It’s Ramadhan, when Muslims do Puasa (Fasting) for a whole month. Good food becomes an interesting concern for Sahur and Berbuka (break-fasting). It inspires me to make a photo composition that imitates a relaxing break-fasting session. People said that we should eat light, warm and sweet snacks while break-fasting.
A while a go I had a foodie photographer gathering with May Irianti and Teddy Widhi as mentors. I learn a lot from them. So this is it, I try to apply what I’ve learn. I usually take food photograph in a resto with defined surrounding, and it’s the first time I conduct a foodie photo session with my very own pre-set environment 
Propping and Composition
Propping, also known as property setting, is an important part of foodie photo session .A friend of mine, Pak Glein Sitto, sent me a Sago Biscuit from Maluku (Moluccas). Actually he refers it as ‘Keripik’ (crackers) but I recognize it as Biscuit. Sago (or Sagu) is a major staple food for peoples in Papua and Maluku.
I put those biscuit as a stack. As a man in a little tiny house, I don’t have appropriate table utensils, so I put those biscuit on a plastic glass lid instead of a plate. Tips: don’t be too neat; zigzag placing and some small crumbs can be interesting.
Next, we need a table. I stole my brother’s unused TV table 
I love it because of its wooden texture. It gives warm and relaxing ambience 
A coffee cup will enhance the whole concept. I tell you what, that black cup is a bonus from Pepsodent whitening tooth paste! Ha ha… I arrange the cup as a background behind the biscuits.
See, it’s very simple and they cost me almost nothing.
Lighting
If I said earlier that I try to imitate a break-fasting snack session, it doesn’t mean that I really have to take it on the evening right? 
I planned to use available natural light so I woke up earlier in the morning and set it all for just 5 minutes and start shooting. 7am sunlight was quite perfect that day.
How about the light direction? Imagine a clock dial. The biscuit is on 12, the camera is on 6 and the glorious light is on 2. Avoid direct light into the camera. Sadly, I don’t have a reflector to fill the shade part on my subject.
Sunlight, it costs me nothing but extra spirit to fight my laziness to wake up early 
Camera Setting
I use a budget DSLR camera, the Canon EOS 1000D. I set to Manual mode and put a nifty-fifty 50 mm f/1.8 lens. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t say that you must get a DSLR. Most images on this blog have been captured with the ultra slim Canon IXUS 75 pocket camera. Use a tripod if possible; it helps you to prevent camera shake and produce tack sharp photographs.
For this session, I used f/2.2 and f/3.2. Don’t get confuse with this setting, the point is: I want to make the image focus on the biscuit and the background (coffee cup) should be out of focus (blurred). So, I need a a wide aperture (indicated with small ‘f’ number). A macro mode on automatic pocket camera will help you to accomplish such images. Don’t forget to set your ISO setting as low as possible to avoid noise and grainy texture.
Post Editing
It’s the fun part. Image which comes directly from my camera is pretty dull and lack of contrast. Adobe Lightroom helps me to spice up my photographs. I applied ‘Old School’ preset to emphasize the warm atmosphere and kinda remind me to 80’s look. Leveling up the temperature and contrast will also work good.
I shoot total 34 photos for this session and pick only 5 of them. I explore from different angle, object arrangement and lighting direction. That’s what I like from foodography, the object will not feel mad or tired no matter how long we shoot ‘em
Photography is an art, so I think there’s no such thing called right or wrong. So, this is my style, you could improvise and have it your way. Have fun.. 
Facebook Like-o-meter :
Related Posts :
46 delicious comments
manteeeeppp!!! foto2nya bagus2 banget…
pengen dah punya dslr.. hehehe
kalo pocket camera gak bisa diatur ya aperturenya?
Saya sebenernya sedikit tertarik juga dengan Fotografi..pengen beli kamera yang emang buat foto beneran..bukan kamera hp X(
gearnya mantap tuh.. powerful tapi ga perlu ngrogoh kocek dalem2 heheh yang penting man behind the gun … n foto2 di inijie.com emang sip buanget.. bikin ngiler hehehehe
@Juminten : haha.. kalo 34 masih seidkit, saya pernah foto 90 .. yg tampil di blog cuma 8
@Arman : beli dahhh haha… *racun* poket ada yg bisa diatur kok, pilih yg ada option manual..
