Samantha Seeley

Virtual Holiday Party Cocktails and Mocktails

Sam — Fri, 11 Dec 2020 20:13:20 +0000

The holidays in 2020. What does that even look like?

Did all of your holiday parties turn into virtual Zoom parties, too? Enter 2020 and the virtual holiday party!

If so, you’ll need a fun way to still be able to celebrate with all of your favorite people.

Have you ever been in a Zoom call where it’s just silent and you feel awkward?

No? Just me?

Well for those of you out there who’ve felt that awkward feeling, I just wanted to give you this list of fun ways to get your friends and family members interacting on Zoom.

Virtual Holiday Party Games & Contests

Here are just a few ideas that should help you kick off your virtual holiday party:

An ugly holiday sweater contest! (Mine is pretty good so you better bring your A-game!)
Create a holiday-themed virtual Zoom Background (You can do this with Photoshop or Canva!)
Decorate your actual house and use that space while you’re on the call!
Have a holiday cocktail (or mocktail) party! The curated list below will help with this!

Below you’ll find a curated list of 20-holiday cocktails and mocktails. In 2020, we’re all already accustomed to gathering virtually on Zoom or Google Meet so in order to fully prepare for your virtual holiday party Cocktails and Mocktails you’ll want to make sure to share this post with everyone invited!

Use the buttons above to share as you see fit!
Share this post in the Facebook event you created for your holiday party.
Throw this link in the Google Calendar invite description for your virtual party.

Let’s get down to business!

Here are 20 recipes for you and your crew to choose from. We have everything here, my friends!

Fancy sparkling drinks, scotch on the rocks, and even a few mocktails!

There is truly something for everyone!

Holiday Cocktails and Mocktails

Boozy Holiday Cocktails

Pomegranate Rosemary Spritzer

Photo Credit: www.theculinarycompass.com

Yule Mule: A Christmas Moscow Mule Recipe

Photo Credit: feastandwest.com

Blood Orange Martini

Photo Credit: www.igivenosips.com

Elderflower French 75 Cocktail Recipe

Photo Credit: feastandwest.com

Seelbach Bourbon Champagne Cocktail

Photo Credit: feastandwest.com

Scotch on the Rocks

Photo Credit: jordancauley.dev

Pomegranate Yule Mule Cocktail

Photo Credit: feastandwest.com

Salted Caramel Spiked Apple Cider

Photo Credit: www.orwhateveryoudo.com

Pink Champagne Cocktail

Photo Credit: www.sugardishme.com

Basil Pomegranate Cocktail

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cocktail Recipe

Photo Credit: www.foodfanatic.com

Blood Orange Rosemary Cocktail

Sparkling Cranberry Prosecco

Photo Credit: www.orwhateveryoudo.com

Cranberry Orange Mimosa

Photo Credit: www.orwhateveryoudo.com

Classic St. Germain Cocktail with a Twist

Photo Credit: www.bluebonnetbaker.com

Sugar Cookie White Russians

Photo Credit: thesweetestoccasion.com

Holiday Mocktails

Christmas Mojito / Coconut Mojito Non-Alcoholic Drink

Photo Credit: www.cookingcarnival.com

Sparkling Balsamic Mocktails with Berry Ice Cubes

Photo Credit: feastandwest.com

Christmas White Russian Mocktail

Photo Credit: www.thisvivaciouslife.com

The post Virtual Holiday Party Cocktails and Mocktails appeared first on Samantha Seeley.

The Equipment in My Food Photography Kit

Sam — Sat, 17 Oct 2020 15:45:58 +0000

This hand-curated list of food photography equipment features all items that have helped me create images that I’m proud to share.

The Food Photographers Toolbox is the ultimate list of tools and resources that I use every single time I take a photograph. This list an extensive list of cameras, lenses, accessories, lights, stands, storage, and software that I use and highly recommend.

There are a few things that I consider to be essential during a photoshoot. Some items are obvious, such as the camera itself or a memory card but other items may be forgotten until you really need them.

In which case you will probably kick yourself for leaving it on the kitchen table. Enter the Food Photography Kit: A list of items that will help you be prepared for all photographic situations and help avoid frustration while shooting or preparing for a shoot.

That’s why I curated this list of my food photography equipment. This list is my most used items and the items on this list range from big-ticket equipment pieces such as my camera body, monitor, lenses, and lights, to smaller things that cost approximately 5 to 10 dollars.

While having the best photography equipment does not make the photographer, there are certain items that can make your life easier that I’ll share with you below.

I truly do feel that if you learn the basics of photography (in terms of the exposure triangle), composition, and learn to see and understand light, you will level up your photography game.

Having the best food photography gear doesn’t mean you know how to use it properly so my advice to all students in my digital photo lab is to NOT go crazy buying what you think you need. More often than not, you don’t really need it.

Instead, you should actually practice this craft we call photography and take photos with whatever equipment you currently have. Once you have a firm understanding of the basics, you can start to explore other gear you might want to experiment with.

Disclosure: There are affiliate links throughout this post. The opinions here are 100% my own and the equipment, software, and tools listed above are all items I truly use in my food photography.

Yes, you’ll find camera bodies, lenses, and lighting equipment on this list but you’ll also find some software, info about how I back up my work, and prop sourcing tips. At the very bottom, you’ll find educational resources such as courses and books that I love.

These small items can often make or break a photoshoot and are indispensable in any food photography equipment list.

Below you will find a long list of items that help me when I take, cull, and edit photos. I hope this list helps you, even if it is just in a small way.

Food Photographers Toolbox

This page contains affiliate links. I will make a small commission if you make a purchase through one of these links, at no extra cost to you.

camera gear

Ah yes, the camera. You can't quite take a picture without it. The cameras listed below are DSLR and Mirrorless cameras that I recommend to get you started or to jump to the next level.

Canon EOS 6D Mark II Full Frame

Photo Credit: www.amazon.com

Ah, the Canon 6D! This is Canon's intro full-frame camera and it packs a powerful punch. It's got 26.2 megapixels so your images will be pretty large, especially shooting RAW. It's equipped with an epic flip out screen (great for overhead shots or vlogging!) The video is 1080p so if you're looking for 4k video quality, see below. The original Canon 6D is also a great camera for those looking to get their first full frame camera on a budget.

Canon EOS 5D Mark IV Full Frame

Photo Credit: www.amazon.com

One of the best cameras Canon makes. It's a full-frame, 30.4 megapixels DSLR that is great for all types of photography. It's a bit on the pricey side but worth the hefty price tag! There isn't a flip out screen like the 6D above but it makes up for it with other robust features. The Canon 5D Mark IV shoots 4k video so your food videos will be looking their best.

Canon EOS RP Full Frame Mirrorless

Photo Credit: www.amazon.com

Ah, the Canon EOS RP. The first full-frame mirrorless camera by Canon at an extremely reasonable price. This mirrorless camera is lighter than the Canon 6D and 5D, has a full-frame sensor, records in 4k video, has 27.1 megapixels and a maximum image size of 6240 x 4160. It's less expensive than the EOS R (it's big sister) but packs a big punch. Please note that if you get this camera body and already have or purchase any of the EF lenses below you will need to also get an adapter to be able to use them on your camera body. The new RF lenses are made for this camera.

Canon EOS R Full Frame Mirrorless

Photo Credit: www.amazon.com

The newest camera in my kit! Mirrorless cameras are the future and Canon is making that abundantly clear with their newest line of EOS R cameras and RF mount lenses. This mirrorless camera is lighter than the Canon 6D and 5D, has a full-frame sensor, records in 4k video, has 31.7 megapixels and a maximum image size of 6720 x 4480. It's a bit pricier than its little sister the EOS RP. Please note that if you get this camera body and already have or purchase any of the EF lenses below you will need to also get an adapter to be able to use them on your camera body. The new RF lenses are made for this camera.

Lenses

The list of lenses below are all lenses that I currently own and use on a regular basis. It includes both prime lenses and zoom lenses.

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 L

Photo Credit: www.amazon.com

Everyones favorite lens. This lens allows you to stop down to f2.8 making it a very fast lens that lets you capture a very shallow depth of field. The 100mm macro lens allows you to get super close to your food and explore the details (think water droplets or melty cheese) and also be able to step back a bit to get the other details within the scene while keeping a tact sharp focus paired with a beautiful shallow depth of field. This lens uses a 67mm filter. Filters are discussed below.

Canon EF 50mm f/1.2 L

Photo Credit: www.amazon.com

The 50mm! The 50mm will always be my first love when it comes to lenses. Over the years I have upgraded to this one, the 1.2. The 50mm is a great lens for learning composition since it's a prime lens and you'll need to zoom with your feet and move around your subject.

Canon EF 24–105mm f/4 L

Photo Credit: www.amazon.com

A nice all-around Zoom lens that is great for a lot of things. I use this for portraiture and still life/food work.

Photography Accessories

This section is full of accessories to make your life as a food photographer much easier. There are things on this list that are a few dollars and there are things that are $300+. You don't need them to take a great photo if you have the eye for composition and can see light but they definitely make your life easier!

