Plate To Pixel, a Review

Canon 7D with 135mm f2.0 lens at f2.5 1/1000th of a second at ISO 160

One of my newest photography interests has been food photography.  My love of food itself is central to that interest and I've grown a huge respect for how difficult great food images are to craft.  While visiting a friend of mine recently, another local photographer named Kelli, she gave me a book that she happened to have two of named "Plate to Pixel; Digital Food Photography & Styling" by Helene Dujardin.  

When I first flipped thought the book I was a little wary of its content as it appeared to be a very basic photography book that spent much of its content talking about equipment, composition and other basic photography skills.  When reading though the book, the first 162 pages are geared for photography basics, camera settings and modes, natural and artificial lighting and composition.  While some of it is oriented at the beginner, the actual structure of the book is brilliant.  Everything is done in the context of food photography specifically rather than as a general guide to photography.  So even if you are a seasoned photographer you will learn some new information as it relates to the stuff you already know.

Later in the book Helene moves onto setting up food shots and styling them.  The information is never too complex or technical and this is a perfect book for those new to food photography, as it is really geared at anyone that is looking to make a start in the genre.  

The book ends with some information on editing images, backing them up, etc..  This of course, in my opinion, is usually a waste of paper.  This information, like information on cameras, changes very fast and is usually better left to dynamic sources (like the internet) than static ones like books.  

Overall this is a book I very much enjoyed and will be referring to as I explore food photography a bit more in depth.  So if you are looking for a food photography book and are new to it, it should really be on your shopping list.

Thanks for dropping by the blog.