I'm normally a bright clashy kinda gal but recently (especially over on Pinterest) I've been drawn to pale pastels; minty greens and candy pinks. I bought a bag of almond nougat today (yum) which was full of those beautiful tones and decided to make it my mission to gather a few bits that I could photograph at my kitchen table (it's all a bit low-tech in the Clover Yard house for now!).
The plastic lace table runner I picked up for less than 3 euros but you'd never tell and it makes a great textural but subtle background. I nipped round to the local flower shop and bought one stem (being frugal this week) of these stunning Delphiniums. Just look at those colours! Do you know, one stem can be enough. I really looked at that flower, studied it even, which I probably wouldn't have done with a whole bunch and now that I've gotten over the embarrassment of asking for one stem I'd do it again!
I can't offer any expert advice on this tabletop side of photography but I will share what I do know:
- A good natural light source is important. I dragged my kitchen table to the window and had light coming from behind and the side (always flattering).
- I personally like to keep my camera on the AV (Aperture) setting so I can change the depth of field. I let the camera decide the shutter speed based on my Fstop setting and ISO.
- Check your ISO. I had just enough daylight left to keep the ISO on 100 (I think I switched to 200 as time went by).
- Find the right exposure. I adjusted the exposure meter to positive values (I like my photos light and white) and set the White Balance to daylight. I would say that some of these pictures are a little on the blue side - you can tell by the tone of the tablecloth which should be bright white. I need to work on that one!
A proper stylist would have ironed that table runner! Given that it's plastic though I didn't want to burn the house down!
89 photos later and I whittled it down to blogging about these 6. Yes, you have to take a lot of photos, most will be fit for the bin but if you persevere you will see something that looks pleasing. I do tweek my photos just a little bit (saturation and sometimes exposure if I didn't get it right with the camera).
I think the most important thing I learned from this particular project was GET A TRIPOD! Probably why 90% of these pictures were rejects as they were blurry.
But hey, I'm still learning. Have you got any photography tips you'd like to share?
your photos look beautiful - its amazing how we can capture different light with different angles. I too end up taking SO many shots, my camera is so basic but has a thick how to manual so i should really read more about it - i do love my macro button for close up shots though!
Posted by: anastasia | June 20, 2012 at 13:42
Hello from a fellow expat in Holland! (And a BYW classmate.)
I find color correction tricky too, especially with this Dutch light. I have zero design training so I spend a lot of time on trial and error, and I wish I could be more efficient at it!
The pastel shades in your photos are so pretty though!
Posted by: Currystrumpet | June 21, 2012 at 16:38
I'm visiting from BYW. You did such a great job styling and photographing the nougats and flowers. I've made attempts, but have never gotten it down. I think you're right about the tripod. I've got to get me one. Keep up the good work on your blog!!!
Posted by: CozyCondoLiving | June 21, 2012 at 20:20