Last week was the two year anniversary of Taylor Takes a Taste. Its a little late, but here is a cupcake to celebrate! Notice anything different about the cupcake?

No, you are not seeing things. The flame on the cupcake is moving! What you see above you is something called a GIF. Gif stands for Graphics Interchange Format. While this type of file has been around since the 1980′s, I recently came across this amazing work by Jamie Beck and Kevin Burg called Cinemagraphs,  I was blown away at how they have pushed the limits of what GIFS can do and the creativity that they have used them in.

Until coming across Jamie and Kevin’s work, the most common uses I have seen for GIFs have been of sports hilights and memes traveling through reddit or on twitter. What Jamie and Kevin have done has inspired me to try some of my own! Now there are some limitations to what Gifs are capable of. I am looking at them more as parameters as opposed to limitations. The only real limitation is your creativity and ability to problem solve.

Lets look at a normal jpg that I would shoot of a cupcake

While this is a pretty shot, it could be more interesting. We all know that when a flame is lit on top of a candle it flickers around and doesn’t stay till. By turning the image into a GIF, I am able to show that movement. Here is a look at the GIF again.

Notice how the moving of the flickering candle adds movement and interest to the image. The animation is running on a loop, so it will continue to flicker back and forth without stopping. The possibilities of  this are truly endless! It is a great way to show movement with food that usually wouldn’t be there. Instead of having a motion frozen with a shutter speed, you can show that movement.

There are some limitations however.

1. to keep the filesize small and manageable for web viewing, the animation can’t be too long.

2. This is the biggest draw back. GIFs color memory can only support 256 colors. Notice how the colors between the normal jpg and the GIF are different. The GIF looks flatter and a little washed out. When making a GIFF, you need to keep in mind what color range you will have in the image.

With it being a new year, it is a great time to try new things! I have a lot more testing and playing around before I give you a guide of how to make your own GIF, but there will be one in the future.

Have you ever made a GIF before?

When I think of cake doughnuts, I think of breakfast and coffee. It might not be healthy, but a good cup of coffee and a classic cake doughnut is a pretty great way to start your day.

Like every food item you will shoot, there are a million different ways that you could compose the picture. By thinking ahead and knowing what you want your image to say, you can easily narrow down these choices. With cake doughnuts reminding me of coffee and morning breakfasts, I decided that I wanted a morning type scene. Soft and subtle colors, white plates and a single cup of coffee with one cake doughnut.

After playing around with composition, I decided the doughnut looked better with a piece missing. This might sound like a strange concept, but sometimes addition by subtraction is what your photo needs. What I mean by “addition by subtraction” is by subtracting (in this case a piece of the doughnut) I am adding interest to the picture. With the doughnut missing a section, it looks like someone was just beginning their breakfast. Adding the trail of crumbs is more interesting than a whole doughnut.

The whole addition by subtraction concept isn’t new, you see it all the time in pie or cake shots where a piece is missing. Addition by subtraction also works when you are adding props to a scene, sometimes you will have way too many props on the table and removing a few actually adds to the picture by making it less distracting. While this concept isn’t new, my choice of background is something you might not expect.

What do you think I was shooting on top of? A table cloth? A blouse or skirt? (If I was a girl, and owned clothing with that pattern that may work), out of guesses?

Well if you guessed an ironing board then you are correct! Yes I shot this on my travel sized ironing board. I really liked the print on the board, and thought it looked like a table cloth so I gave it a shot (yes bad pun). Given the shape of the board, I knew is would have to be a vertical shot. Having a vertical shot wasn’t a bad thing. With the height of the coffee mug, I was going to shoot vertically anyway.

For my lighting set up. I had window light on the right and a foam board reflector on the left.

When it comes to figuring out your backgrounds and props they can be anything. Really I mean anything! As long as they make sense! If the ironing board was a loud plaid print, I probably wouldn’t have used it, but the subtle print added a nice element of interest to the picture. If the print was in a bright red or orange, I might have been hesitant to use it, but the subtle monochromatic palette of greens worked perfectly!

What is the most interesting background you have ever used in an image?

