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?
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?
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Annie - I love it! I have shot on a few of my cocktail dresses with great results. I needed a black background and didn’t really have anything else, but I have lots of little black dresses and they did the trick. I think this totally justifies all clothes shopping
Nishi - That was a very interesting as well as very informative post. The most interesting background that I have ever used was an inverted wooden drawer.
Grishma - WOW!! Great idea of using what is available rather than spending extra!! First time on ur blog..loved it. Subscribed!
Becky at Vintage Mixer - I have occasionally shot on top of our dog’s kennel. It is the perfect height and distance from the window
mallory - Hahahaha, i’ve used an ironing board before, but not for the print just for the higher table surface
i guess the strangest thing i’ve used besides aprons and skirt liners would be one of my husband’s work shirts that i had burnt a hole in (with the iron) who cares if i got crumbs and stains on it now right! 
Tara @ The Butter Dish - I’ve been practicing with this concept and have learned so much just from this brief post. I never would have guessed your ironing board
but I have a ton of scrapbook paper that could be used to just such a use.
Penny - Fabric scraps, wrapping paper, fluffy towels. Newspaper is fun too.
Thanks for a great post.
Magda's Cauldron - I also used a ironing board few times, but mine doesn’t have so nice pattern
Elvy - Hi!
Your doughnut photo looks great! Doughnut is my favorite and when I was looking at it, I thought it would be great if I were able to take that doughnut out of the photo! haha…Thanks a lot for your photography tips! I’m an amateur in food photography but I’ll keep learning. Your tutorials are really helpful! ^^