Learn How To Take Better Pictures By Setting The Mood With Color!

Light vs Dark vs Grey 

There are so many different ways to change a photo.  Oftentimes people think that you have to change the elements in the photo to create the picture you desire.  Photographers can miss the target by not recognizing that colors play a huge role in developing a great picture!  Lets explore this a little further.

Look at the picture above.  The three pictures are exactly the same with content.  To prove a point, I just changed the color of the tabletop and backdrop.  Look how dramatically different these three photos are just with these two color changes!  

The top picture is loud and bold.  The peppers pop out at you.  The second picture is warm and cozy. Everything works together as one. The third picture is a little in between.  It stands out nicely but still has a warm feel to it.   The same three pictures create a totally different feel when the color scheme is changed.  Which picture do you prefer?

Little Changes Can Make All The Difference

So lets look at another example.  In these two pictures I have the same backdrop but different tabletops. Look how different they look with changing only the tabletop.  The tabletops aren’t dramatically different but it definitely changes the look of the photo.  I kind of like the dimension that the first photo has to offer.  In my opinion it is a happy medium between the all white photo and the warm brown photo featured above.

Now lets look at the backdrops.  Here are two pictures that have the same tabletop but have different backdrops.  Again, by changing the backdrops color you change the feel of the picture.  You have to decide which picture fits the feeling that you are looking to portray to your audience.  Do you have a favorite?

The Importance Of Changing Your Style

The more experience you get with your food photography, the more developed your personal style becomes.  When I first started shooting food photography, I gravitated towards white.  It made all of my food pop!  I can remember saying, everything looks better on white.  As I developed my photography skills, I quickly realized the importance of changing the look of your photos.

I have a few websites that I love…but all the pictures look the same.  Same background, same dark color of wood, same feeling…you get the point.   When progressing through your photography journey, value the importance of variety.  By changing the feeling of your pictures you are giving your viewers new experiences!

Camera Details

As always, I like to include the details of my pictures.  As usual, I shot all of these pictures on manual mode.  I used natural light with no flash.  I did use a tripod for all of the photos.  My ISO was 800, the aperture was f/6.3 and the shutter speed was 1/20 for all of the photos.  I usually edit all of my pictures, but for demonstration purposes I did not edit any of these photos.  If you should have any questions about any of these elements, please feel free to ask in the comment sections below.

More Great Photography Post ~ Photography, Equipment, Props & More 

You can view more great photography post, including how to make the mini photography studio and tabletop units featured in todays post, in our Entire Series of Food Photography, Equipment, Props & More!   Until next week…