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Cameras to photograph food

19 years ago

I am going to buy myself a new camera so that I can photograph my meals to share with you all. I am so impressed with the photos you all post on this site. What type of camera do you all have? How do you get the name of the recipe on the photo? What is the software program that you use?

Too many questions...sorry :o)

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Comments (4)

wizardnm
19 years ago
I bought a Nikon Coolpix L5 about a year ago it seems to do pretty good. It has a macro setting for closeups. It even survived a dunk in the lake a few weeks ago, so I guess it's made pretty good.

I saw a new camera last weekend, a customer had it where I work... I'm seriously thinking about getting it. It's a Limux DMC-F218 and has a 18X zoom, it just came out in Sept.

As far as name writing...I use Corel Paint Shop Pro X. It does way more than I'll ever figure out but it's fun to play around with.

Nancy
mamalou
Original Author
19 years ago
Thanks for the info Nancy! I am checking the camera and software out on line today!! I cannot wait to start taking some decent photos for a change!!
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canarybird01
19 years ago
Mamalou you can use any one of many point and shoot cameras but the most important is that you read the manual and learn how to use the main features. So often bad photos with off colour or fuzzy focusing are not the fault of the camera but rather of the person holding it who hasn't learned how to use it. Ask for advice in a good camera shop. You don't need a big zoom or a lot of megapixels for taking pictures of food. A four MP camera will still do a lot if you know how to make the most of it.

For tabletop photography you could start using a portrait or closeup auto setting. Read about how to alter the white balance according to your light source. It's really easy! And try to use a tabletop tripod or steady the camera on a solid object so the pics are sharp.

Here's a little tutorial on the link below which I posted over in the Gallery some time ago explaining how to put text onto your photos using the PAINT program which comes with Windows.

You can do quite a lot without buying the most expensive editing program. Check out Microsoft Digital Image Suite, Irfanview (free online) or one of the Corel Paint Shop programs. You may get a good deal on an older version to start you off.

Good luck,

SharonCb

Here is a link that might be useful: Adding Text to Photos
netla
19 years ago
While I haven't posted many food photos here, I photograph food for my blog and have been happy with the results.

I use a Canon PowerShot A 430. At 4 megapixels and 4 x optical zoom it's already outdated, but it has a killer macro setting. I use a tripod for extra stability, but have been able to get pretty good results with the camera handheld.

As to editing software, I am switching from my ancient copy of PhotoShop to Gimp, which is a very good open source freeware program.

Here are some samples (clickable thumbnails):

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