Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Tuesday Favorites!

Hi there! First of all, I hope my readers who're also in the U.S. weathered Hurricane Irene safely this past weekend. With high winds, torrential rains, and the government preemptively declaring our region an emergency zone, the boy and I stocked up on supplies and hunkered down as best we could. Seems luck was on our side seeing as I'm still writing this now =). Hope you all had a similarly harm-free experience...



Food Photography Composition Diagram
With these natural disturbances over with (I hope), I'm happy to continue my favorites series with fresh photos and another photography exercise. This week I suggest you focus on the principle of movement in the composition of these and other food photos. As discussed in my earlier photography post, positioning interesting elements in a way that guides the viewer's eyes through your photo will make anyone's experience more enjoyable and exciting. I've reposted some examples of this from my own work above. The yellow lines highlight some potential paths your eyes might take as they move across my photos. But remember that movement doesn't necessarily need to be in straight lines between objects. There are also times when you may not want as much movement in your photo, such as when you want to highlight your subject very dramatically by itself. As always I wish you Happy "Reading"!


Parmesan and Truffle Fries from Kitchen Notes
1 Kitchennotesfoodie-Parmesan Truffle French Potato Fries Idea
2 Loveandoliveoil-Yellow Summer Squash Corn Pureed Soup Cilantro
Tomato Cobbler from Honey & Jam
3 Honeyandjam-Cherry Tomato Cobbler
Coconut Shrimp with Mango Salsa from Spoon Fork Bacon
4 Spoonforkbacon-Coconut Crusted Shrimp Skewers Kebabs Mango Salsa Idea
5 John Cullen-Halibut Fish Baked in Paper Foodandwine
Cherry Tomato Mozzarella Toast from Helena Ljunggren
6 Helenal Junggren-Roasted Cherry Tomato Cheese Toast Bruschetta Idea
Ramen Noodles Photograph from Sang An
7 Sang An-Ramen Noodles Ingred via Tina Brok Pinterest
Grapes Photograph from Yinjia5
9 Yinjia5-Grapes Ingred
Stuffed French Toast with Cherries Photograph from Ben Dearnley (one of my favorite pro photographers)
10 Ben Dearnley Blueberry Stuffed French Toast Idea
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Posted by Xiaolu at 12:00 AM
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36 comments:

  1. SatrupaAugust 30, 2011 at 12:00 AM

    Fabulous .... Unable to decide which one is better :)

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  2. Jocelyn JiangAugust 30, 2011 at 12:07 AM

    thank you for sharing these gorgeous photos!

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  3. DewiAugust 30, 2011 at 12:11 AM

    Thank you for sharing your knowledge xialu!

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  4. Uno de DosAugust 30, 2011 at 2:16 AM

    Gorgeous selection!

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  5. Rosa's Yummy YumsAugust 30, 2011 at 2:16 AM

    I love those roundups! Fabulous, as always.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  6. luisaAugust 30, 2011 at 5:08 AM

    son todas estupendas.

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  7. JeannieAugust 30, 2011 at 5:08 AM

    Glad to hear you are safe and sound from the Irene... another great roundup:)

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  8. My Little SpaceAugust 30, 2011 at 5:54 AM

    Gosh, how delicious are the photos! Simply gorgeous.
    Kristy

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  9. katie @KatieDidAugust 30, 2011 at 8:08 AM

    Outstanding talent in these pictures, it really inspires me to keep practicing and growing!

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  10. Susan LindquistAugust 30, 2011 at 8:17 AM

    Love the color and light in that still life with grapes! Thanks for the quick tutorial!

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  11. honey82August 30, 2011 at 9:53 AM

    Very nice and delicious..:-P
    Kisses

    http://attimididolcezza.blogspot.com/

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  12. PavithraAugust 30, 2011 at 9:57 AM

    Awesome post Xiaolu..keep going :)

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  13. XiaoluAugust 30, 2011 at 10:08 AM

    Glad y'all are enjoying the series still =D

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  14. mycookinghutAugust 30, 2011 at 10:13 AM

    Fantastic!

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  15. Farmgirl GourmetAugust 30, 2011 at 11:38 AM

    Absolutely gorgeous Xiaolu! As a novice photographer, I love any tips I can get. Thanks for sharing your wealth of knowledge!

    Heather | Farmgirl Gourmet

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  16. Biren @ Roti n RiceAugust 30, 2011 at 12:13 PM

    Glad to hear you are safe and sound! Great selection of pictures!

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  17. HariniAugust 30, 2011 at 2:18 PM

    Beautiful collection! Ben Dearly is a fave with me too!

