value for $$$ for $4.5!!! the oysters are fresh and moist.... i love the oysters...!! :heart::heart:
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overall rating: 4.5/5...! and considering the price and amount of oysters... i'd give it 4.75/5...!! if only it comes with crispy lard bits it'd probably score perfect 5/5...


regards,
wacky
 

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cheng tng... coffee shop @ 69 bedok south avenue 3... it's similar in style as ye lai xiang... but cheaper ($1.50) ... taste-wise ye lai xiang still better... just compare the sweet potato... the sweet potato here not as sweet as the one used at ye lai xiang... but nevertheless still good bowl of cheng tng... much better than MOST cheng tng elsewhere...

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overall ratings: 4.5/5... can't compare with ye lai xiang... but it's the best chng tng u can get for $1.50...!

wan tan mee also at same coffee shop... can u believe this costs $2.50 only...?? the char siew and wanton are nice.... and for a person like me who doesn't usually like char siew... actually quite like the char siew here...!

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overall ratings: 4.5/5... value for $$$ with nice charsiew and wanton...!

and the same stall sells soups... lotus roots soup... $2 only...! many of their soups only $2... pretty tasty and ingredients quite alot...
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overall ratings: taste-wise 4/5... considering the amount of ingredients and price i'd give it 4.5/5...!

overall value for $$$ food there...!


regards,
wacky
 

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Wackykid, just remember those
light.gif
pointers my bros highlighted to you...and work on it...sure no much problem/s ok...!!!;)

First and foremost is your
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composition and
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exposure...get it right first...ya...??:)

Well, will be looking forward to your better/improve version-shots...ya...bro?!?!



**btw, the idea of that noodle you had diagonally "pulled" up & out appeared kind of weird tho...?!?!?!
 

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Wackykid, just remember those
light.gif
pointers my bros highlighted to you...and work on it...sure no much problem/s ok...!!!;)

First and foremost is your
light.gif
composition and
light.gif
exposure...get it right first...ya...??:)

Well, will be looking forward to your better/improve version-shots...ya...bro?!?!



**btw, the idea of that noodle you had diagonally "pulled" up & out appeared kind of weird tho...?!?!?!

hmm... composition is an art that not easy to pick up... as for exposure... any tips...? do u guys normally use manual shutter/aperture/ISO...? last time i used to set to aperture priority -- but as a result sometimes the shuttle speed becomes too slow and photo is blur because hands not stable enough... now i am experimenting out shutter priority (use about 1/40s with my 20mm lens)... which often end up the camera automatically adjust very high aperture until the DOF becomes too narrow... these happens especially in not so bright restaurants... i have more problems with such indoors shots than outdoors... my outdoors pics usually turns out much better..


regards,
wacky
 

went to fren's wedding and snapped the following photos... started to learn how to use full manual mode now...

starting with table deco... taken with my pany F1.7... :D
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and the take home gift...
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regards,
wacky
 

dish 1 - peony jade passion suckling pig platter... standard dish... suckling pig skin is crispy although not fragrant enough...
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dish 2 - braised shark's fin with fish maw, hand-peeled crab meat and golden roe in superior boullion... can't seems to taste much of shark's fin... more of fish maw... but i quite like this one as it's different from the usual standard-fare shark's fin soup...
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dish 3: steamed 'live' sea grouper with crispy golden soy bean crumbs... like the crunchy soy bean crumbs..
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regards,
wacky
 

dish 4: braised sliced 2-head aomori abalone with broccoli... another standard dish too... done quite nicely...
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dish 5: peony jade's infamous crispy roast kampong free-range chicken with szechuan hot and spicy sauce accompanied by century eggs... that is exactly what is written on the menu...! INfamous has the -ve meaning..... dunno why they choose that word for description... lol... but anyway interesting combination... first time see roast chicken combined with century eggs..! the chicken is flavourful and tender... skin is crispy and tasty too... and the spicy bits also taste quite interesting...
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dish 6: peony jade's infamous wok-tossed sumo prawns with creamy yolk accompanied with wok-tossed sumo prawns with wasabi mayo and fresh fruits... again the exact name on the menu... they like the "infamous" word and long dish names... lol... another interesting combination here... prawns coated with 2 different coatings... one in wasabi mayo the other in some kind of yolk mayo... i dun like wasabi so i dun quite like the wasabi prawns (which is moderately heavy on the wasabi) ... the other prawn would be nicer if it's salted egg....

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regards,
wacky
 

lastly...

dish 7: 'double happiness' peony jade famed braised ee-fu noodle with chives -- okay it's no longer "infamous" dish... but it's just standard-fare ee-fu mee... oh i always love ee-fu mee by the way...
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dish 8: 'happiness till eternity' chilled cream of mango with sago pearl and pomelo sac... i love mango pomelo dessert too...! so even though this kind of dessert is getting quite common... it's still enjoyable to eat... they used quite sufficient amounts of mango to bring out the taste... and also has plenty of crunchy pomelo to ensure that sufficient sourness taste complements with the sweet mango...

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first time playing with full manual mode here... i set my shutter speed to 1/40s with my pany 20mm... and adjust aperture depending on the kind of shot i trying to take... pretty happy with the results this time...

all comments are welcome...

overall ratings of the food: 4.25/5... and considering the innovative and interesting dishes... 4.5/5.....


regards,
wacky
 

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xue hua fei hot and cold desserts @ bedok interchange food centre...