There are times where you don’t always want your subject to be the main dish. Sometimes, ingredients are the star of your images. Let us take a closer look using mustard as an example.

There are many different mustards out there. From simple yellow, to deli style, to Dijon. They come in a variety of different shades of yellow and all have unique and complex tastes. The type of mustard that you use will most likely be determined by what you recipe calls for. While the color and textures of the mustard varieties will vary, they will usually all have one thing in common. Their packaging isn’t ideal for photographing. Most mustard brands will arrive in a plastic squeeze bottle like you see above. This serves a great functional purpose by allowing you to easily dispense your mustard onto whatever food item you need. Unfortunately, this is not exactly aesthetically pleasing. Instead of being forced to use the plastic bottle, put your mustard into a new container!

I love glass jars. I collect all sorts of different sizes and shapes. I have been known to buy different brands of salsa, pickles (I don’t even like pickles) or other food items just for the jar! Every time I make pimento cheese, I keep save the pimento jars! I though they would be perfect to put mustard in!

Adding a serving spoon makes something as simple as mustard into an beautiful and interesting ingredient shot! Here is the original container next to the glass container.

By changing the container of  my subject, I am able to take a single ingredient and make it into the star of the picture! This is just one of the millions of different ingredient picture you can take! When taking pictures of your ingredients, experiment with new containers or ways of serving. You may just find an exciting new way to present something that may usually seem boring.

Here is the lighting set up I used.

Window light on the left, fill card on the right. What is your favorite ingredient to shoot?

What isn’t to love about new potatoes?  The easiest and arguably tastiest way to enjoy them is roasting!

All you need are potatoes, olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme and time (sorry couldn’t resist the food pun). What I want to talk about is how to photograph them. More importantly, how easy it is to quickly take great food pictures!  Roasted new potatoes is a very common side dish in my family; so it’s no surprise when I am over at my Mom’s house for dinner and she is making them. On this occasion,  I had my camera with me and wanted to take a few quick pictured of the potatoes. Like most kitchens, my mom’s doesn’t have the best lighting for food photography. Tungsten recessed lights in the ceiling mixed with daylight can be a disaster. The only window is over the sink, so that wouldn’t work for the picture. I was going to have to find better light.

With the assistance of my brother (who is an excellent hand model) I went to the room outside the kitchen and stood next to a glass door. This is perfect! I glass door full of windows will give the same window light as a regular window.

Notice how the glass door is on the left. My brother’s left shoulder is lit while his right is darker. If I wanted to brighten up his right shoulder, I could have used a fill card. Remember, when taking pictures of your food, there are few things better than using window light. Look around your house and find a window of your own. Just because you cooking in the kitchen, it doesn’t mean you have to take all of your food pictures in the kitchen.

After the potatoes were done, I decided to take a few finished shots outside.

Above is the final picture, but the lighting wasn’t originally like that. I had to make it that way. It was a beautiful day outside, but not ideal weather for taking food pictures. Lets review the specular and diffused concept.

Yikes! Harsh shadows! Remember direct sun with no clouds creates specular light and can cause your food to look pretty awful!  Here is what happens when a diffusion panel is added.

Much better. Notice the diffused light creates softer shadows on the plate and the food. This picture does the tasty potatoes justice.

Remember, even if you just want to get a few quick pictures of your food, you don’t have to let your photography suffer. Step out of the kitchen and find the right lighting! You will be glad you did. It would be tragic to leave a delicious meal remembered with an unappetizing photo.

Happy Friday and more importantly happy Julienne Fries Day! Today I am celebrating by….

Eating julienne fries of course. Julienne is a type of culinary cut, so as long as your fries are cut in this manner any recipe or type will do! (sorry curly, waffle, and belgian style, this isn’t your day). I knew I was going to eat julienne fries, but how to shoot them? There are millions of different directions to go!

First thing I had to do was figure out what I wanted the theme or message of my picture to be. Again there are millions of ways to go there as well. I usually eat fries when I am drinking. The amazing combination of  cheap beer and hot, salty,greasy fries that is just amazing! I could have eaten an entire basket by myself! So to celebrate today’s julienne fry day. The theme is a bar theme.