This page contains affiliate links. I will make a small commission if you make a purchase through one of these links, at no extra cost to you.

Camera Level Hot Shoe

Photo Credit: www.amazon.com

A level that sticks onto your hot shoe! Is there anything more inventive? Maybe, but this little guy works pretty well for making sure that your plates aren't sliding off the table in camera.

SD Memory Card

Photo Credit: www.amazon.com

We all need a million of these little guys. I have all kinds of memory cards ranging from 16 GB to 128 GB. Make sure you're checking your camera and the memory card slots. You may have a Compact Flash slot in addition to the SD slot.

Sekonik Light Meter

A light meter is an indispensable tool that will help you get accurate exposures while shooting.

Manfrotto 014- 14 Rapid Adapter

Photo Credit: www.amazon.com

This tiny adapter is amazing. You can use it in a few ways, I'm sure, but the way that I use this little guy is by attaching it to my C-Stand, adding the monopod rapid release head below, and then using it to secure the camera. It then basically becomes a large tripod.

Manfrotto 234RC Monopod Head Quick Release

Photo Credit: www.amazon.com

This quick head release attached to the rabid adapter above. You can use it in other ways but I will first attach it to my C-Stand and then add this Rapid Release Monopod head and then I can attach my camera to it all and use the C-Stand to stabilize the camera.

Canon Battery

Photo Credit: www.amazon.com

You may want to buy a few of these batteries for your camera (it will be different if you use Nikon or Sony) to have as backups. It can be incredibly frustrating when you're working and you forgot to charge your camera battery.

BenQ 27 In Photographer Monitor

Photo Credit: www.amazon.com

A photography monitor is indispensable. I have been using a laptop for quite a few years so that I can bring it with me should I need to. When I am editing my work, I make sure to connect my laptop to my work station and this monitor. It's 27 inches, and it has shields that block the ambient light in the room for a more precise edit.

Color Munki Monitor Calibrator

Photo Credit: www.amazon.com

This monitor calibrator goes hand in hand with a monitor. You run it to make sure that you're seeing the most accurate representation of the colors on the screen.

Lighting Equipment

In this section, you'll find all the lighting equipment that I own and use in my work. Below are strobes, continuous lighting setups, light modifiers, and my favorite stands.

This page contains affiliate links. I will make a small commission if you make a purchase through one of these links, at no extra cost to you.

Paul C. Buff Einstein™ Flash Unit

Photo Credit: www.paulcbuff.com

The Einstein by Paul C. Buff is a strobe great for high speed photography. If you’re ever going to get into any wine splashes or would need to freeze something moving very fast, this is the strobe you want! The Einstein is a bit pricer that the DigiBees so if your budget is tight you might want to see above.

Paul C. Buff DigiBee Flash Unit

Photo Credit: www.paulcbuff.com

The DigiBee! I had been eyeing Paul C. Buff’s AlienBees for so long that they came out with the DigiBee before I purchased them. I finally made my purchase for two B800’s and I couldn’t be more thrilled. These strobes are easy to learn and use. They have a daylight balanced LED modeling light that could very well be used for a continuous light set up.

Paul C. Buff CyberSync™ Transceiver

Photo Credit: www.paulcbuff.com

The transceiver works with the Einstein and Digi Bee above to make your camera and strobes sync.

Paul C. Buff CyberSync™ Trigger Transmitter 2

Photo Credit: www.paulcbuff.com

The Trigger Transmitter works with the Einstein and Digi Bee above to make your camera and strobes sync.

Savage Port-A-Stand Kit

Photo Credit: www.amazon.com

This backdrop stand is one of the more sturdier stands I've come across and let's just say I've come across some really poorly made stands for both lights and backdrops!

I picked up a few of the Savage color backdrops as well and I've been having some find creating product work this way.

2-Light 600 LED Bi-Color Panel Kit

Photo Credit: www.amazon.com

I use these lights for any video work that I might be getting myself into.

Rapid Box Switch 2' x 3'

Photo Credit: www.amazon.com

This softbox is the BEST softbox that I've come across. It's a decent size but what makes it fantastic is the "rapid box" umbrella pop-up. What's really great about this softbox is that the mount that you use to put it on the light is interchangeable.

If you're using Digi or alien bees like I am, you'll want to use the appropriate mount. But if you upgraded your lights, all you'd have to do is buy a switch mount replacement and you can still use your rabid box softbox.

Rapid Box Switch 1' x 3' Strip

Photo Credit: www.amazon.com

Here is another Rapid Box Switch Softbox. I mentioned above why I love these. This size is great for getting specular highlights on bottles!

Westcott Switch Insert (Balcar AlienBees)

Photo Credit: www.fjwestcott.com

This is the mount that I was gushing about above for the two rapid box softboxes I mentioned. This link specifically links to the AlienBee/Paul C. Buff insert because those are the lights that I currently use and the lights that I have listed on this page.

If you have another light kit such as a Bowens, ProPhoto, or Elinchrom make sure you are getting the appropriate switch insert. The rabid box works with a speedlight insert as well!

Software

This section is dedicated to the software that I use in my work. Mostly, it all falls within Adobe’s Creative Cloud! Please note that this page contains affiliate links. I will make a small commission if you make a purchase through one of these links, at no extra cost to you.

Backblaze

Photo Credit: backblaze.com

Remember when I was going on about external hard drives and how vital they are to your photography work? Remember when I mentioned cloud storage? Well, this is it!

BackBlaze is a service that costs only $5 a month and syncs all of your data on your computer and on as many hard drives as you want so that your photos and other data are stored on a server elsewhere. This is important because you never know when a hard drive will fail or when something will happen to your home or office and the drive is in jeopardy.

ChronoSync

Photo Credit: www.econtechnologies.com

ChronoSync - ChronoSync will back up all of your hard drives and sync them together on an hourly, daily, weekly or monthly basis! My files are my life so keeping them in sync is crucial to my sanity.

Adobe Creative Cloud

I wouldn’t be able to do any of my creative work without the full Adobe Creative Cloud. The apps I use most: Lightroom, Photoshop, InDesign, Premiere Pro, Rush, Audition, and Illustrator.

Screenflow

Photo Credit: www.telestream.net

Screenflow is the video editing and screen recording software that I use to make online tutorials. I’ve been using Screenflow for quite a few years now to make screencasts using Photoshop and Lightroom. It works well for recording your webcam videos as well.

Productivity Tools

Below you'll find tools that I use every day to help run this website.

Please note that this page contains affiliate links. I will make a small commission if you make a purchase through one of these links, at no extra cost to you.

Notion

Photo Credit: asana.com

An amazing productivity tool that allows you to track your to-do list, create boards to visually see your list, assign tasks to your team, and schedule out your editorial calendar.

Calendly - Schedule Appointments and Meetings

Photo Credit: calendly.com

The best (and FREE!) scheduling application. It’s cute, too! You can embed the calendar into your website, send clients a link to your schedule, and even set it up so that they can pay directly from calendy (paid upgrade). 7

Tailwind

Photo Credit: www.tailwindapp.com

Tailwind is the Pinterest (and Instagram) scheduler of your dreams! All you need to do is make some time in your schedule once a month to set up your monthly queue. Between Pinterest scheduling, Tailwind tribes, analytics, and SmartLoop, you can’t go wrong.

ConvertKit | Email Marketing

Photo Credit: convertkit.com

ConvertKit is my new best friend. When I started to get serious about my email list I couldn’t figure out how to use Mailchimp to do exactly what I wanted to do (automations & sequences)! So, instead I jumped to ConvertKit (which was absolutely painless with their subscribe import capabilities!)

Grammarly

Photo Credit: www.grammarly.com

All of my posts and pages on this website are edited with Grammarly! I used it for every paper in grad school. I pay for the yearly subscription and it has done wonders for my writing. Even if your grammar is perfect it helps with wordy sentences making your text easier to read. And if your grammar could use some work, it explains why it wanted to change a word so you’re actually learning as you edit.

prop sourcing

Below you will find my most recommended makers and online shops that will help you source props to use in your food photography. This list will help you build your own prop library.

This page contains affiliate links. I will make a small commission if you make a purchase through one of these links, at no extra cost to you.

Fabric.com

Hello fabric.com! Picking up a few pieces of fabric is a great idea so you have some bits and pieces on hand to throw down at a moment's notice. The fabric you use doesn’t have to be a perfectly tailored napkin. In fact, free-flowing fabric that is long and can be twisted, tied, bunched up in any way or used as a background/surface, should be your best friend forever. Look for cheesecloth, cotton scrim, or linen for flowy fabrics. Most other fabrics will work well for backgrounds and surfaces.

Herriott Grace

There are so many beautiful and unique pieces at HarriotGrace.com from wooden bowls, dessert platters, wooded spoons, wooden cutting boards, rolling pins, and much more.

East Fork - Pottery & Home Goods

Photo Credit: eastfork.com

Gorgeous handmade pottery based out of Asheville, NC!

