When I finish any of my cakes/cupcakes I like to take photo's of them for others to see on my fb profile, but i'm really not getting very good photo's!  I struggle to find a decent background for starters, so most of the pics have my horrible green kitchen tiles in lol and also not very good lighting!

Does anyone have any tips to getting decents pics of your cakes?? Would really appreciate any help given!

AThe only tip I have, which is not news, is NO flash. Get into better light to snap a pic, but avoid the flash. I also have a black backdrop set up to photograph cakes on. It's nice and clean, no background mess.

Get a length of white fabric to hang behind, and experiment with different lighting. Make sure you iron that fabric before photographing the cakes, or get a fabric that doesn't need ironing (like that stretchy fake crushed velvet stuff). Not much is tackier than a gorgeous cake with creased fabric behind it.

BTW, the plural of photo is photos. There is no apostrophe. 

I use tri-fold project boards.  I have one in white & one in black.  I also purchased black & white felt to drape over them.

Buy you some cheap mat board, preferably something with a texture, put it on your stove. Under your cake and in back of the cake. Make the two pieces meet...hopefully you have a hood with a light that's not too bright, turn the light on and do not use your flash. I just started doing this, and I think it looks pretty damn professional  Oh and photo was taken with my iPhone.

wow Ducky316, your photo came out fab with the iphone!!!  and what a lovely cake too :)  That's definitely something else I'm going to try!

Thanks everyone for your tips :)
 

AI lay out a big piece of black fabric, set my cake on it and be near a window. No flash. But, I love Ducky316's idea!

That's awesome! I have started draping a white pillowcase over a stool, then putting my cake on that, but this looks better. 

Great ideas.  I had just been researching this as I also am not happy with my photos.

I have a small room in my basement dedicated for caking...although I usually do the majority of my work up in my kitchen!?!  I think it's because I don't have a sink down there to constantly clean up at that drives me nuts.  We did drill a large whole through the brick wall between rooms under the cabinet to do so, but I didn't want to lose the counter space....ANYWAY...back to photos:

I have thought about mounting a curtain rod to the wall that I can use to interchange a roll of decorative wrapping paper that coordinates with each particular cake.  Just pull it down and over the countertop, put on the cake and voila! 

Or mounting a roller shade with the same effect, but it wouldn't allow for a change of background.

I guess you could also use a curtain in your house, assuming it's a long curtain in a neutral color.  Just put a small table close to the wall and pull the curtain over it.  Put your cake on the draped table.

Just some ideas that I really need to put into action!

Hello there, this is what I do: I use a dark cloth material about  a yard, I put it on top of my counter where lighting is better, then put a black cardboard trifold for  my background. The all around black will showcase your cake better, ( unless of course if you have a black cake, then use white? Or other lighter color) make sure you have good lighting, taking a picture of your masterpiece is always better during the day.

I use one of the black Elmer's Tri-Fold project board I found at Michaels.

So far I'm pretty happy with using that.

Also, try to use natural light when you can. The best time of day for good lighting is usually in the afternoon. However, I know it's not always possible to get the photo at that time of day. There are tutorials for making homemade light boxes online that help with lighting.
 

thank you so much for your ideas!!  i've bought some black fabric which i'm going to try with my next cake in a couple of weeks!  Been trying with other objects to see how it comes out, and so far so good, so fingers crossed it will be ok with for the cake :)   I've also got some patterned wallpaper from my living room which i didn't really think of trying, I don't think it's going to look as good, but it's worth a try!
 

I find that it is about angles too.  If you get just the right perspective on the item, it really doesn't matter what is behind it as

everyone will focus on the item.   I only shoot with my iPhone and it is always on my kitchen counter.   I do have warm colored granite that really compliments all of my projects.  Or so I am convinced :)

Delicious Desserts, I just want to say, It's so nice to see someone else doing cakes in buttercream. You do beautiful work!! I've just been inspired to continue my business! Thank you 

I agree with the natural light, no flash and using my Iphone.  Sometimes an overhead shot is much more appealing than a straight on one - depending on the cake of course.  Almost all my photos are with my Iphone and if you look at my gallery you will see that almost all my photos are shot on one of two tables by my sliding glass door!

Just make sure you don't also get a picture of your own shadow!  I hate when that happens to me!!

I appreciate hearing everyone's background ideas here!

Theresa

well I done it! I bought some card and took some pics of my cakes when they were finished and I'm so pleased with how they came out!!  They are still not perfect with regard to the light, but they are tonnes better than my other pics!!

Here's a couple of pics i've taken:

Just need to experiment with other colours and patterns ........... but overall I'm pleased and want to thank you all for your tips :)

A

Aww you totally made my day!

ALea, awesome. Nice backgrounds make such a huge difference!

I think they look good!!! Makes your cakes pop!!!

Wow, they look great!! This has inspired me to try a background! :)