Food Photography with Sony #SocialFabric University Wrap Up

Food Photography with Sony #SocialFabric University photo taken during unit 5 Toasted Coconut Ice Cream

I have been a “photographer” for many years. I can remember getting my first camera when I was around 8 years old.  In a photo album somewhere there are pictures I took with that first camera on a field trip to the Natural Museum of History when I was in elementary school and lived in New York.

Most of you reading this wouldn’t know what to do with that old camera that took a roll of film that had to be developed. That old point and shoot did exactly that, you pointed the camera and shot the picture. Then you hoped for the best. There was no focusing. There was no telephoto lens and mega pixels.  Photography has come a long way.

I’ve had some sort of camera almost all of my life. I’ve probably taken pictures with more types of cameras then the average blogger even knows ever existed.

Photography has been a passion for me for as long as I can remember. I got my first Minolta slr camera when I was 16. I took many a blurry picture with that manual focus camera before I got the hang of it.  And had to pay to develop the film only to have a handful of blurry 4 x 6 images.

There were no computers and digital cameras for the instant gratification photography that we have now. Like I said photography has come a long way.

The best film camera I ever owned ( I still have it)  is a Nikon N90 srl film camera. It was bought used. It came with one lens and I bought a nice telephoto lens for it. I took pictures with it for a couple of years until I got my first digital camera.

I can’t even remember how many point and shoot digital cameras I had until I worked my way up to the Nikon D3100 that I bought a few months ago.

I’ve come full circle in my photography. But even with all the experience I’ve had taking pictures. I needed the skills I learned in this class. Anyone can point an automatic focus camera and click a button. The trick to taking good pictures, pictures that you can be proud of is in learning the proper way to use your camera and the skills that a professional photographer uses.

If you ever have the chance to take this class or any photography class I urge you to do it. You won’t be sorry. You will be amazed at the improvement you see in your own photography skills.

It’s hard to believe that  six weeks of the Food Photography with Sony class  at the Social Fabric University have flown by and this is our final week. I’m amazed by how much I’ve learned in such a short amount of time.

This week is devoted to critiquing my classmates final photos and compiling a portfolio of my five best photographs from the previous 5 weeks of unit work.

The above photo is one of my favorites. It was taken during unit 5. I used all the skills I learned; background & lighting, styling, composition and editing.

I think my food photos, styling, composition and editing skills have improved greatly. What do you think?

Ice Pop Photo taken during unit 4 Ice Pops

  During each unit I received constructive feedback in the discussion portion of the unit from my fellow classmates.

This was an important part of the class for me. It helped me see how others viewed the photos I took. The suggestions my classmates made on my photos from styling to lighting gave me ideas that I will use in the future while taking photographs for my blog.

I learned many things from the advice my fellow classmates gave me. I hope that I in turn offered some  suggestions that helped them in their own photography.

I am so glad I had this opportunity to take this class.

Photograph taken during unit 3 Herbal Soda

I think one of the best units of this class for me was unit 2: Background & Lighting.

Before the class I struggled with capturing the best natural light for my photos.

Sliced Watermelon Photo taken in Unit 2

I learned how to take advantage of available light using white foam boards to direct the available light onto the food I was photographing.

We also learned how to diffuse the light if shooting near a window if the light shining through was too harsh. I haven’t had a chance to try out this particular tip because all of my photos are taken outside and not next to a window. Sometimes  the area where I am taking my pictures is a challenge in its self.  But with the new skills I have learned in this class my photos have improved tremendously.

Practice makes perfect and I am sure the more I use these new photography skills the better my photographs will get.

Blackberry photo taken during Unit 1 of Food Photography with Sony #SocialFabric U

I want to thank Social Fabric for allowing me to take part in the first ever Food Photography with Sony class  at SoFabU. It’s been a wonderful learning experience. Thank you so much.

I also want to thank my fellow classmates who gave suggestions and advice to help me capture better photographs.

I appreciate all the kind words and suggestions they gave to me.