Lail Design | Modern Pottery

Photo Credit: lail.design

Lail ceramics is an amazing collection of beautiful handmade and modern ceramics out of the Hudson Valley. They have spoon rests, mugs, large and small plates and bowls, and pots for plants. The glazes they use… the color… I can’t even explain so just go look for yourself and try not to fall in love. I dare you.

Backgrounds & Surfaces

I am pleased that this section has grown in the last few years. When I first started taking food photographs I was at a loss when searching for backgrounds and surfaces. My husband and I would drive around during garbage pick up and rip apart old wood pallets and put them back together again (to close the gaps). Most of these backgrounds and surfaces are very lightweight and I'm so glad they exist!

This page contains affiliate links. I will make a small commission if you make a purchase through one of these links, at no extra cost to you.

Capture by Lucy: Backdrop Store

I recently ordered these gorgeous backgrounds and I think they are some of the best I've ever used. Beautiful and unique!

Soularty: Handcrafted food photography backdrops and photo props

The backgrounds from Soularty are amazing! They are all double-sided so it is great for having options without losing a ton of storage space. The concrete and marble backgrounds are thin and light while the wood is still light but a bit bulkier.

Ink and Elm Food Photography Backgrounds

I have five Ink & Elm vinyl backgrounds, blue patina, white brick, red brick, and a few others but those are my favorites to use! They look decently real and are matte enough to not be reflective.

Books & Education

My hope is that I never stop learning and growing. Here are some resources to help you nurture your mind!

This page contains affiliate links. I will make a small commission if you make a purchase through one of these links, at no extra cost to you.

CreativeLive

I had tried to watch a few classes that were “on air” but failed miserably due to the interruptions of daily life. I broke down and bought that class and diligently watched every single video. Since then I have purchased the annual subscription (called the creator pass).

The annual subscription gives you access to all of their classes for one year. CreativeLive didn’t always have the creator pass option but now that they do, you can jump on the bandwagon too!

Mastering Composition: The Definitive Guide for Photographers

Photo Credit: www.amazon.com

This book all about composition will help give you the extra push you might need to explore new ways of seeing and shooting.

Food Styling: The Art of Preparing Food for the Camera

Photo Credit: www.amazon.com

The food stylists bible. In this book, you'll find helpful tricks and other tidbits all about food styling.

Light, Science, & Magic

Photo Credit: www.amazon.com

Here you'll read all about light and the "science & magic" of it all!

Best Business Practices for Photographers

Photo Credit: www.amazon.com

A super helpful book for anyone trying to make money off of their photography and talent!

Beyond food photography equipment, if you’re looking for more educational items or resources to help with your workflow and time management, make sure to check out my free resources and join to open the Food Photo Vault.

Disclosure: There are affiliate links throughout this post. The opinions here are 100% my own and the equipment, software, and tools listed above are all items I truly use in my food photography.

The post The Equipment in My Food Photography Kit appeared first on Samantha Seeley.

Should You Watermark Your Photos?

Sam — Sat, 10 Oct 2020 18:47:00 +0000

Watermarking is a hot-button topic in the photography industry. There are a few pros and cons that come along with watermarking photos.

We’re going to take three “pros” of watermarking photos and discuss them. I will refer to them as “half-truths” or “myths” because while they have some value, I don’t necessarily believe they are always 100% true.

What do I mean by that? Basically, the “pros” help up until a certain point.

Because of this, I can completely understand why people are in support of watermarks.

Basically, I’m going to play devil’s advocate during this entire post. I lay out a pro, briefly discuss why most people believe it to be true, and then discuss why it warrants some consideration and why it might not be 100% helpful.

You ultimately need to decide what is best for you, your photos, and your business.

Please know, it is not my intent to offend anyone who uses watermarks. If you are reading this and you think “Oh, that’s me. I do that.” Just remember that this is just another perspective.

The flip side of the coin, if you will!

You may have a completely different experience and are able to say that one of these pros are working for you. If that is the case, then, hooray!

Without further ado, let’s discuss the ins and outs of watermarks and your photographs.

Pro: Watermarking photos will help you get clients or blog readers

For me, this is the most compelling reason to watermark your photographs. Letting people know some information about the content creator could help people seek you out.

If they find your blog graphic/photo from an outside source the watermark will allow people to do a quick google search and find your website and see what else you have to offer. If you sell products, prints, or services, this could be a great way to get new customers and clients.

If you go this route, it might be a better idea to include a full URL instead of a logo.

This is the only form of watermarking I will do now and it really is just so people can find me.

I usually only do this on one of the images within a post, the one that I plan to use to promote the blog post. (Ahem, look above!)

That being said…

Con: Instead they’re a distraction and those potential clients might click away

Can you count how many times you’ve actually typed a web address you saw as a watermark into Google?

Maybe twice? Once? Zero?

How about a name you saw on a logo that was overlayed onto a photo?

I have found that I only do this when I am extremely interested in the content or drawn to the image for its aesthetic properties and want to know more.

Generally, we don’t take the time to do it because our time is valuable.

I would argue that, while it does happen, the act of opening a new tab and googling the person’s name or URL is extremely rare and I’m not convinced that it’s worth the mark on your photo.

Pro: Watermarking photos makes you appear professional

This is one of the biggest arguments on the pro watermarking side that I’ve seen.

I get it. I do. Adding a watermark can show people that you are serious about your work and that you take copyright infringement seriously.

When we first start our photographic journey, we think that if we slap our official-looking logo onto an image that our work will be viewed as more professional and in turn, get us more clients and credibility.

This can sometimes be true, sure. But not always. It can really depend on how you actually use a watermark. Is it discreet in the corner or at the bottom? Or is it massive and set in the middle of your image?

Con: Watermarking your images doesn’t make you anymore professional!

Can you tell that I land more on the con side of this argument?

Watermarks don’t make you look professional.

Being professional makes you look professional.

Having images that are in focus, exposed properly, with correct white balance, and clean edits make you look professional.

If your watermark is large, in your viewers face, or in the center of your photo, it can be a huge distraction from your actual work.

While I prefer them if you are going to watermark, I’m even a bit distracted by small discreet watermarks!

Instead of using an official logo as a statement of professionalism, we as photographers should strive to make our work look more professional by refining our skills instead of getting bogged down with creating a watermark and overthinking the decision making that comes with watermarking photos.

Questions you might ask yourself and waste time with:

Will my watermark look better in white or black? in color?
Will it make more sense on the right or the left?
Should I lower the opacity by 25% or is it okay how it is?
Maybe it is too big? Too small? Let me start over and export everything again.
Should it actually be in the middle instead so that people don’t crop it out?

Instead, you could be spending your time working on things that will really take your images to the next level.

Things like:

Nailing the exposure in camera
Making sure your white balance is spot on
Food & prop styling
Making sure that focus is super sharp
Being able to manipulate the light around you

Pro: Watermarking photos helps to prevent image theft

It can deter people from stealing your images as removing them takes time and effort. Sure.

That image thief might find another image to use instead because it is easier.

Some things you can do to prevent image theft:

Watermark your photos
Prevent right click on your website

These things are true.

Until they’re not…

Con: Watermarking doesn’t prevent image theft

Let’s say it again…Watermarking doesn’t actually help prevent theft.

There is no real way to definitively prevent your images from being stolen.

If you watermark your images, people can still use them and keep the watermark there being blissfully ignorant to the fact that they are using your image without consent.

Or worse yet, they might not care.

Let’s go through the short list above.

Watermarking photos:

People can remove the watermark if they have basic knowledge of photoshop with the clone stamp tool. If they are a skilled retoucher, the Internet will never know.

It is even easier (and faster) with content aware tools in Photoshop!

Yes, this takes time, and you might be thinking “who would waste time doing this?”

My answer to that is someone who is less focused on creating their own valuable content and more focused on stealing yours. Simple and unfortunately, true.

They can also crop your watermark out of the photo. While this can be obvious, ruin the aspect ratio, and cut off other important elements within your photo, people still do it.

Preventing right clicking on your website:

People can (and will) take a screenshot of your photos to use on social media or their website.

Everyone has the ability to take a screenshot of any webpage. You can’t block this from happening as it is the function of the user’s computer.

So even if you have a watermark, prevent people from right-clicking, and do everything you can to prevent image theft, your image still might be stolen.

Things you can do instead of adding a watermark:

I wanted to give some alterative solutions to adding a watermark.

Instead you can:

Add meta-data to your photos
Register your work with the copyright office in your country

Did you know you can find where you’re work has been published by using Image Search Tools?

Two popular tools for this are TinEye and Pixsy.

What is meta-data?

Meta-data is information that is embedded within the photo that viewers can’t see. Meta-data can include things such as the aperture, shutter speed, and ISO of an image as well as the copyright information including name and website.

I add some meta-data (name, web address, city & state) to my photos and I suggest you add this type of information to your work.

You can do so in camera and easily in Lightroom!

Adding meta-data to your photos:

As I just said, this is really easy to do in Lightroom. Once you set this up, you can just select it as you import/export and can forget about it.