Ok, so I know my message, what next? Well I needed to use props and backgrounds that related to this message. For this, I went with a plastic basket lined with wax paper. This is an incredibly popular way to serve bar food, so it makes sense. For the table cloth, I wanted something that read kind of dive bar. You know. One of those whole in the wall places with inexpensive decor and amazing food! Gingham vinyl is perfect for that!

For props there was only one that made sense. BEER! A bottle would be too hard to see through and a can wouldn’t work. I want to show the nice golden yellow color that is very similar to the color of the fries.

For the lighting here is what I did.

Just a window next to a table. I lit the fries from behind, but I didn’t shoot directly in front. I was about 15 degrees off to the right.

The yellow line shows what the camera angle would be if I was directly facing the window. Instead, I was off to the right and the green line was the angle I had with my camera. This gives an effect similar to back lighting, but with it slightly off to the side, I am able to add some fill into the front of the fries.

So that is what I was thinking when I decided to celebrate Fry day! Celebrate with some beer and fries!

The Perfect Cornbread. Is there such? Well, I was going to find out. I have had this bag of Joe Trapp’s Yellow Cornmeal sitting in my cupboard for a while. On the back, is a recipe entitled “Perfect Cornbread”. It lists the ingredients and the instructions, but as with most recipes on the back of packaging, there was no picture. I feel that perfect cornbread deserves a perfect picture! What is the perfect cornbread picture? Well I know that the perfect cornbread must be cooked in cast iron, so that is a good place to start.

To create the perfect picture for the perfect cornbread, I knew that I wanted to have the cast iron pan in the picture. If cooking in cast iron is the best way to make cornbread, then it is critical to the photo that I show this.

Lets start with what I know about the picture.

- It needs to have cast iron in it.

-I  know that if I ever want to publish a picture of the perfect cornbread then I will have to shoot it vertically, so the picture needs to be vertical.

After that, there are millions of ways to go with color scheme and props. I don’t have the time to try every one of these combinations, so I am going to have to make some choices.

What mood do I want?

I want my picture to be somewhat rustic and have a country feeling to it. The cornmeal was ground in Blythewood, SC, so I want any props  that I use to reflect those that could be used in that area.

When I think Cast Iron, I think heavy and rustic. I wanted to  keep this theme in my back ground, so a dark wood made sense. To add a layer of texture and separation form the background I knew I wanted to use a cloth to put under the pan. Also the cloth makes sense. Cast iron is very hot after it has been baking, so you would never set it directly onto a table. This cloth also acts as protection for the table. For the cloth, I used a simple pattern. The blue lines are complementary to the yellow corn bread. Using a busy print would have been a distraction. For consistency, I wanted the lines in the fabric to run the same direction as the grain in the wood. REMEMBER the props you use need to make sense. It might be a great prop, but if it doesn’t make sense to the message you are trying to say, then don’t use it.

After figuring out my props and background, it was time to set up my lighting.

I wish I could tell you its more complicated than this, but it isn’t. Window on the right gives me my shadow on the left. There is a white panel for fill about 2 feet form the subject. Notice how the boards are directly on the floor. I was shooting an over head shot, so having the board on the floor allows me to stand directly above the pan and get an overhead shot. I started out shooting this as a whole cornbread, but decided it was more interesting with one slice removed. I removed a slice opposite the handle so the picture would have balance.

This shot was great in showing off the cast iron, but what about showing off the Perfect Cornbread. Well I took this picture for that.

The mood that I had set up for the first shot was the same that I wanted to have in the second shot, so I kept the same background and set up. This time the subject was the cornbread.  I went for  a 3/4 shot of the cornbread as you would eat it. I chose a 3/4 angle so that you could see the corn bread and the cast iron in the background. Cornbread isn’t complete without a little butter on top. The melting butter helps give you that warm right out of the oven feeling.

The lighting set up is the exact same as our first shot, but with one change. The wooden boards have been elevated. I put the whole set up on top of a card table and used white foam board for fill.