@Sarimin : thx a lot bro…
@Andre : upgrade ke pocket camera dehhhh…
@Ojat : ehh.. aku justru iri sama senjatanya mas niiii… udah lepel propesional (ampun)
nice photo session 
the biscuit looks very yummy
(padahal rasanya biskuit Sago tawar kan ya?)
memang butuh banyak latihan untuk mendapat yang terbaik
nice … tapi udah sempet liat di facebook, hihihi 
@Didut : hoho.. jadi ciri khas INIJIE.com tentunya
@Pink Paris : Perisss..! dah pernah coba biskuit Sagu ya ? Makanya perlu didongkrak pake kopi hehe..
@Fenty : tapi step by stepnya belum ada di fesbuk kan ?
@Tanz : merasa bersalah janji hunting foto bareng belum kesampaian sampe skrg 
Ceileeee, yang punya obyekan baru…
Eh, lain kali kalo ada sesi, aku ikut donk.
Jie, nanya deh. klo utak atik level/contrast di photoshop sama di lightroom sama atau beda?
jie….grgrgrgrgrgr…wes wes…keren pol….wakakakkakakaka…jadi tambah ngiri bek kamu…
aku mau dong snacknya..dari sagu ta itu..di SBY ga ada ta?
@Ivan : iya.. seriusin foto makanan beneran mau ikut sesi foto? saya fotonya jam 7 pagi lho
@Angels : Di Photoshop kan ada RAW editornya kan? Sama kok, mirip banget tampilannya.. malah kalo bisa Photoshop lebih bagus, sayang aku belum bisa pake Sotosop..
@Eve : masih ada lho biskuit sagu-nya, mau ga ? ambil ke kantorku hehe..
bagus poto na !! Mantap
ga smua org yg bisa motret menghasilkan poto yg bgs . Poto tuh “berbicara” sih .
jadi hrs pny sense of art selaen teknik skill baru komplit hasilnya
“That’s what I like from foodography, the object will not feel mad or tired no matter how long we shoot ‘em ”
Agree! (as long as that food doesn’t belong to anyone..)
Nice photo Jie! *dua jempol terangkat*
@Tanz : next time bro.. next time
@Veny : jadi fotografi itu perpaduan antara seni dan ilmu ya, harus menguasai dua2nya hehe..
@Citra : foto2 loe juga mantab lho Cit… 
@Det :
eh kritik dikit, foto yang tengah itu mug-nya terlalu blur jie!
Iya, anda memperhatikan juga rupanya. Itu f/2.2 terlalu tipis ternyata. Better f/3.2..
mantabb broh..! available light aja bisa kayak gitu ya… baca2 di milis2, kebanyakan pake studio lighting atau flash ala strobist-an. susyah, ilmu saya blm nyampek 
propping terlihat sangat berperan di foto2 di atas ya… harus banyak belajar nih dari broh Jiewa
kalo motret es duren gmn ya broh? ngatur proppingnya itu lho. kan gak bisa diapa2in, sudah disuguhkan dalam gelas, gituh…
@Andre : kalo ala strobist duit saya yg belum nyampe brur
gak bisa diapa2in, sudah disuguhkan dalam gelas
Hoho.. aku juga masih kesulitan foto es krim, paling ya pesen ama mas yg jualan supaya durennya pilih yg fotogenic trus taruh diatas es-nya. Kalo buat komersial, kayaknya mesti diganti pake clay deh, biar ga cepet leleh.. kan tekturnya mirip hehe..
Eh, liburan kemana bro? Kalo hunting aku ikut dong..