To get started, make sure you’re in the library module and select “Metadata.”

Next scroll down the list until you find the “Edit Metadata Presets…” option. Select that and you’ll be greeted with a new dialogue box where you can edit already existing presets or create a new custom preset.

You’ll want to scroll through this information and add Copyright info (your name is generally what you’ll put here and select the Copyright Status as Copyrighted. If you were putting your images into the public domain for others to use, you could also select that from the drop down.

Fill out the rest of your information as you’re comfortable. This might be a place where you’d want to use a P.O. Box instead of a physical address. You can of course leave the address (and other sections) blank if you wish!

Do make sure to at least include your website and email address!

Now when you import your images, you can select from the drop-down in the Metadata section on Lightroom which metadata preset you’d like to use for the images.

When you’re exporting just make sure to include the metadata.

A note about meta-data & image optimization:

Once you upload your images to WordPress your meta-data (EXIF data) might be stripped.

This depends on if you are using an image optimization plugin such as ShortPixel, Imagify, or WP Smush.

You can, generally, turn this option off and keep your EXIF data (including copyright information).

If you decide to turn off the option to remove EXIF data, your images won’t be as optimized as you might want. You’ll have to make this decision for yourself!

Registering the copyright of your photos:

I’m not a lawyer. But my understanding is that if you register with the copyright office in your country you will have an easier time taking action against someone who has stolen your photo. I don’t have a rebuttal for this one, either, and you should research how to register your work and how registering your work benefits you.

The plus side: If someone steals your image and leaves your watermark visible…At least this makes the first pro above a bit more valid. The reader might be able to go find your original work (if they were intrigued enough!)

Why I am no longer watermarking photos:

You may have read this post and noticed that for every Pro, I gave a Con in the same vein. For every single reason to watermark, there is also an aspect to that way of thinking that makes me move that “pro” to the “con” column.

These pros are really just myths that are told about watermarking. They can have true aspects to them, perhaps someone will leave your site once they see your watermark and your right-click is disabled and not screenshot your image, but for every one person who is respectful of your talent, there will be someone who is looking for a way to bypass it.

I personally don’t use watermarks on my photos. At one point, I did consistently. I will, however, add text and my URL to at least one image in my blog posts for Pinterest purposes.

#1 – I think they are Distracting

I ultimately began to feel that watermarks are a big distraction from my work and even though I loved my little logo, and it was super tiny in the corner, I decided to stop watermarking my photos because for every pro, I was able to twist it around and recognize that there is no real way to deter people from doing the wrong thing.

#2 – I Rebranded and now they’re all wrong

When you rebrand, You either need to accept some photos will live on your site with a watermark that no longer makes sense or do the work to replace those photos in your posts.

Since I rebranded and started using my name, my logo watermarks no longer make sense and I sort of hate it.

I realize that not everyone will be in this situation but it is something to consider.

#3 – I wasted a bunch of time trying to perfect them.

The process of adding a watermark took up a lot of my time. Resizing them, changing the opacity, exporting them in the wrong corner, and needing to re-do the export.

You may argue that it is a negligible amount of time (and you’re right, it is) but I always would make a mistake and need to re-do something. Or I would sit at my computer overthinking the look and feel of the watermark.

#4 – There are other things you can do to protect your work!

We talked about this a bit more in-depth above but another reason I no longer watermark is that I started to protect my work in other ways that make more sense for me:

Registering your work with the copyright offices in your country.
Adding meta-data to your images when you export.

So, there you have it. This is what I personally do and it is my personal opinion that watermarks are more distracting than helpful.

The people who will steal your work will likely do it regardless of the watermark. They will just keep it there, crop it out, or try to remove it by more sophisticated means.

Let me be super clear. I’m not saying we should let people who do this get away with it. I’m saying that we should pick our battles and also educate the Internet about using photographs that they did not take.

I’d rather spend that time creating something new than letting people ruin my day.

The bottom line is that you have to do what you feel is best for you, your work, and your brand.

What you decide to do is up to you and I fully support your watermarking decision! Hooray watermarks! (Or boo watermarks!)

The post Should You Watermark Your Photos? appeared first on Samantha Seeley.

Seven Essentials for Next Level Food Photography

Sam — Mon, 27 Apr 2020 23:00:13 +0000

WHAT DO YOU NEED FOR PHOTOGRAPHY?

The very basics to creating photographs are:

Camera
Memory card
Computer
Subject
Light source

My biggest suggestion to anyone interested in improving their photography skills is to start with what you have. This list includes seven essentials to improve your photography but the very basic essentials are listed above and everything else comes as you keep taking photos.

Four things out of the seven below are free, very low cost, or only require a time investment.

The other three items listed are great to have and once you have them, they do become almost essential but just keep in mind that this list is for “next level” food photography so it was written with the above items already being checked off your list.

Another thing to note is that you can upgrade your equipment as you go so don’t feel like you need to run out today and buy an expensive lens, color checker card, and drop a ton of money on fancy backdrops and surfaces.

As long as you have a compelling subject, interesting composition, and great light, you’re well on your way to mastering food photography.

#1: A LOT OF QUALITY OF LIGHT

If you’ve been struggling with your photography and aren’t sure what the issue is, you might be shooting in a room with not enough light.

You’ll notice that one of the basic items I mentioned above is light. I’m mentioning it again here because QUALITY light is the next level.

If your light is too harsh (depending on your style, of course!) or too dim, your photos will suffer.

Finding quality light can be difficult. I remember the moment when I found the perfect spot in our house using natural light. I was completely ecstatic.

Some options for finding (or creating) quality light:

Search your house for a large window
Diffuse harsh light with a sheet or a diffusion cloth
Buy a quality light with a large softbox
Bounce artificial light off of a white wall

#2: A GREAT EYE FOR ALL THINGS AESTHETICALLY PLEASING

The more that you take photos and the more you move plates, food, and small props around on your set, the better your eye (for composition) will become.

Some people are naturals at assembling the elements within their frame to draw focus to what they want the viewer to pay attention to. If this doesn’t describe you, don’t fret.

As cliche as it is, practice makes perfect! The more you work on your setups and compositions, the easier they will become to create.

If your skill isn’t up to your own aesthetics. All this means is that you are currently within “the gap” between what you admire and what you actually create.

The only way to close this gap is to work at your composition by taking a ton of photographs. Keep working at building up your sets to be closer to what you want them to look like.

This is one of those free essential items that I was talking about earlier. It only requires a time commitment!

#3: A GREAT PRIME LENS

This one is a bit pricier than the other items I’ve mentioned thus far but it is worth the investment.

Depending on what your goals are for your portfolio and overall images you may want to consider various prime lenses.

Here is a shortlist of prime lenses and their various uses:

50mm Prime – The 50mm is a great general lens that is great for food photography. When I was honing my compositional skills I started with the 50mm 1.8 and was able to “zoom” with my feet in order to adjust my composition and the elements within the frame. There is a 50mm lens for every single budget so you won’t have an issue there.

35mm Wide Angle– The 35mm is a wide-angle lens that will allow you to get overhead shots with a ton of plates and props. It will allow you to show all the things within your scene.

100mm Macro – This is a macro lens that allows you to get super close to your food and explore the details while also keeping a tact sharp focus and getting that beautiful shallow depth of field we all know and love.

#4: COLOR CHECKER OR GREY CARD

This essential is one of the cheaper things so far yet, still an investment. The one I have was a tiny bit less than $100 and was worth every single penny.

This ColorChecker Passport will allow you to make sure that your colors are spot-on throughout the shoot. It has multiple colors for creative control and an 18% gray swatch to ensure proper white balance.

The basic idea here is that you will place this color checker in your scene and take a shot with your current lighting situation. When you’re done shooting you will take these photos into your editing software (lightroom is my fav!) and then use the color swatched to adjust the colors within your photo.

Once you’re in Lightroom you can use the eyedropper to click in the grey swatch for proper white balance.

These work in conjunction with a color calibrator system such as the Color Munki Display.

#5: REFLECTORS & BLACK CARDS

My friends. This one is absolutely necessary. If your light is not even on your set or you want to block light, you’ll want to pick up a $1 – $5 foam core board from your local craft store.

Elmers has foam core boards that have a white and a black side which makes them extremely versatile. Next time you’re in your local craft store I suggest picking up a few.

I make a “v” shape with them by scoring a line with an exacto knife down the middle and folding the foam core board in half.

I place these homemade bounces on the side of my set that doesn’t have the light in order to bounce light back into my scene. You can also buy small bi-fold foam boards that are already in the shape of a “v” if you are so inclined.

You can also get a large presentation board that stands up on its own, similar to the ones used for poster creation for science fairs. These can be helpful with artificial light when trying to replicate natural light.

To replicate window light you can take your light source and place it towards the poster board surface and then bounce the light into your scene this way by placing diffusion material over the board with the light inside.

This creates the illusion of a large window. It can be a helpful technique if you are in the northern hemisphere where it gets dark at 4 PM during the winter months.

