I know a lot of people are going to think I’m out of my mind for talking about staging before either props or lighting, but there’s a reason that I feel that this is the most important place to start. As a matter of fact, both staging and props are the first two factors in any layout I do, whether it’s  soup, a salad or a piece of toast.  Experience has taught me that this is the case, and photos like the one below are the reason I’ve learned it.

The image above is horribly dark, under exposed and has far too much light coming only from the back of the subject.  To top that off, the shot is too far out and at a bad angle.  This is what you get for not setting your stage and then considering your lighting. (I was also horribly inexperienced at the time.) the recipe?  It’s fabulous.  but this picture isn’t going to convince anyone of that.

The photo at the top of the page shows what I’ve leaned put into action.  I set a full table.  The reason is that I wanted to shoot across the main dish and catch the serving dish and the other bowl in the final shot. In the end, this layout shot was all I got, as something or other came up and I had to scrap what I was going to make in favor of something quick.  I never got back to it.

Here are my pearls of wisdom on setting up for a shot:

• Consider the subject matter.  Will it look better shot low (tall foods tend to) or from a higher angle. (pizza is a great candidate for this).
• Will the shot benefit from table  settings, or would they distract from the overall?
• Do you happen to have anything lying around that could be used as an accompanying prop? (if you’ve got apples in your recipe, stack a few behind the subject, or off to the side, peppers, toss a few into the frame, it’s important stuff!)
• Is your shot seasonal?  If so, create a set that uses seasonal colors or patterns. It will “set” the picture in that time frame.
• How much room do you need?  For a low level shot, you either need to make sure there’s something interesting in the background, or that you’ve blocked off the view of your messy kitchen with something else, either a prop or a blind of some sort. (sheets of foam board work well for this.)
• Does your table or shooting surface match the shot?  If not, grab a large napkin, a tablecloth or a piece of colored paper.  Do something to make all of the pieces “feel” right together. (I’ve got shoting tables in three different wood tones, but I’m working on getting a few pieces of foam board covered with contact paper of different textures and patterns, just fo interest.  Again, colored foam board can be a lifesaver here.)

Note that in the layout above, I was planning on shooting with the focus tight in on the bowl toward the front of the shot, shooting across at a tight angle.  Everything in the near background would have been slightly blurred, and anything in the far background would have been little more than colors and vague shapes.  This method is ideal if you’re shooting across a room.

That’s it for this installment.  I hope I’ve given you some little bit of inspiration the next time you decide to get a great shot of “that perfect dinner”.  Any questions, leave a comment, i’ll get right to it.

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