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my fav ice watermelon dessert increased in price.... costs $2 now instead of $1.50... but nevertheless still a very yummy dessert to eat especially during hot weather...!
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overall ratings: 4.5/5... very refreshing dessert to have on a hot day... would have given 5/5 in the past when it costs only $1.5 for the huge servings...

hong ji claypot bak kut teh @ bedok branch (Blk 418, Bedok North Ave 2, #01-97)...

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i ordered the $5 claypot pig's organ soup... which consists of pig's organ and bak kut...
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i think it's value for $$$... with 3 pork ribs plus plenty of pig's stomach... liver... mushrooms and tau pok... and the soup is piping hot and tasty... definitely will go back again to eat some day..!
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overall ratings: 4.6/5... very nice soup... and having lots of ingredients... value for $$$...


regards,
wacky
 

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I'm no expert, but this is how I do it.

I usually will shoot in Aperture-priority mode, cuz depth of field is very impt in deciding which parts of the food you wanna highlight. This is something no amount of post-processing can help.

As for exposure, well, it's abt lighting control, choosing a good seat under good light, good angle, etc. If lighting is just poor and your shutter speed goes down, you just gotta push up your ISO settings to speed up the shutter speed. You get noisy pics, yes, but to a certain extent, a) it is acceptable to have a little more noise than something in poor light or out of focus and b) especially if shot in RAW, post processing can help to reduce some noise

other stuff such as white balance and composition comes into play too, but that's something we newbies have to slowly learn and adapt.

just my 2 cents, cuz I am learning on the above too
 

I'm no expert, but this is how I do it.

I usually will shoot in Aperture-priority mode, cuz depth of field is very impt in deciding which parts of the food you wanna highlight. This is something no amount of post-processing can help.

As for exposure, well, it's abt lighting control, choosing a good seat under good light, good angle, etc. If lighting is just poor and your shutter speed goes down, you just gotta push up your ISO settings to speed up the shutter speed. You get noisy pics, yes, but to a certain extent, a) it is acceptable to have a little more noise than something in poor light or out of focus and b) especially if shot in RAW, post processing can help to reduce some noise

other stuff such as white balance and composition comes into play too, but that's something we newbies have to slowly learn and adapt.

just my 2 cents, cuz I am learning on the above too

thanks... but i guess full manual mode also means i can control my aperture at will... and i can also ensure that shutter speed is fast enough to eliminate any shakes from the hand... as for ISO i now usually set it to Auto.....


regards,
wacky
 

"basketball" ramen @ suntec city...

it's been a long time since i last ate marutama... and first time i ate at the suntec branch -- which is quite new i think...
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the egg is fantastic... with nice and runny egg yolk and perfectly flavoured (i didn't take photo of the inside cos i had to cut it up and it becomes not very nice looking after that...) ... like the seaweed on the ramen also... noodles they used is thinner than most ramen places... soup is not bad also... char siew is not too bad....
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the grilled pork is pretty tasty and nicely grilled too...
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ratings: overall i'd give it 4/5...


regards,
wacky
 

set lunch @ bedrock bar and grill...

this came FOC... pita bread... served with butter and fresh garlic... usually i'm scared of such fresh garlic but it's surprisingly good...!
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soup of the day - fish chowder... didn't had this so can't comment... and it was hard to find an angle to take good photos of it due to the light reflections off the soup and table... :/
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ribeye steak... didn't have this so can't comment... but my fren said it's good... and it's even harder to take nice photos of this cos the steak is really that dark (it's medium well..) ....!
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regards,
wacky
 

sides... mac and cheese... something like pasta... it's very nice but can't eat too much of this...

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chopped steak cheese burger... loved the burger...! the bacon is very flavourful and crispy... the steak (pattie) easily breaks up when u bite into it... so it's not using frozen patties...
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desserts... apricot cake + vanilla ice-cream... the ice-cream goes well with the cake...
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overall ratings: 4.25/5... and considering the atas environment... which is very nice... i'd give it 4.5/5.....


regards,
wacky
 

johnson duck @ kopitiam beside simei MRT...



loved the roast duck but the roast meat so-so only.... too bony for the roast meat... as for roast duck... the fatty skin is nicely roasted... very sinful and very nice... 4.5/5 for the roast duck and 3.5/5 for the roast meat... overall rating 4/5... costs $3 for roast duck rice.. $4 for roast duck + roast meat rice (which i ordered below) ...





regards,
wacky
 

Hi Wacky,

May want to take note of your exposure. Most photos are underexpose. :)
 

Hi Wacky,

May want to take note of your exposure. Most photos are underexpose. :)

thanks for the comments... but can point out which ones are underexposed...?? i know the bedrock bar & grill ones mostly are underexposed... cos the lighting there is not very good and it was rather hard to take clear pictures... i din bother to correct the exposure using photoshop too cos i'd leave the record of this there and watch out next time and see if there is any way my camera + lens able to do better than that...

but i tot there are many others especially those taken in good lighting should be pretty okay...??


regards,
wacky
 

a small shanghai eatery here... with surprisingly very nice food...!!!


this starter is like chinese kimchi... consists of cabbage with chilli and is sourish... not really a kimchi fan... but this is quite interesting starter so i'd rate this 3/5...


pork chop noodles... both the pork chop and noodles very nice......... the pork chop.. which is tender and flavorful... goes VERY WELL with the noodles... 4.5/5 for this...



fried eggs with chives... i love eggs...!! especially fried in this way...! so naturally i'll like this dish...! but i'm no chives lover as usually there is a certain taste i don't like... but there was no such taste here... so i'd give this 4.5/5....



regards,
wacky