As I said before, there are millions of ways you could have decided to shoot this cornbread. Make your life easier by figuring out what you are trying to say about the picture. Select props and backgrounds that make sense and will help you deliver your intended message. Play around with different angles, move things around and don’t be afraid to make mistakes!

For those of you just here for the food, here is the Perfect Cornbread recipe from Joe Trapp’s Yellow Cornmeal.

Perfect Cornbread

Dry Ingredients

1 cup flour

1 cup cornmeal

1/4 cup sugar

4 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. salt.

Wet Ingredients

2 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup butter milk

Mix dry ingredients together. Add eggs, oil, milk, and buttermilk to dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly.

Preheat pan (I used cast Iron Pan) with additional 1/4 cup oil in a 350 degree oven. (I tilted the pan to coat the oil all over the bottom and sides to prevent sticking) Pour cornbread mixture into hot pan. Return to oven and bake for 25 minutes. Enjoy.

* The name of the recipe is Perfect Cornbread, whether or not you think this recipe will yield the perfect cornbread, that is up to your tastes! To take your perfect picture of cornbread, use the cornbread recipe of your choice! 

Last week, I talked about monochromatic colors. Today, I am going to continue the journey through color theory and how it relates to “making”  photographs. But first, I need to explain something very important.

In last week’s post, I concentrated on one base hue and used different shades, tints, and tones of it to create a compelling and saliva inducing  picture. Today, I am going to add additional hues to our base hue. To do this, you need to be familiar with the color wheel.

This is the RYB (red, yellow, blue) color wheel. It is based off the RYB color model and is most commonly used by painters and designers. I could go on and on about different color models and their uses (the RGB one is what your camera uses) but for simplicity, today’s post is only going to be about the RYB model. You might have learned about the color wheel in your grade school art class, but lets take a second to review. For the color wheel to work, there have to be 3 primary colors. These colors CAN’T be made by mixing other colors together. They are the base of the color wheel. In this model, they are…

Red, Yellow, and Blue. When you mix these primary colors together, you create secondary colors…

Orange=yellow and red

Green= blue and yellow

Purple= blue and red

If you go one step further and mix a primary color with a secondary color, you create 6 tertiary colors!

Combine all of these together, and that is how you get the 12 colors on the color wheel!

Now that we have reviewed what we learned in elementary school, here is how to apply this to your food photography. Remember last week, how I talked about a monochromatic color scheme?

This image of habaneros is a monochromatic scheme with the base hue being orange. This is not a bad picture, but the pepper kind of blends into the background and gets lost. A habanero is HOT! I want to emphasize that with the color scheme in the picture. Now that we know how to use a color wheel, we can add other colors to do this! There are several different approaches to selecting you other hues to include in your image. The one I am going to talk about first, is the analogous color scheme.

This scheme is similar to monochromatic, but you are adding additional hues that are next to you original base hue. In this case, our base hue is an orange.

This base orange is somewhere between and yellow orange, orange and red orange, so adding a red background would fit into the analogous color scheme. The red background will provide us with the separation that we need to emphasize the pepper.

With the Analogous color pattern, the pepper is able to have separation with the background and an emphasis on the heat element of the pepper is there. The reds and oranges in the background and pepper are like those found in a low burning, very hot flame. This is similar to the feeling you have when you consume a habanero. Adding colors that are next to each other on the color wheel as opposed to only one base hue can help add separation to your subject from the background, as well as further emphasize the mood or message of your picture. These colors can also work as an accent.

In this image of the peppers, white is the predominant color in the background. Adding the orange and red stripes help break up the picture and add some interest. Changing the background also changes the mood of the photo. Looking at the two side by side can you tell a difference? The red background on the left definitely conveys a different mood that the white cloth one on the right. Which do you prefer?There is no right or wrong one, it is all about which one achieves your message!

This is just a dip into the shallow end of the color theory pool. I hop that this has helped and inspired you to try new things with your food photography. I will be bring you more lessons in color theory and other tips, as well as a large project that I am working on putting together. I am working on taking all the tutorial posts I have written, as well as adding additional content, and putting them together into a downloadable PDF  that will walk you through the process of “making” a picture. I will tell you more about it as I finish it, but just wanted to let you know what will be happening soon.