I use a V-Flat for this process because it is huge and has both sides (black and white). A V-Flats is a bit pricey but you can easily create your own using foam core, velcro, and heavy-duty tape.

You can also hang these from c-stand boom arms or other light stands using A-clamps in order to free up your hands or remove them from your set. They also make reflector stands that will hold these up for you.

Of course, you can also buy reflectors in various sizes that have multiple sides to them. Each side has a different color which in turn impacts the light differently.

Here is a quick rundown of how each side impacts the light that it comes in contact with:

White – This is the side that I use the most. The light will hit this surface and bounce back onto your scene.

Black – This is known as the anti-reflector as black will absorb the light that it comes in contact with. This can be great for creating shadows and moody images.

Diffusion – Generally you will unzip the reflector to change the colors and inside holding it all together is a translucent piece that you can use to diffuse the light before it hits your scene.

Silver – The silver side does the same thing as the white side but it reflects more light. This is useful in low light situations but if I am being honest, I generally use the white side the most.

Gold – This is used when you want to bring some warmth into your photographs. I have never used gold in a practical way for food photography but it is always a good idea to experiment.

I have a few of these reflectors including one that is taller than I am! I love to hang it on one side of my set using my c-stand’s boom arm. I also recommend the Westcott 5 in 1 reflector kit with a stand.

#6: INTERESTING SURFACES & BACKGROUNDS

The backgrounds that I have purchased have been absolute game-changers for my work. I have made my own backgrounds over the years but nothing compares to the professionally curated and polished background that you can buy from various sources.

I personally love real wood or textured backgrounds. That being said, the vinyl backgrounds are more budget-friendly, very lightweight, and they can be beautiful but there is something special about the real textures that really make photographs shine.

Here is a list of places where I have sourced food photography backgrounds and surfaces:

You will find more information about these backgrounds and surfaces in the Food Photographers Toolbox!

ESSENTIAL #7: WILLINGNESS TO KEEP LEARNING & GROWING

This one is another time investment but it is absolutely free.

As long as you keep shooting and learning, you will grow your skillset and abilities behind the lens, while styling the food, and while setting up your shot and composition.

If you ever get to a point where you feel like you’ve “learned enough” or know everything, you need to check yourself and snap back to reality. There is always more to know and room for growth.

Keep shooting and learning and trying new things. It is the only way to push yourself out of your comfort zone so you can keep improving your work and yourself as an artist.

The post Seven Essentials for Next Level Food Photography appeared first on Samantha Seeley.

Six Ways to Add Storytelling Elements to your Food Photos

Sam — Tue, 07 Apr 2020 20:05:00 +0000

As food photographers, we all tell food stories in various ways. Below you’ll find six specific ways to help you tell those stories.

I’m sure that we all have strong memories that are connected to food in one way or another. I call these “food memories” and they are definitely part of my overall “food stories” that I share with people from time to time.

For instance, my dad passed away in 2007 but I have such a strong memory imprinted in my brain of him always ordering a chocolate and vanilla twist with rainbow sprinkles from our favorite ice cream place each Summer.

Now, I have no idea if this is even true. Did he really order this? I suppose my mom would know. Either way, I associate this ice cream with my dad and consider it once of my earliest food memories.

How would I tell this story visually? I might go to an ice cream stand and get them to pass someone that exact ice cream cone (sprinkles and all) and grab a shot of that exchange, making sure to get the image of the ice cream stand in the background.

Enough about my silly food memories. Without further ado, on to the actionable steps!

Adding characters

What is the one thing that you instantly think of when you think of stories? The people involved, of course! Those are the characters we know and love.

One way to instantly add a character to your story it to actually put a person in the frame.

This sounds super obvious, right? The addition of this person will level up those photos in the realm of story almost instantly.

What are some ways that you can add people? I’m super glad you asked! My favorite way to do this is to simply put hands in the shot.

If you have someone to help you, this can be super easy. You just grab them and say “hey, hold this.” This is demonstrated in the shots above and below of hands holding bread and a bundle of asparagus.

I was grasping at how to make this bundle of asparagus interesting and I thought, let’s add some hands.

These hands help to create that character. In this case, he is likely the person who is about to cook a meal with the asparagus. It makes me (as a viewer) ask these questions:

Who is this person? Are they the farmer? The chef?
What are they going to make with the asparagus?

Later in the post, you’ll likely have other imagery that will answer these questions. Perhaps in-process shots and final imagery that will tell us exactly who was cooking and what they made.

If you don’t have someone who you can grab real quick to borrow their hands, you can absolutely use your own hands in the image.

The above image is of some awesome Cranberry and Raisin Granola that I made and wanted to take new photos of. I grabbed a bowl, set my scene, poured the milk, took a few shots and then finally decided to put my own hands in the frame.

Going a step further, I added some action here by grabbing the honey. We’ll talk more about that below!

Taking photos that show action and motion

Adding action to your photos is absolutely going to aid in the storytelling of the images.

These also tend to have the added benefit of having a character in them. This action will add context to your overall image by showing your viewer what was done to create the meal.

The Peanut Butter Truffles above show powdered sugar being sprinkled on top to look like snow.

Fun secret: This photo is actually a composite of two images!

Action photos include:

Drink pours – Wine, beer, tea, coffee, soda.
Syrup pours – Maple syrup on french toast, pancakes, or waffles.
Drizzle shots – drizzling something such as honey or a semi-thick sauce on top of a food item.
Sprinkle shots – Sprinkling powdered sugar on cookies, throwing flour on a surface or dough to kneed.
Prep shots – Actually prepping the food. This goes back to what we discussed above and adding hands/people
Eating shots – Just another type of action shot that we have previously discussed in terms of adding hands as a way to further the story of a series of photographs.

The Setting: Where? Setting the scene with background context

In food photography sometimes we have the tendency to choose a surface (what you are shooting on) and a background (what viewers see beyond the food) and call it a day.

Adding some other more interesting background elements can be interesting and aid in the storytelling of food imagery.

What are some background elements that we can add that are not marble slabs, rustic wood, or hand-painted backgrounds?

I’m glad you asked! Here is a short list:

Chairs – Putting a simple chair in the background at an angle adds the idea that someone is sitting in this chair. Bonus points for actually having a character added here too!

Picnic Scene – Placing a cute blanket down on the grass, having some of the grass peek through the sides of the blanket, and then laying down your spread really helps to add context for where you are!

Beach Scene – The same concept applies. The sand, the chairs, easy to eat food, the beer, a pair of sunglasses, all a perfect beach day to me. The sunglasses also add an extra storytelling element as they allude to a character. Who else would be wearing them?

Campfire – To me, having a campfire roaring in the background, or even a fireplace like in the above image, this can really help with the overall setting within the food photo.

Windows – The windows let you view the outside world so if you have a scene set up and then a window in the background, that can give some context of the time of year or time of day which will further those story details.

Bars/Restaurant Scenes – Having the bar in the background is a quick and easy way to add this setting context to your shot.

Having a waiter carry drinks in their fancy clothes also does the trick! (Also, bonus points for that character!)

What do you think these different background ideas will do for your viewer? The idea here is to transport them (in their mind!) to wherever you want them to be.

If you want them to think about how the beach sand feels in between their toes, showing a beach scene in the distance will 100% help with creating that story.

This specific scene idea is a bit difficult, you need to be near a beach in order to create it, but some of the others on the above list are a bit more attainable. For instance, the picnic scene, windows, and chairs).

Adding storytelling elements with Prop styling

A few storytelling elements include emotional content, dramatic questions, character development, and of course setting the scene, aka prop styling!

In order to set up your scene, you generally start with a surface and a background if you are shooting at a 90 or 45-degree angle.

These are considered some of the first props you will choose. Choosing these wisely will help to set the mood and in turn, add story elements to the scene.

For instance, if I choose a stained wood board or if I choose a marble slab. Those two different surfaces lead to different experiences as a viewer. The wood slap gives me a more home/rustic vibe and the marble slap is cleaner and brighter.

The above photo of the Apple Crisp has a more rustic vibe due to the stained wood as the background. This is carried through with the cast iron skillet, a typical food prep item that is often found by a campfire.

The scoop of ice cream with the spoon and a section of the apple crisp missing definitely adds to the story by creating the illusion of a character. There aren’t hands in this one, but we know someone was around because who dug into this dessert?

You guys, it was me… 🙂

When shooting cocktails, creating a scene is easily done by adding at least two glasses. This creates the illusion that you are shaking up cocktails for a group. Perhaps, a party?

Adding in the food props (such as the cinnamon stick and the sliced apples is a really great way to show the process of building the drink.

In turn, this adds to the overall story of the cocktail by creating the illusion of a bartender.

Using and manipulating light

Soft light and hard light have different emotions and have the ability to create different vibes in food photography.

When you’re taking your next set of photographs for your food blog or for a client, ask yourself: what type of emotion and I trying to envoke?

Harsh Light is light that isn’t diffused and casts hard shadows throughout the image.

