Okay, photographing my cakes is my nemesis. I hate doing it - and I usually do a sloppy job. Does anyone have tips or tricks they like to use to get a great picture? Thanks!

I would recommend taking a full-cake picture (get down on the level of the mid-portion of the cake to get the best angle--meaning don't just stand up and take a picture; bend your knees until your cameras on the same level as the mid-portion of your cake before taking the photograph) and then take some close-ups of the details of the cake--whatever you want to point out to a potential customer as selling points of that particular cake. A general rule of thumb is to "fill the frame." By this, I mean when you're looking through the viewfinder of your camera (or the screen on your digital camera), fill the frame with your target. When you have a photograph printed out as a 4x6, the outer edges are cropped in a little bit (about 1/6th of the photograph is left out) by automatic machines. The bigger you go, the more of your actual photograph is shown. It's hard to explain, I guess. An 8x10 usually shows the whole picture that you took.
I went to photography school and have been a portrait photographer for 5 years but, of course, I'm just starting in cake decorating. I've shot a couple weddings but haven't taken pics of cakes for the specific reason of using it to sell a cake. So maybe someone else has some more tips to help you market your photographs but I can help with the actual photographing part of it. Hope I helped a little bit. I guess it's too early (at 10:15 a.m.-I know, that's terrible!) and my words just don't seem to want to come out yet. Sorry! Let me know if I can help anymore though.

Stephanie

Thanks Stephaine - those are great tips ! I will use those next time I try to take a picture

I'm struggling with this a bit too, but think I'm going to try and create a box of sorts that will house my cake for photos. Thought I might try purchasing one of those folding cardboard presentation boards they sell at Michael's. They're used for science fair projects, but can't remember what they're called exactly. They open up and out so they are wide and self standing.
Thought I could drape fabric over this, or decorate it different ways in order to have a nice background. I struggle a lot to keep the walls and windows, houseplants and corners of furniture from ruining my photo. Thought this might be a good solution.

The other issue is the lighting. I'm still learning how to control it and work with it. I take 20 or so photos then usually use the best on my site.

I find that the ones I take outside always come out better

My husband takes all the pictures of my cakes with our digital camera.
He gets every angle possible, and they usually turn out pretty good, but for some reason, anything with purple icing comes out looking blue, so I have to put in on the computer and change the hue so it looks purple again. Not sure why that happens, but it's a pain!

wendysue - i was thinking the same exact thing last week about the poster board things! I just bought DS a bright yellow one for science fair - I thought about taking it, but it's not a great color for cakes! Guess I 'll have to get the white!

I don't remember where I saw it but this advice was posed previously and I totally live by it. You don't have to take your cake out side BUT make sure to have it in a room that is bright with natural lighting. If you have some sun shining in a window, place the cake there & turn off the room lights. Place a plain sheet (white or color- designs will detract from your creation) over a hard chair with a straight back (I use one of my dining room chairs). You then have a nice surface for the cake to sit on & a nice back drop.

I hope that was clear. I attached a picture that I took using this method. The cake colors are just SO much better in natural light.

Best of luck to you!

I managed and photographed in a studio for a loooong time before settling down in commercial insurance industry.

Three important things:

Lighting, setting and composition

Household light give off different colors. That is why sometimes your pics can look blue, red, orange, etc. The kitchen has brighter lights and that's why sometimes the pics in a kitchen come out better then a pic in your dining room. Digital camera really have solved this problem a lot but if you are shooting with a disposable or point -n- shoot camera keep this in mind. Flashes have different power strenghts. I have a Canon S2 IS camera and the flash will blind you. I have to step back from the cake and then zoom in. I could reset the flash but this stepping back and zooming is a quick fix. Natural light is always beautiful and remember the flash can help fill in any shadows that may occur. Remember windows and lights behind the object can "back light" the object creating a giant outline of darken picture of the cake or a blacked out cake all together.

A solid color backdrop for your cake will always put the spot light on your cake and make it center stage. If I had a perfect portfolio it would be the cake by itself on a solid color backdrop and then the cake in it's setting at the party, wedding, etc. That way the customer could imagine the cake at their setting and then see the cake "in action".

The camera is a one eyed monster so it is not able to see depth like we see it. What we see as the end of a table will appear as a line in the picture. Your cake should fill the frame when you are taking the picture. Leaving enough room for cropping and printing pictures. Certain size pictures will cut off some of the size of the picture when you are printing. Really look thru the view finder and slow down and look to see what the final picture will look like. Is there anything in the background that should be there? Is there anything in the foreground that should be there? You can divide a picture in half or in three equal sections. A cake in the middle of the picture is boring but a cake that fills both halves or all three sections is more interesting. If want to get "artsy" then try photographing the cake in a corner or in just one "section" and then pic up a complimentary object from the background or foreground.