In deciding how to explain today’s Photo Tutorial, Star Wars was the only thing that came to mind. Yes Star Wars…

Today, I am going to explain to you what Hi Key and Lo Key images are and how you can use them as tools to set the tone of your image. Now, the Star Wars metaphor. I am a big Star Wars fan, but I realize not all of you are, so I will give a little background. In Star Wars there are these characters called the Jedi. They have the ability to channel this power called “The Force” Now there are two sides to the force. The good or light side and the evil or dark side. Luke Skywalker is on the good side and Darth Vader is on the dark side. I could go on and on, but I will stop.

So you may be wondering, what does this have to do with taking pictures of my food? Good question. Now let me explain what Hi Key and Lo Key are and then I will connect the two ideas.

Lets start with a Lo Key image. A Lo Key image is one where there is a lot of contrast in the shadows. Traditionally they will have a darker background and emphasis is put on the contrast.(An explanation on shadow contrast and controlling it)  THIS DOES NOT MEAN AN UNDEREXPOSED IMAGE. You can’t just under expose an image and call it lo key. The subject is still exposed properly, but you are emphasizing and increase the contrast of the shadows. As you see in the lighting diagram, i am using a normal side lighting set up that I have shown you several times. Instead of filling in my shadows with a white fill card, I am using a black subtractive card. I am using the black side of my 5 in 1, but you could use black poster board, or a black piece of paper. The black material will absorb the light and in crease the contrast on the left side of the jar.

A Hi key image is the opposite.

The image is bright, usually has white as the background color and has very little shadow contrast. THIS DOES NOT MEAN AN OVER EXPOSED IMAGE. Overexposing an image and calling it Hi Key doesn’t work. Yes, you can over expose some of the white background, but the subject still needs to be exposed for correctly. An over exposed subject never looks great. To decrease the shadow contrast, I am using a piece of white foam board as a fill card to decrease the shadow contrast between the left and right side of the jar.

Now that you know what the Force is and what hi key and lo key are, time to connect them.

In Star Wars, Jedi Knights usually take to one side of the force. They are either on the dark side or the light side. (I will get to good vs evil in a second). This tendency to choose the light or dark side occurs all the time in photography. When photographers are developing their style, they tend to gravitate to Hi Key or Lo Key. Personally, I tend to go more the Hi Key direction. This is neither a right or wrong choice of which side you go to. What is important is that you are able to do both. Think of it this way, If you are a Jedi who has complete mastery over both sides of the force, wouldn’t you be pretty powerful? Well if you are able to master both hi key and lo key images and use them when you choose to, you are only a better photographer.

Like every new skill you learn there is a time and a place to use it. What is important is that you are making a conscious decision to choose that and not doing it at random. Remember we are trying to Make photos, not just take them.

The light side (Hi key) side of the force represents good in the Jedi world, well in the photography world think of it more as light, airy, happy, clean, new. Something along those lines.Lets look at our hi key image again.

Do you get those emotions or feelings from it? What other feelings do a hi key image convey to you?

The dark side (lo key) of the force represents evil. In the photography world, this represents heavy, dramatic, dirty, raw, old those kinds of emotion. Lets look again at the low key image.

Different emotions with this set up?

All I changed in the two pictures was the background and what  type of fill card I used. It is the same corn relish, same jar, same spoon. Changing the background and shadow contrast gives the two images completely different feels.

Mastering Hi and Lo key images takes practice and every shoot will have a different use for them. Today was just an introduction to the topic. If you generally shoot hi key, try some lo key and vice versa. I have started to develop an interest in the dark side, and plan on using it more in the future.

I almost forgot. Here is the recipe for the tomato and corn relish.

Tomato and Corn Relish

6 ears of de husked and clean fresh corn

2 10 oz cans Rotel Tomatoes drained

1/4 cup minced onion

1/2 cup white vinegar

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp dry mustard

pepper to taste.

Using a knife, remove corn kernels form the cob. In a large bowl, place the corn, tomatoes, and onion and mix together. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the vinegar, sugar, salt, dry mustard and pepper. Pour mixture into large bowl. Stir. Store in the refrigerator.  This is great with BBQ chicken or in a salad.