Even light is light that is nicely lit on all sides and there aren’t many hard shadows. This is done by diffusing light that is coming onto your subject and by bouncing light back into the scene.

Soft light vs. hard light, the never-ending debate. Both can be beautiful in their own way and have unique storytelling elements.

Once you have the answer to this, go a step further and ask yourself what type of light (hard or soft) will best illuminate that emotion?

Utilizing color theory to add storytelling elements to your food photos

Analogous colors are those that appear next to each other on the color wheel. In the Pineapple Upside Down Cake above, we have shades of orange, yellow, and red which are all color wheel neighbors.

The rest of the colors in this image are neutrals such as white and gray. Generally, these color combos are found in groups of three.

The complementary color scheme consists of two colors that are directly opposite each other on the color wheel. Examples will include yellow and purple as is the case in this Pear Jam photo or blue and orange.

Monochromatic color schemes use a single base hue and add white or black to it to create its shades, tones, and tints. In this example, I’ve used this copper hue in various shades throughout the scene.

In these Acorn Squash Cupcakes, the base of the cake, the frosting and the measuring cups in the background are all different shades of the same hue while black and white are used as supplemental props to allow this monochromatic color scheme to stand out.

Tints are achieved by adding white and shades and tones are achieved by adding a darker color, grey or black.

The post Six Ways to Add Storytelling Elements to your Food Photos appeared first on Samantha Seeley.

How to Use and Create Lightroom Presets

Sam — Wed, 31 Jul 2019 13:53:56 +0000

This post contains affiliate links. I will make a small commission if you make a purchase through one of these links, at no extra cost to you.

Creating your own presets in Lightroom is a great way to speed up your food photography workflow while keeping your own unique photo-editing style.

In this post, we are going to walk through the process of creating presets and dive into why you should consider creating your own! We will also discuss purchased or free presets that you might have downloaded from other sources. It’s important to make the distinction between the two types of presets.

Food photography can be a long process if (in addition to being the photographer) you’re also a recipe developer, food stylist, prop stylist, and photo editor. Most food bloggers fall under all of those categories.

As food bloggers, anything you can do to speed up any part of the entire process of creating just one recipe for your website is a lifesaver. Lightroom makes it incredibly easy to sync settings and save presets, which helps to speed up your workflow and get you out of the editing chair faster.

What is a Lightroom Preset?

A Lightroom preset is simply metadata (information) that tells Lightroom what adjustments to make to the images you’ve imported into your Lightroom catalog. This information is based on the changes you previously made to adjustment sliders. Once you are satisfied with your adjustments, you save those adjustments into a preset to use on other photos.

What are adjustment sliders?

The adjustment sliders are how we as photographers tell Lightroom how to process our images. You will find the adjustment sliders on the right-hand side of your image. Some of the adjustments you can make using Lightroom adjustment sliders are:

Color temperature (Blue/Yellow)
Tint (Magenta/Green)
Exposure
Whites
Highlights
Blacks
Shadows
Clarity
Dehaze
Vibrance
Saturation
HSL Sliders (Hue, Saturation, and Luminence sliders for each color.)

Why Should I Use Presets I Create myself?

There are two answers to this question:

#1: It speeds up your workflow!

Creating your own Lightroom presets for adjustments you make more or less to every single image that you have to process simply saves you time. It speeds up your workflow and gives you peace of mind that you sharpened every single image that you needed to.

If you find yourself continuously making the same exact edits (within a few increments on the sliders!) to every single photo, why not speed up the editing process? This way, you know all of your photos have the edits you use all the time and then you can focus on making the individual adjustments that each photo might need.

For instance, you might need to make a slightly different exposure adjustment for a group of images because you were shooting in natural light and the light changed during your shooting process.

Pro Tip: When this happens you can make sure that all of your images have the same exposure by selecting them all (Mac: Cmd+A / PC: Ctrl+A) and navigating to “Settings” -> “Match Total Exposures.”

Now that your images are all the same exposure, you can effectively use a preset on all of them. If you did this before you matched the exposures, the exposures would still be all over the place.

#2: It will help to define your own personal photographic style.

Creating your own specific presets helps you define your photographic style while editing. There are many factors that go into your own personal style including composition, propping, food styling, background and surface choices, choices made while shooting (camera settings), and finally how you process your food images in a photo manipulation software.

When you learn manipulation techniques using the adjustment sliders in Lightroom you will understand what each slider actually does and how your images are impacted. This step in the process helps to define your editing style and choices.

Can I Buy Lightroom presets instead?

You definitely can. I’m just not sure why you would want to do that! There are some instances where they are helpful. I personally have downloaded free packs and have not found them to be the magic wand I thought they’d be.

Another thing to note is that using free presets won’t help you understand the adjustments that were made to the photos which in turn would make it almost impossible to understand what each adjustment slider does and how they each impact your image.

For instance, if I simply apply a preset, call it “done” and export my image without looking at and analyzing the adjustments, I’m doing myself a disservice by not learning anything new.

If I continue with the scenario above, I won’t notice that the highlights on a preset I’ve just used are turned all the way down and that the whites are turned down slightly. This wouldn’t help me understand the difference between each of the sliders.

Pro Tip: The white slider sets the white point in the image while the highlight slider controls a smaller tonal range of the bright areas in the photo. It makes sense to set your white point and then adjust the highlights based on that white point.

Lightroom presets that are installed in your catalog don’t always help you define your own editing style. This is important to cultivate and an essential part of the photographic process.

If you’re reading this thinking something like: “My entire editing workflow is using presets! Am I doing it wrong?”

The answer is no, you’re not. It’s okay to use presets when they work well. It is especially okay when you’re just starting out to help you understand the editing process and how the adjustments change the visual look and feel of the photograph. You can use presets as a tool to help you learn how to edit your own photos.

How to install Lightroom presets?

When you download presets they will likely be in a zip file saved to your downloads folder. To open a zip file you double click on it and your computer will create a new folder with the same name as the zip file.

Inside this new folder, you will find a file likely named the preset name. They are usually cutesy names like “Unicorn Latte” or “Mermaid Milkshake.”

So the file name would look something like this: “unicorn-latte.lrtemplate” for older presets (made for Lightroom 4-6). If it is a preset made for Classic CC it will look like this: “unicorn-latte.xmp” and you will need to load them into Lightroom in a slightly more complex way.

For Lightroom 4-6 presets Ending in “.lrtemplate” as the file extension:

Double click on this file and it will automatically load into your Lightroom catalog. Lightroom will do the work of converting them to .xmp files and you should get a dialogue message that says the .xmp conversion was complete.

For Lightroom Classic CC presets ending in “.xmp” as the file extension:

The path you’ll need to follow begins in Lightroom. Open Lightroom and navigate to “Lightroom Classic” -> “Preferences” -> “Presets” -> “Show Lightroom Develop Settings” -> “Settings” folder -> “User Presets” folder.

Next, you’ll copy your files (remember our example above? Select and copy “unicorn-latte.xmp” and paste it into the “User Presets” folder on your computer.

You’ll be able to see the presets on the left-hand side in the develop module under the section labeled “presets” after you restart your Lightroom catalog.

The best ways to use presets that you’ve downloaded:

My suggestion is to use presets you’ve loaded into your Lightroom catalog sparingly.

Below is a short list of the best ways to use a pre-made Lightroom preset. Keep in mind I’m talking about the presets you didn’t create yourself in this section!

When they make sense and look great with your shots. I find this is few and far between with most presets.
As a baseline for your own more personal edits based on your creativity and style.
As a learning tool. Presets help to figure out what each adjustment did to the photograph in a visual way. It’s almost like reverse engineering something. At this point, you’re taking the edit apart so that you can put it back together.

Do your best not to rely on presets to avoid actually learning how to use each adjustment slider.

Remember, they might look like a lifesaver to help you quickly get beautiful food images for your blog but they don’t always fit your photographs or work with your style.

How to make your own Lightroom Preset?

Make the adjustments you want to be stored within the preset. After the adjustments are made, make sure the image is selected in the timeline, navigate to “Develop” at the top of the Lightroom menu and select “New Preset.”

Next, you will be prompted to name your preset and put it into a preset group. The “User Presets” group is fine. You can always reorganize this later as you create more presets.

Below you will find a more detailed and printable how-to guide that lays out exactly how to create a preset after you’ve made your desired adjustments. I created this tutorial with Adobe Lightroom Classic CC 2019.

Keep in mind that if you are using an older version of Lightroom (or a newer version of Lightroom for that matter), these instructions may differ slightly.

How to use a Lightroom Preset?

Once you have a preset saved within your Lightroom catalog you can easily access the data.

To do this, navigate to the preset section within the develop module. You will find the preset section on the left side of your screen.

You may need to expand the preset options by clicking the nearby arrow.

To apply the preset to a photograph, make sure you have selected the photograph in question. Once you are on the photograph you want to apply the preset to, navigate to the preset area on the left side of your photo. Finally, click on the preset you want to apply.