@Ed : makasih, still wondering to buy a full set table top studio kit
@Indra : waaa… masa belajar sama yg masih belajar juga
wow dari 34 yg diambil 5..wkkwkwkw
tapi bagus Jie…kreatif…terutama tips “don’t be to neat” hehehe
pake clay yah? wah good idea tuh… gak kepikiran sampe sana.
rencana ke bali tgl 17-27, apa ada rencana ke bali juga?
kalo sebelum tgl itu ayok hunting2 di sby dan sekitarnya
iya gua udah pilih yang manual tapi gak tau gimana cara ngerubah aperturenya… buku manual nya gak menolong banget. hahaha…. ntar kudu dicoba2 lagi dah…
wah yakin keren keren om jepretannya..
masih lom ngerti cara foto.. ada reference forum ngga om??
@Joanne : yup.. we have to make it as natural as possible, makanya jangan terlalu menimbulkan kesan diatur banget hehe..
@Andre Jr : he eh, wahhh.. enaknya ke Bali bos. Gini deh, kapan2 kalo ada hunting kabar2i di fesbuk yah, pengen berguru
@Jeanne : haha.. itu hadiah dari pepsodent
@Derby : derby romero ? lam kenal aja.. moga2 bermanfaat ya..
@Arman : pake trick aja, kalo mau aperture besar (small F number).. dipancing dulu dengan autofocus ke object dekat baru re-compose, kalo mo apeture kecil ya sebaliknya. Rada repot, tapi aku biasanya gitu kalo pake poket hehe..
@Indotop : pusaka kuliner indonesia gt loh
@Andri : this one is good –> http://digital-photography-school.com
@Tuyi : yuk mari.. kalo kapan2 perlu referensi tinggal balik lagi
Great tips.
Btw Jie, di CD nya Canon EOS digital ada software utk edit photo juga. Lupa namanya… tapi lumayan ok.
Another note: break-fasting usually called as IFTAR. ;)
thank you for stopping by at my blog! admire your pictures, thanks for the tips. been using DSLR for a year, cuma kemampuan jalan ditempat kayaknya…hihihih
wedew..banyak banget comment nya yak…
asik2.. keep writing like this one yah, sambil menanti dslr berhasil kuraih di tangan hahaha.. smentara masi pocket aja nih. tp ora opo2, memaksimalkan yg ada sambil plajari teknik2nya lagi.. peralatan mendukung bukan segalanya tapi kan ya jie? hehe..
nb: takira gelasnya dari kopi tyt dr odol hohoho..
@Wuri : oh ya.. aku ga pernah buka2 CD bawaannya hehe.. dulu cuma 1 kali install software connectivitynya doank. ntar gw coba deh, thx infonya yah kak
@Nur Ichsan : gpp mas, ntar kalo kapan2 butuh bisa pake google translate hehe…
@Kiky : practice makes perfect .. tetap semangat latihan yah
@Alex : ini penjabaran sesi fotografi yg sangat simplified lho, tapi gpp lex.. cuma sharing aja, itung2 tambah wawasan..
@Bebe : benerrrr… property bukan segalanya, yg penting man behind the gun kok..
wuah….blm ngoprek dslr rghhhr…ngiti aku sama fotomu…hehe
blm dapet installer lightroom Jie..ada rekomendasi link yg free hahaa..
$ 299 rek..
@Wewey : hehe.. iya nih, si boss lagi asyik ama project barunya nih yee
@Naki : lebih cepat lebih baik ya ?
wow… gak nyangka bisa muat tuh biskuit sago. heheheh… gak nyangka juga jago foto…
btw thx anyway. pernah rasa sabeta (ulat sagu)? gw pengen ngirim tp…
Halo Jie! Pa kabar? Lama tak bersua
Kebetulan aku lagi tertarik belajar food photography nih, eh nyasarnya di posting ini
Oya, blogku sekarang pindah ke wordpress.com
Jie, kalo pake camera compact yg ada setting manualnya utk foto yg backgroundnya disetting blurred , gimana caranya ya? gmn setting nya? gw coba2 kok kaga bisa2 hehe
apa??? dr 34, yg kepilih cuma 5? set dah… niat beneeerrr…
eh, tp emang keren2 loh fotonya.
foto biasa jd keliatan ga biasa karena ada seninya.