OK..........probably way more than you wanted to know or already know. My hands were getting away with me there.

I have to say one other thing. I see a lot of out of focus shots on here and I am assuming that it is probably due to camera shake. You should stablize yourself. Prop your elbow on something. Push the camera again nose or your fingers against your face. Hold your breath if you are using the screen on a digital camera. You will be surprised that just breathing can cause camera shake. If all else fails and you really want SUPER crisp pictures get a tri-pod. OH, and for the digital camera users out there. Let your camera focus. Alot of older camers out there take a few seconds to focus some up to 3 seconds so give it a chance.

I like the idea about the science fair boards. Easy to throw a cloth or sheet over and they fold up and are easily stored. I just saw them at Michaels too.

bj

I use a white poster board for the back drop and either a colored or white poster board under the cake too if it's easy to move. This way, if the color is off due to incandescent or florescent lighting effects, I can easily color correct it in photoshop by clicking on the back board to be white. It automatically corrects the rest of the colors 99.8% of the time.

bjfranco,
Thanks so much for all that experienced info! I'm glad this thread was started, because I'm trouble shooting through some of my known photography issues too. Hadn't thought to ask about it on the board, so glad someone else did!

I'm especially excited that you too think the science fair type board would be a good way to solve the background issues. Knowing this I'm even more sure I should try it. It just seem like the perfect solution. Even for storage since it folds up, I could easily store it in my craft closet.

I use the tri-fold board for my cakes too...works well to block out all the extras.
I also purchased different colored fabric remnants at the thrift store to use as backdrops. I stack two pillows behind and drape the fabric over them.
I'm thinking of sponging my board though the white is just too stark.
I love my digital camera...I can take a ton of pics using different light settings and positions and then choose the best ones.
Good luck!

This is an excellent thread. Great tips and ideas.

When I take pics I try to compose the final image in my head before I actually get my camera out. So I look for objects that I want to use to compose my shot. Wine glasses, champagne flutes, cake knife etc. I set them all up using different backgrounds and in different arrangements to see which ones I like then I get the camera.

If I am using a sheet i get my honey To stand behind The sheet and hold it in such a way that it drapes naturally. Then I take pics from a number of different angles and with various objects that compliment scene.

I just bought a new digital camera and I have been itching to make a cake to try it out. LOL

But remember, you can always edit a pic using software like photoshop or photofiltre.

Here is a thread by laneysmom where she took a pic that had a lot of distractions in the background. Further down in the thread is an edited pic where I used software to minimize the distraction.

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-13777.html

If you're trying to show your cakes, photograph the cake. Come in tight and make sure what you need to be in focus, is. Your cake (not the table, not the board, the cake) should fill most of the frame.

FWIW, IMO a lot of the cakes in this month's competition would look better with a lot less Photoshop (borders, montages) and a much closer focus on the cake.

Digital photography is free. If you don't have a cake to practice with, see what you can do with your cake supplies, or your dishes, or something else of a similar size.

Are you using a digital camera? If so what mega pixel is it. A 5 and up should give you a pretty good picture. I use an 8! If you are taking a close-up of the detail, you WANT to use your macro function!!!

I take about 15 to 20 shots of my cakes, (well the cakes I actually like). I take some up close, a little bit of a distance but not too far that you have to squint to see the detail. Same shots with and without the flash, with and without the bright lights on. Have a background for your cakes. A plain background will work the best. Blue is a great color to feature your cakes!! Make sure you are taking a picture of the best side/part of your cake. I try not to take a "top" only photo of my cakes. I like to try and get it at such an angle that you can see the top and one or two sides in the shot. Just play around with it. That's the wonder of a digital camera, if you don't like it you can just delete it.

You can also prop your cake up by stacking some books underneath or coffee cups or what ever works best.


Good luck!


Amy

Wow! What a great post!! BJ your help was excellent! THANKS so much!! I've got a question? What's up with digital cameras using the batteries life up so fast? I have bought re-charge batteries because I was going through so many regular batteries. I always bring enough re-charge ones with me to the event I'm planning on taking pics at. If it's a wedding, I always take pics of the cakes before I leave the house. By the time I get to the wedding, set up the cakes & then start taking pics the low battery light comes on the camera. What's up with that? I have to put new batteries in the camera or the pics don't take right. I guess the answer is that the camera uses up batteries tooo fast huh? LOL!! That's my question. I take pretty good pics it's just those darn batteries!