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  18. Nami | Just One CookbookAugust 30, 2011 at 5:37 PM

    Hi Xiaolu! Thanks for sharing these beautiful pictures as always. I've been wondering lately how come some photographers don't necessarily show the object clearly? Like Tomato cobbler and grapes above. We want to know about the main food but it's kind of hard to see what it is as if they are not the main object. Tomato one for example, I can't really see what it is (main object being so small) or grapes color is more blend in with background. What are the intentions behind in these pictures?? Is it more important sometimes the whole styling is more important than the main food (recipe) itself? I'm just curious what you think... :-)

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  19. XiaoluAugust 30, 2011 at 7:06 PM

    Hi Nami! Great question -- I think I get your meaning about the grapes. For the tomato cobbler, perhaps it is due to a cultural familiarity but I found it quite recognizable. In fact, I think Hannah probably used cherry tomatoes partly to make the cobbler more recognizable as containing tomatoes and it's fairly centrally positioned in the photo. As for the grapes, I suppose it's not the central focus of the photo. But I think this type of photo is meant more as a still life capture of a moment than as so-called food porn. Now that I think about it, I'm not quite sure what the purpose of the knives are (to cut the grapes?) but as I've written before I think there are many types of beautiful food photographs that can differ depending on what the "story" you want to tell is.

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  20. Nami | Just One CookbookAugust 30, 2011 at 7:21 PM

    Thank you for the interpretation!!! I understood what you mean and thanks for explaining! I also noticed that sometimes readers have different purpose (let's say in tomato cobbler). I'm curious more what's in it besides tomatoes and how they look like in close up rather than whole look of styling. But if this is some kind of Japanese food, I can imagine more and at least I don't need so much details. Thank you for the response! It's always fun to learn something new and there is a place I can ask questions regarding photography!!! :-)

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  21. kankanaAugust 30, 2011 at 8:11 PM

    Great pick as always Xiaolu :) The coconut shrimp has been on my list for a long time now ...

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  22. AnhAugust 30, 2011 at 11:16 PM

    This series is getting better and better!

    Also, the travel photos are so beautiful. You really should feature the outside world more.

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  23. Aldy @ Al Dente GourmetAugust 31, 2011 at 12:23 AM

    Gorgeous Tuesday favorites!!!

    Hugs,

    Aldy.

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  24. ValerieAugust 31, 2011 at 1:46 AM

    Those Parmesan and Truffle Fries made me go crazy!! Dangerously yummy! And those Stuffed French Toast with Blueberries!! I just looove your tuesday favorites... can't till next ;)

    Hugs

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  25. magpieAugust 31, 2011 at 2:42 AM

    oooh what gorgeousness! Love your series XL!

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  26. Sanjeeta kkAugust 31, 2011 at 5:38 AM

    Lovely round up, Xioalu! And the concept of movement in the pictures is interesting...hope I get my dslr soon and start experimenting with all these. Will need more of your help then :)

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  27. Ann@Anncoo JournalAugust 31, 2011 at 9:12 AM

    Hi Xiaolu, Thanks for sharing this lovely pictures. I'm still a dummy of taking good pictures and always rejected by tastespotting because of the composition. :(

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  28. Alison @ Ingredients, Inc.August 31, 2011 at 9:12 AM

    These are beyond fabulous

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  29. SomaAugust 31, 2011 at 11:29 AM

    Getting the hang of the "movement" thing now! Amazing links and thx much for introducing to Ben Dearnley!- Fabulous!

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  30. EmmaAugust 31, 2011 at 1:39 PM

    I'm a fan of anyone who can make ramen noodles a classy affair;)

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  31. Angie's RecipesAugust 31, 2011 at 3:19 PM

    Thank you, Xiaolu, for introducing some really great photographers.

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  32. Ellie | Gourmand RecipesAugust 31, 2011 at 10:35 PM

    Fantastic links. I remember seeing the last image in gourmet traveller magazine.

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  33. JulianaSeptember 1, 2011 at 2:53 PM

    Xiaolu, always nice round-ups...love them all.
    Hope you have a great Labor Day weekend :-)

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  34. Lynda @ TasteFoodSeptember 1, 2011 at 4:02 PM

    Beautiful round up as usual!

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  35. Lorraine @ Not Quite NigellaSeptember 1, 2011 at 9:33 PM

    Lovely pics as always Xiaolu!

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  36. Radhika@foodfor7stagesSeptember 2, 2011 at 12:15 AM

    They are real treat to my eyes. And I noticed how my eyes moved inside the frame. Thanks for sharing such beautiful pics

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I love hearing from you all! Please leave me a message if you have questions, advice, or just to let me know you stopped by. Your feedback is always very much appreciated. Thanks! <3 Xiaolu

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