Alice? You got some 'splainin' to do!

[Morganna]

So I was eager to read Alice's review of the new Shelburne Steakhouse....  all in all I'm pleased but there's one little bit that's got me confused.  Maybe it's just a question of photographic proportions?

The review is here: http://7d.blogs.com/blurt/2010/07/alice-eats-shelburne-steakhouse-saloon.html

There are some photos of the food, and the second photo is of the tenderloin medallions plate. The text says this:
When the aforementioned tenderloin medallions arrived, I understood why the dish (pictured at right) was only $16. The portion of meat was just north of minuscule.

I've reread this three or four times, and looked at the photo many more, and I'm trying to work out how that's a "just north of minuscule" portion.  That looks like there's at least four (maybe five) slices of tenderloin that are each around two or three green beans thick and regular tenderloin sized.  I admit I'm mostly extrapolating from the green beans because I figure I've got a pretty good idea of what sizes those are, and it seemed to me that the meat portion isn't that small.  Perhaps the photo isn't giving enough of good view of it, or there's some photography issue here that I'm not aware of?  Something to do with perspective?

Or maybe it's just because my smaller stomach makes me think "man, that's a lot of food!".

Anyway, I was just curious about it because the photo seemed to me to be at odds with your description and I was puzzled by it because I've never had that happen with one of your reviews before.

[Alice Levitt]

Hi Morganna! I've been feeling proud of my growth as a food photographer over the last couple of years, but you definitely pointed out a shortcoming. I like to shoot food from slightly below to make it look mountainous, and I did exactly that with the steak.

In reality, there was about as much meat as in my (5-foot-tall, woman's) fist. That said, since you're used to smaller portion sizes, it should be pretty ideal for you. I definitely recommend making the trip!

[Morganna]

I had figured it was one of those photographic perspective things.

I really would like to go there.  I wish it were closer to the places we usually go when we're up in the area.  We'll have to make a trip!

The tenderloins looked really tasty to me,

[Undead Molly]

I have been doing a little informal food photography myself recently. I am so happy and grateful to have a CSA this year that I've been taking pictures of some of the dishes I've made with the veggies to share with our farmers.

Anyway, it is hard! I thought I'd share some little tip pages I've found. The most challenging thing for me is a consistent issue in all of my photography - not using the flash. Flash is evil and will drain the color, life, and depth out of every subject. But most of the meals I'm photographing are dinner when there is no natural light left, so I usually have to put the camera on a tripod or find something of appropriate height to set it on. One of these pages had a great tip for use in restaurants - use your water glass as a tripod!
http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/shoot-first-eat-later
http://content.photojojo.com/tips/food-photography-tips/

And here are some practical tips I've copied out of an otherwise mostly technical page that talks about camera models and pixels and whatnot.

Some tips for shooting "on the road":

    * If you're having lunch, try to have it outside, or at a brightly lit window. Daylight is your friend when taking food photos.
    * Never ever ever ever use flash for indoor food photos. Without adjustments, flash-lit food simply looks awful in most cases. Even if you end up with an underexposed picture, it will still be better than flash-lit, and you can probably adjust it in Photoshop or similar image editing software. (Flash can be useful in some outdoor situations but that's getting off topic.)
    * Put your plate a a bit away from you to get a better overview, rather than shooting it from directly above. This also helps to focus on the food better with the automatic camera options. It's most important to keep at least a portion of your plate in focus.
    * Use the table to steady your camera in low-light conditions for longer exposure times.
    * Use those pristine white napkins, and your dining partner's torso, as a handy reflector or neutral background. Have him/her tuck the napkin in his/her collar and spread out the napkin on his/her chest and belly area as flat as possible.
    * Don't forget to shoot the table decorations if they are exceptional!
    * For shooting through glass, such as through a display case or a shop window, either try to put the lens almost directly on the glass or shoot at an angle, minimizing the reflection of you the photographer.
    * Shoot a lot of photos, not just one or two - this increases your chances of having a good one out of the bunch.

[Carolyn Fox]

Undead Molly — I'd love to see some of your photos!  Do you post them anywhere?

Food photography is super hard!  At least for me.  I've been doing it informally for my baking-centric blog for a little over a year, and a great picture is really rare.  The big things that help me take better photos are resetting the white balance on my camera depending on what time of day it is; shooting in natural light when possible; and taking LOTS of pics to have lots to choose from.

I always admire the artsy angles of Alice's food photography.

[Undead Molly]

No, I don't have them posted anywhere, but thank you for your interest! I'm in the process of creating a new blog/website and organizing Picasa albums to go along with it. I'll put some of the food photos in the personal album and post here when it's done.

I try to get three passably decent shots of each dinner - one of the overall dish, one of it plated, and a macro shot. It's amazing how many pictures I have to take just to end up happy with one out of the three if I'm lucky.