As I was snapping pictures for an upcoming blog post, the following occurred to me: Perhaps I should have considered before embarking on a blog that I am a bad photographer. Okay, really bad. Terrible, in fact. When it comes to photographing my wedding cakes, I am notorious for cutting off the top tier. My husband always advises me that when I think I’ve got the cake in the frame to take two steps back. (We started with just one step, but soon realized that it was not sufficient.) Here are a few photos to illustrate my point.
This was a “perfect pear” themed wedding cake for a wedding at the Torrey Pines Lodge in La Jolla, California . Too bad I took the photograph during my artsy EXTREME CLOSEUP phase:
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Check out the lighting on this one. Ouch. Even I can’t tell what color it is:
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This hurts me more than it hurts you:
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Here’s a slightly better version. The wedding was at the absolutely stunning Inn of the Seventh Ray in Topanga Canyon. Of course I could have chosen to take the picture outside in the beautiful bucolic setting, but no, I chose to take it in their kitchen. See the spoons and gray glassware bins?
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My daughter gets some pretty cool birthday cakes. Too bad she doesn’t get any cool pictures of them.
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So, what’s a cake designer to do for quality photos? More about that in a future post. For now, I’ll try to compensate for my poor photographs with really quality blog content. And really nice cakes.
I am so glad your posting about this, because I was stressing about my lack of photography skills just last night. Good pictures really can make or break the opinion your clients get of your products.
I love that perfect Pear cake. Beautiful.
I wasn't very good at photography until my son was born, and I had the same pictures you shared but of a newborn!
When I photograph food or cakes, it's always important to declutter the area as much as possible.
Using natural light is always a huge bonus. I have a large window in my kitchen and I shoot with my back towards the window (but not causing a shadow) so that the light is on my subject.
If you are going to use sheets, fabric, wallpaper, or scrapbook paper as backdrops, I suggest moving the cake a few feet (about five) in front of it. That way the cake is in focus, the backdrop adds color/interest, but doesn't steal the show.
Bakerella also has some suggestions here: http://www.bakerella.com/cupcakes-and-cameras/