There are many things that I love about summer. Fresh summer berries is at the top of that list!  If you have been to your farmer’s market or grocery store, you can’t not notice the abundance of strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries! There are dozens of ways to eat these delicious berries, but my favorite is probably in a baked dessert.

Baked fruit desserts come in a variety of forms. Cobblers, grunts, crumbles, pandowdies, tarts, pies, galette, betty… You get the idea. Throughout the summer, I am going to try and make all of these.

Today, I am starting with a buckle. A Lemon Blueberry Buckle to be exact. The inspiration for this creation is two fold. 1. Blueberries were buy 1 get 2 free, and 2. I really like saying the name Blueberry Buckle. Having never had a buckle or even knowing what one was, I consulted one of my favorite cook books, “Rustic Fruit Desserts” by Cory Schreiber and Julie Richardson. There I got the recipe for this Blueberry Buckle. (The recipe will be at the end of the post)

This book has some beautiful pictures in it, but unfortunately, there wasn’t image for the blueberry buckle. I am assigning myself the task of giving it one. In the header of the recipe, it talks about how the recipe was from a 1980′s clipping form a paper in Vermont. I was born in 1985, so this could count as a recipe from before I was born? Anyway, after researching, I discovered that a buckle is usually made with blueberries. The berries are mixed into a cake and then topped with a streusel  topping.

In thinking about how to shoot this, I decided I wanted to make it in a metal pan, and have a white background. Instead of just picking one shot, I wanted to talk about how different camera angles can give you different shots. Here is the lighting set up I used. It is just window light with a diffusion panel on one side and a foam fill card on the other. Same lighting setup, I talk about in this post.

There are 3 basic angles you can shoot from. Overhead, 3/4, and Head On

You can also think of these terms in degrees. Think of there being a giant circle around your table. If you are at table level thats 0 degrees. When you are directly above the table, that is 90 degrees. In between the two is 45 degrees. An Overhead camera angle is a 90 degree camera angle. You look straight down at your food from above. Here is what this looks like.

You are looking straight down at your food. If your table is really tall, this can be difficult. A lot of times, I will have my set on the ground, so it is easy to look straight down. For the next camera angle, all I did was move my camera along that imaginary circle to around 45 degrees. Here is what I captured.

This 45 degree angle is also known as 3/4. It doesn’t have to be 45 degrees, it can be 37.5 or 56.8. Whatever you find looks best. As you move down the imaginary circle, you come to the last camera angle…

At 0 degrees you are in a head on position. Could you go up to say 10 or 20 degrees? Sure. Again, whatever you find looks the best use that! Every dish and every prop set up will be different, so there is no right or wrong  to which is the best camera angle. A lot  of times the best is the one you haven’t tried so go and try 90 different degrees if you want and find what looks best for you!

In this series or pictures, all I did was change camera angle,there was no moving of the subject. Switching camera angles gives a new perspective to the picture. It is easy to fall into a routine and always shoot in the same angle ( i have a tendency to shoot head on too much and neglect over head), if you find yourself do that, then try a new angle!

For those of you who are just here for the food I apologize, Here is the recipe.

Lemon Blueberry Buckle

“Rustic Fruit Desserts” by Cory Schreiber and Julie Richardson

To make this recipe, you will first make the crumb topping. Put the topping in the freezer while you make the cake batter. As the cake is baking, make the lemon syrup.

Crumb Topping

1/2 cup AP Flour

1/3 cup sugar

dash salt

Zest of 1 lemon

1/4 cup room temp unsalted butter, cubed

In a small bowl, sift the flour, sugar, salt and lemon zest. Using a fork or your fingers, mix in the butter until pea size crumbs form. Store Crumb Topping in freezer.

Cake

1 1/2 plus 2 tbsp AP Flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

6 tbsp room temp unsalted butter

3/4 cup sugar

zest of 1 lemon

2 eggs

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 cups blueberries

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg forming the dry ingredients.

In a separate bowl, using a stand mixer or hand held mixer, cream together the butter, sugar and lemon zest.