Hi~ Anything "photography" catches my eye, so I skimmed this thread quickly. Some good advice has been offered...the best being to use natural lighting. I've been involved in portrait and wedding photography for over 20 years and have made the transition from film to digital. Unless you are fortunate and have a studio lighting set-up, whenever possible shoot with NO flash. I use window lighting for photographing my cakes when possible. On the occasion that you're in a room with inadequate available light....use flash, but be very careful to not be too close to your cake. This is a problem with many popular point-and-shoot digital cameras. Stand back several feet and frame with your zoom. I currently use a pro-digital SLR, but for over 8 years have used a nice 3.1 megapixel shooting high end jpg files. The current hype with megapixels is really overkill in most situations! If you're planning to blow the file up to be used for a highway billboard (my husband and I have a sign company and actually do this!!!) ~ then you need lots of mp's.....otherwise, a nice 3-5 mp camera is quite adequate!

Practice when it doesn't matter and you'll be ready when it does! Best of luck to you~

Wow! Who knew we had this many professional photographers here. My brother-in-law has his own portrait equipment, the lights, backdrop, that umbrella thingy (sorry all) that helps with the flash.....I'd love to have him photograph all my pics but that is just way too much to set up just to take a picture of a cake especially since I don't do this professionally!

I find that a 5 to an 8 mp camera takes better close-ups. I had a 3.1 Sony Cybershot that wasn't worth a hoot when it came to taking close-ups of my shots. We then went to a Sony 5 mp and now we have a Canon Digital Rebel XT 8 mp! This new camera is way better!!! It's great if you're not a professional!

Would be nice though!


Amy

Hmmm, correct me if I am wrong here. I thought the higher the MP of a camera the better the resolution hence the larger the print. Whereas the more the zoom the better your close up pics will turn out. (In addition to allowances for flash etc.)

Great tips here from stephanie and phoov! Thanks so much! I am not much of a photographer and I recently have bought abetter camera but am not too good at using it..I am picking up a lot of cool tips here tho! Again thanks!

Also want to mention when using zoom that your depth of field is reduced. You will have a smaller area that will be in focus. Everything in front and behind the "focus" area will be out of focus.

See pic of butterfly I took in my backyard. I was using the macro feature. Butterfly in focus but leaves in front and directly behind are out of focus. If the butterflies wings would have been open the tips of his wings would have been out of focus.


bj

THis is an EXCELLENT thread! THank you all so much for your expertise! I'm not a very good photographer and i have learned so much from you all!

Cakeprincess and Cakemommy~ If I remember right, the Sony digital cameras had some problems..... If you're blowing the pics up to 11x14 or larger, then the greater megapixels begin to benefit you. Megapixels don't effect focus in the average sized prints. Lens quality comes into play here, as well as the type of zoom system your camera utilizes. Hope that helps

How many mp is the camera that you took the picture of the butterfly with?


Amy

I just recently got a pentax optio 6.0 mp..any input on these?

Kayday.....Wonderful camera~

It's a 5 MP. Canan Power Shot S2 IS. This camera has a serious 12X Optical Zoom w/a Macro Feature. I was across the patio from this butterfly. The picture on here also does not do it justice since I had to resize it to post the pic.

Here is some MP info:

2 megapixels and under This is the beginning of the "consumer sweet spot" in my opinion. Two megapixels is enough to get reasonably sharp 8x10s and smaller. While 8x10s are still a little soft when made from 2 megapixel files, my experience has been that most people consider the level of detail and resolution acceptable.
3 - 3.9 megapixels Definitely sharp, crisp 8x10s and smaller. If you're looking for a really good digicam with strong features and good image quality, three megapixels is a good range to search in. - And you can find some real bargains in this resolution range these days.
4 - 4.9 megapixels This was once exclusively "enthusiast" territory, but there are a lot of pure point and shoots to be found here lately as well. You really don't need this many pixels to print good 8x10s, but the extra pixels give you enough room to crop your photos a little yet still get crisp-looking enlargements. - You can naturally make larger, full-frame prints as well, up to perhaps 11x14.
5 - 5.9 megapixels While the megapixel race continues onward, the 5 megapixel level is pretty much still the realm of "enthusiast" cameras. (Although some advanced point & shoots can be found here as well.) Definitely more resolution than you really need for even 8x10 prints, but people tend to underestimate the importance of cropping to improve their photos. With 5 megapixels, you can crop away a lot of distracting detail, yet still end up with a very nice-looking 8x10 print.
6 megapixels and above Definitely enthusiast/pro territory. Really big prints. Lots of cropping for medium-big prints. Plus the coolness factor of having the baddest camera on the block.

bj