You should notice changes in your photo visually but you will also see the sliders have changed. They either show an increase in the adjustment or a decrease (using positive or negative numbers).

Can I Use Lightroom Presets to Speed Up Exporting my Photographs?

Yes, you can! Presets aren’t just for editing! You’ll see in the image above that there are options under “User Presets” under the “Export” option in Lightroom. You’ll see this view when you right-click a selected image from your filmstrip.

In order to create your own presets for exporting images, select your images and open the export dialogue box by choosing “Export” – > “Export” or using the shortcut to export images (Mac: Cmd+Shift+E / PC: Ctrl+Shift+E)

Once the Export dialogue box is open, make the adjustments you need to make for each of your options (Resizing, Resolution, File Extention, Metadata, Watermarking, etc) and then click “Add” on the lower right-hand side of the dialogue box.

Next, you should name your export preset and choose a group for it. Again, User Presets is fine unless you have a ton of these presets. Once you save your preset you’ll be able to access it quickly to export your images in the size that works best for your blog!

You could also create these presets for social media images to make sure they are the correct size or to make sure your images can be printed if necessary.

That’s it! We’ve covered a lot in this tutorial. To recap, you now know:

What Lightroom presets are and how they can help speed up your workflow
What adjustment sliders are
How to install Lightroom presets on your computer
The difference between types of presets (purchased, free downloads, or created yourself)
How to use a Lightroom presets on your computer
How to create your own Lightroom presets based on your own editing techniques.

Don’t forget you can print the guide within this post to help you create your first preset.

If you found this guide helpful in some way, share it with a friend!

How to Create Your Own Lightroom Presets

This how-to guide will assist you in creating your own presets to use in Lightroom to help speed up your photo editing workflow.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Active Time 1 minute

Total Time 11 minutes

Materials

Food Photographs

Tools

Adobe Lightroom Classic CC

Instructions

Import the photos into Lightroom Classic CC.
Make the adjustments that you would like to have in the preset using the adjustment sliders on the right hand side of Lightroom.
Some adjustments you can make: exposure, contrast, highlights, whites, shadows, and blacks.
Continue to adjust texture, clarity, dehaze, vibrance, and saturation as you see fit.
A tone curve adjustment is next, consider utilizing an "S" curve to adjust the contrast of your image. Here is where you can have many variations of edits, you might want to consider making a few presets utilizing the tone curve in different ways and then naming them using descriptive words.
Move down to the detail panel and make your sharpening or noise reduction adjustments.
Continue to make any adjustments that you usually make in Lightroom to all photographs you edit.
Once done with your adjustments, navigate to "Develop" and choose "New Preset."
A new dialogue box will open. Here you will choose what you want to be included in the preset and you will give the preset a name. Be descriptive so you know what is happening to the adjustments just by looking at the name.
To use your new preset, navigate to the develop module. On the left-hand side, you will see a drop-down arrow named "Presets." Click on the arrow to expand the preset panel. Under user presets you will find any presets you have created or imported into Lightroom.

Notes

You may want to separate the adjustments I've mentioned above into separate presets. For instance, create a preset that deals with basic panel adjustments and then a separate preset for the tone curve of the image.

This process is incredibly helpful for when you make very similar adjustments to every single one of your food photographs. For instance, I generally always sharpen, add clarity, and adjust the vibrance of all of my images.

I also always remove chromatic abberations and enable profile corrections, while saving things like color adjustments using HSL (hue, saturation, and luminance) and overall exposure of the image for individual photographs as they tend to change from shot to shot.

Keep in mind that the adjustments I am making in this how-to guide are only basic image adjustments that I tend to do to every single one of my images. This is to speed up my workflow as I tend to sync these settings anyway and then make more individual adjustments as needed to each individual photograph.

This process might be slightly different for you based on your own editing workflow.

You may need to tweak these adjustments after you've applied your preset.

The post How to Use and Create Lightroom Presets appeared first on Samantha Seeley.

Five Ways to Improve Your Restaurant Photography

Sam — Fri, 08 Mar 2019 14:35:55 +0000

This post contains affiliate links. I will make a small commission if you make a purchase through one of these links, at no extra cost to you.

Restaurant photography can be difficult. We’ve all been there, eating dinner, trying to take a quick pic of the awesome meal we just ordered, having it come out underexposed, grainy, and yellow because the lighting is terrible and there just isn’t enough of it.

Below you will find five ways to improve your restaurant photography.

Before we go much further, the type of restaurant photography I’m discussing in this post isn’t the casual “snap a quick pic” of your meal type snapshot.

We’re talking about the real deal. This post is all about when a restaurant owner or chef hires you to take photos for their menu, their website, their social media accounts, or hey, even to hang on their walls!

Or maybe the scenario is a magazine has hired you to take photos for a restaurant or chef they are highlighting.

So, how do you make sure you are getting the best shots possible while shooting in restaurants?

#1 Have a Pre-Production Meeting

This will really help you and your client make sure you are on the same page. You’ll have the opportunity to go over your workflow and the process of taking food photographs.

Remember, you know what you need to get the job done. You can take this time to go over all of the details that go into creating beautiful food images. Take the time to educate whoever is involved in what needs to happen in restaurant photography.

This can include the following:

Discuss the shot list – What shots need to happen? You may have to ask for a shot list if they do not have one prepared. The may not be aware of what a shot list is so you might have to assist with the creation of a shot list.

Aesthetic – asking your client to create a mood board might help with nailing down the look and feel of the images you will create.

Coordination – The timing of when the dishes come out of the kitchen is crucial and is often overlooked. You will want to speak with the chef (if you are not already in contact with them!) and create a plan for this.

The longer the food sits while waiting to be photographed, the less appealing and camera ready it will be.

Formulate a plan – This can include the coordination with the chef discussed above but this pre-production meeting will likely happen at the restaurant and it will give you the opportunity to see the space and form a plan of action.

Where will you shoot? What table? What window will you use (if you are using natural light)?

Will you have space to yourself, sectioned off from customers? Will it be during normal business hours?

Maybe you can schedule the shoot before or after the busiest time of the day. Once you see the space and begin to formulate this plan in your head (or on paper if you are a list maker!) share your plan with your contact to make sure they are on board.

These are all important questions to have answers to before you being your journey in restaurant photography.

Same page – This one is important and includes everything above including other things such as payment, contracts, and managing expectations.

#2 Bring Props

The restaurant likely has a standard of dishes they use to serve their food but if you aren’t working with a prop stylist (you likely won’t be unless it is a large chain restaurant) you will have to think about the mood that needs to be conveyed and props will help you do this.

If the restaurant wants to use their own props, don’t worry.

They are doing this to create continuity and manage customer expectations.

If this is the case, you need to be mindful of the types of bowls and plates they have. If they have a plate with a large lip, you might not want to shoot too many straight-on shots.

The lip will start to take over, become distracting, and the food will be lost.

That being said, you still might want to have some backup items in your on location/traveling bag!

You never know what you might need when it comes to restaurant photography! Or really, any type of food photography!

#3 Find the Light or Bring Your Own

If you are using natural light:

Finding light should happen during the pre-production meeting, especially if this is a new-to-you restaurant.

You should locate the best spot to photograph the dishes based on the location of the windows and how large they are.

You should also think about diffusing your light and what you might need to bring to make that happen.

A large diffusion panel would be helpful with restaurant photography. The same rules of light apply while in a new location.

Don’t forget to bring something to bounce your light back into your scene.

A fill card of some sort whether it be a reflection disc or a $1 foam core board from the craft store.

If you are using artificial light:

If you are in a dark restaurant with small windows, or if the owner or chef requested you shoot at 5 pm when they open (in this scenario, it’s the middle of winter and you live in New York so it is already pitch black!), you will need to bring artificial lights.

The above story happened to me when I was still a fairly new photographer, shooting strictly in natural light. I landed a job with a dream client and I was not allowed into the restaurant until after the sun had gone down.

The restaurant only served dinner (this is common!) and would not open early for me. This was an issue for me and I did not take the job.

In fact, this story is the driving force behind learning, growing and expanding my skills to include artificial lighting.

As I look back on it now, it is one of the biggest regrets of my career, especially now that I understand, love, and am no longer afraid of artificial light.

It doesn’t have to be complicated but I made it extremely difficult in my head.

I am sharing my experiences with restaurant photography so you can learn from my mistakes!

#4 Bring a Basic Food Styling Kit

Food stylists really know their craft and are truly amazing at what they do. As a food photographer, you have a great eye and you will be able to do some basic food styling.

If the chef is really great at plating their food, you might not need to do much in terms of food styling but it is a good idea to always be prepared with a few essential items:

Small Tongs – these are great for moving tiny things (such as garnishes) around the plate

Q tips & Windex – Dip a q-tip in Windex helps to clean up any splashes or spills on to the plate. You might not want to eat the food after the shoot

Glycerine or Karo Syrup & Mini Spray Bottle – If your shoot includes beverages you might consider bringing something to help add condensation to the glass (a 50/50 glycerine (or Karo Syrup) & water mixture in a mini spray bottle.)