Add one egg at a time to the mixing bowl, mixing after each addition.

Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients and 1/2 of the butter milk. Mix.

Add another third of the dry ingredients and the final half of the butter milk. Mix.

Add the remaining third of the dry ingredients. Mix.

Fold in 1 cup of blueberries.

Spread cake batter evenly over a greased 9×9 baking container of your choice. Sprinkle the remaining cup of blueberries over top.

Remove crumb topping from freezer and spread over the berries. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes until it starts to brown.

While baking, make lemon syrup.

Lemon Syrup

1/3 cup sugar

Juice of 2 lemons

In a large saucepan, bring the sugar and lemon juice to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cook 8-10 minutes until a syrup has formed.

When buckle is finished baking, pour syrup over top.

Enjoy!

I have had a lot of questions about where I get my backgrounds that I shoot on. Well, today I will show you.

You can search for old pieces of furniture or old antique pieces of wood, but that can A. get very pricey and B. take a lot of time. Sometimes you can stumble upon an old pile of fence posts that are the perfect shade of gray, but that is leaving a lot up to chance. The very best way to ensure that you will have a great background for shooting on is to make one your self!

All you need is a variety of paint, wood, and time.

To start you will need some wood. A great place to get large square panels are at Lowes or Home Depot. Thy come in a variety of thicknesses and wood types. I generally go for the ones that have a few sheets sandwiched together. This will help prevent warping. You can sand the surface some if you want before painting. If you do, be sure to use a paper towel to remove all of the dust. Once you have your wood, you will need to decide what color paints you will be using. I used just your basic satin paint. I like to work with a variety of colors, so I purchase the smaller sample sizes. At around 3 dollars, they are a perfect ways to get a variety of colors. I use a foam roller to lay down my first color, then use inexpensive paint brushes for the remaining colors. Here is the first background.

For this first panel, I started by rolling the background white.

Once the white dried, I dry brushed the surface with a gray…

Dry brushing is where you only dip the very edges of you brush lightly in the paint and make sporadic paint strokes over the surface.

As the grey was drying, I took red paint, poured it into a cup of water and then mixed it up.   This diluted the paint and created a wash that would dry semi transparently. Experimenting with different amounts of paint and water will give different effects.

I painted the red wash over the panel..

before the wash dried, I used a white painting rag to wipe away the wash. Here is the final result.

The removing the red wash left behind shades of pink and red. Here is what the background looks like in use.

Now for background number 2. This time I started by staining the background first.

On top of the stain, I dry brushed grey and brown onto the panel.

There was no specific pattern that I was following, I just decided to go for a random effect.

Next came a very bright yellow.

Once the yellow was done, I decided that it was a little too much. I wanted to experiment by adding a blue glaze. Instead of mixing it with water and rubbing it off after painting, I painted the whole board in blue glaze.

and then let the glaze dry…

It still needed a little something else. I went back to my wood stain that I used to stain the very first layer with and smeared the stain all over the wood.

Here is the finished background in action.

For my final background, I started with a stain board that I dry brushed with white paint.

The white was nice, but it wasn’t quite complete. It needed a little age to it. For this I was going to use a stain that I diluted with water.

I used about a 50/50 water to stain ratio for this one. The type of stain you use and the amount of water will determine what the final look will be like. The more different combinations you try the more new looks you can discover so play around and try new stuff!

Here is what it looks like when the stain is half applied.

And here is the final background in action…

These are only 3 of the millions of different background combinations that you can make. The only way you will know what works for you will be to try and experiment. It is ok to mess up. It is only paint. If you try something you don’t like then just paint over it.

A few tips…

Be careful about making the background too busy, you don’t want to completely distract your viewer from the food.

Try color combinations that will compliment your food and prop choices.

Keep trying new things and experimenting! Try bold colors and see what happens.

After painting, you can also sand away potions of the top layers to reveal the bottom colors. One day I will bring you a backgrounds part 2 that shows that as well as other materials I use as my favorite backgrounds.

Just remember that by building layers of different colors you can create beautiful and interesting colors that will compliment your food photography nicely. Experiment, get messy, and have fun!