Paper Towels – Just in case some larger spill happens!

Oil – Vegetable and Olive oil will help hold food longer on set

You don’t need to bring the whole bottle of oil or windex, those small travel bottles can come in handy while you build your basic food styling kit.

The list above is a very basic kit. You might want to consider adding food styling as a list of topics to discuss during your pre-production meeting.

The chef might have a specific style or story to tell and you will not want to obstruct their vision.

It’s better to be over-prepared than to wish you had brought something!

#5 Open Communication While Shooting in Restaurants

It is a great idea to establish open communication early on with everyone involved.

When most projects and relationships go wrong it is likely due to a lack of communication so be sure to nip this issue in the bud before it starts!

This line of communication should be with everyone involved.

This includes (but is not limited to!) restaurant owner, manager, chef, server, runner, bartender, and PR reps.

I have used bartenders, servers, runners, and anyone else who would hold a plate of food or a tray of drinks to my advantage.

They are usually well dressed and have clothing that compliments the mood or the story.

The photo above with the awkward size serving plate looked great against the servers blue shirt so I stopped in my tracks, asked him to position the plate a specific way, and shot a few exposures.

This was completely unplanned for and very much on-the-fly. The result: one of my favorite restaurant shots.

This happened easily as I had already established a rapport with everyone involved.

That being said, proper planning is important but don’t be afraid to venture off the shot list if time allows.

Other Details That are Helpful While Shooting in Restaurants

As promised, here are some other things you might want to consider or bring with you on location.

Light – We talked about this earlier but it is worth repeating. If you know the restaurant is dimly lit with not many large windows you will have some issues. You might want to bring your own light source.

This can be in the form of a Speedlight (flash unit) or a strobe light if you’re fancy like that. This can also be a simple continuous light. You just need one and some accessories to reflect the light (a fill card, a real reflector disc, a simple $1 foam core board from a craft store).

Remember, you will need to diffuse the light source so you can think about using a modifier like a softbox or diffusion panel.

Liability Insurance – I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice but you want to protect yourself if someone gets hurt while you are shooting nearby. It is quite easy to trip on a wire from your light or bump into your tripod.

Model & Location Releases – Again, I’m not a lawyer and this is not legal advice but if the restaurant wants customers in the shots, this is a whole new level that needs to be considered. Having some lawyer-drafted releases in your possession might be helpful.

The post Five Ways to Improve Your Restaurant Photography appeared first on Samantha Seeley.

Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake

Sam — Sat, 09 Feb 2019 17:29:00 +0000

This pumpkin spice cheesecake is rich and super creamy. It’s packed full of pumpkin spice flavor!

The crust is made with crushed gingersnap cookies which pair really well with the pumpkin spice and fall flavors we all know and love.

Disclaimer: There are affiliate links within this post and within the recipe.

What Is In Pumpkin Spice?

A lot of people think that pumpkin is found within pumpkin spice. It’s actually not! I know, seems pretty strange, right?

Pumpkin Spice is actually just the following spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves!

Usually in baked goods you do have some actual pumpkin puree in the recipes.

What’s Better: Fresh or Canned Pumpkin Puree?

It’s really a toss-up! For this recipe, I have used both fresh pumpkin puree and canned pumpkin puree. I say use whatever you have on hand or can find.

If you have a small sugar pumpkin that you picked this year hanging around the house, you might want to try your hand at carving it up and using the puree in this recipe.

Luckily for you, I have a tutorial on how to make fresh pumpkin puree. It’s simple and if you have time, quite satisfying! There isn’t anything wrong with using the canned puree.

What can I substitute for pumpkin spice?

For this recipe, you can use just cinnamon if you’d like. I’d just use the same amount of cinnamon it calls for and omit the other spices. I’ve done that before and it still came out fantastic!

If you don’t have the individual spices but you have pumpkin spice in one container you can use just 2 tablespoons and you should be good to go!

I’ve also made it both ways, with the pumpkin pie extract and without it. I was always pleased with the final outcome.

So you’ll see in the recipe below that is listed as optional along with the pecans that I sprinkled on top.

What should I put on top of the Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake?

My go to is fresh whipped cream and chopped pecans with a sprinkle of cinnamon or pumpkin pie spices.

It’s really up to you though! You could also use walnuts and that would be equally as good.

What do I need to make Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake

You’ll definitely need a springform pan for the cheesecake itself.

You also will need a deep pan for the boiling water. This one is a roasting or a lasagna pan and it should work fine. You’ll just want to make sure that your springform pan will fit inside it!

You’ll also need a butter knife to run along the edge of the baked cheesecake. This will help remove it from the springform pan and allow it to come out easier.

Don’t forget your mixing bowl and spatula!

Yield: 8 slices

Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake

This pumpkin spice cheesecake is creamy and packed full of pumpkin spice flavor! The crust is made with gingersnap cookies which pair really well with the pumpkin spice and fall flavors we all know and love.

Cook Time 55 minutes

Prep Time 25 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup crushed gingersnap cookies
1/3 cup melted butter
4 8oz packages of cream cheese
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 Tbsp cornstarch
4 eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
2 Tbsps pumpkin pie extract (optional)
1/3 cup pecans (optional)

Instructions

Preheat to 350 ° F.
While the oven is preheating, crush the gingersnap cookies.
Mix the crushed gingersnap cookies with the melted butter.
Pat the mixture into the bottom of a springform pan to form the crust.
Bake the crust for 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven and set aside.
In a separate bowl, mix the sugar and cornstarch with one package of cream cheese.
Beat in the remaining cream cheese, one package at a time.
Mix in the pumpkin pie extract and one of the eggs.
Add the remaining three eggs one at a time until the mixture is combined.
Add the pumpkin puree and the cinnamon and mix in with a spoon.
Place the baked crust in a baking dish surrounded by boiling water
Pour the filling over the crust
Smooth the top with the back of a spoon and bake at 350 ° F for 55 minutes

Samantha Seeley

Virtual Holiday Party Cocktails and Mocktails

Virtual Holiday Party Games & Contests

You’ll want to share this

Boozy Holiday Cocktails

Holiday Mocktails

The Equipment in My Food Photography Kit

camera gear

Lenses

Photography Accessories

Lighting Equipment

Software

Productivity Tools

prop sourcing

Backgrounds & Surfaces

Books & Education

Should You Watermark Your Photos?

Pro: Watermarking photos will help you get clients or blog readers

Con: Instead they’re a distraction and those potential clients might click away

Pro: Watermarking photos makes you appear professional

Con: Watermarking your images doesn’t make you anymore professional!

Questions you might ask yourself and waste time with:

Things like:

Pro: Watermarking photos helps to prevent image theft

Con: Watermarking doesn’t prevent image theft

Watermarking photos:

Preventing right clicking on your website:

Things you can do instead of adding a watermark:

What is meta-data?

Adding meta-data to your photos:

A note about meta-data & image optimization:

Registering the copyright of your photos:

Why I am no longer watermarking photos:

#1 – I think they are Distracting

#2 – I Rebranded and now they’re all wrong

#3 – I wasted a bunch of time trying to perfect them.

#4 – There are other things you can do to protect your work!

Seven Essentials for Next Level Food Photography

WHAT DO YOU NEED FOR PHOTOGRAPHY?

#1: A LOT OF QUALITY OF LIGHT

#2: A GREAT EYE FOR ALL THINGS AESTHETICALLY PLEASING

#3: A GREAT PRIME LENS

Here is a shortlist of prime lenses and their various uses:

#4: COLOR CHECKER OR GREY CARD

#5: REFLECTORS & BLACK CARDS

Here is a quick rundown of how each side impacts the light that it comes in contact with:

#6: INTERESTING SURFACES & BACKGROUNDS

ESSENTIAL #7: WILLINGNESS TO KEEP LEARNING & GROWING

Six Ways to Add Storytelling Elements to your Food Photos

Adding characters

Taking photos that show action and motion

The Setting: Where? Setting the scene with background context

Adding storytelling elements with Prop styling

Using and manipulating light

Utilizing color theory to add storytelling elements to your food photos

How to Use and Create Lightroom Presets

What is a Lightroom Preset?

What are adjustment sliders?

Why Should I Use Presets I Create myself?

Can I Buy Lightroom presets instead?

How to install Lightroom presets?

The best ways to use presets that you’ve downloaded:

How to make your own Lightroom Preset?

How to use a Lightroom Preset?

Can I Use Lightroom Presets to Speed Up Exporting my Photographs?

Materials

Tools

Instructions

Notes

Did you make this project? No? Pin it for later!

Five Ways to Improve Your Restaurant Photography

Below you will find five ways to improve your restaurant photography.

#1 Have a Pre-Production Meeting

#2 Bring Props

#3 Find the Light or Bring Your Own

#4 Bring a Basic Food Styling Kit

#5 Open Communication While Shooting in Restaurants

Other Details That are Helpful While Shooting in Restaurants

Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake

What Is In Pumpkin Spice?