How to make beautiful Cake Photos?

Whether it’s a tasty cake or the latest pastry that you want to share with your friends on public networks or your own creations that need to be captured as a large mural, for example: Food photography and especially cake photos is all the rage.

 

Surely you have already photographed one or the other homemade cake. So that your future photos can shine even more charmingly, we have summarized some practical tips for you.

 

With a little creativity and skill, you can create great and meaningful photos even beyond professional photo equipment thanks to these quick start tips. 

1. Creatively arranged: A grand entrance for every Cake and Pastry

Your favorite cake will glitter in the right light if you take care to create a soft and friendly ambiance. When photographing food, this includes arranging the cake, muffin, or cupcake in such a way that no harsh shadows form.

You should also use as appropriate lighting as possible that does not necessitate the use of a camera flash; otherwise, pastries might quickly appear cool or even dreary.

Experts recommend taking a photo in the daylight if at all possible. For interior food photography, a desk lamp, which you can adjust to highlight your cake at will, is also a great light source.

Before the big shot, we recommend taking a few practice shots with various objects than the cake that will be photographed.

This should give you a good notion of which light is the most useful. After that, you can fine-tune your food photograph with a suitable photo editing program.

Even novices can achieve superior results in terms of contrast, brightness, and color depth with a few clicks.

2. Brilliantly illuminated: At the center of attention

If you take care to create a gentle and welcoming ambiance, your favorite cake will sparkle in the proper light.

• This means that when photographing food, you should arrange the cake, muffin, or cupcake in such a way that no harsh shadows are formed.
• You should also utilize lighting that is as appropriate as possible and does not require the use of a camera flash; otherwise, pastries can rapidly appear cool or even drab.
• If at all feasible, take a photo in the daylight, according to experts. A desk lamp, which you can adjust to illuminate your cake at will, is also a wonderful light source for interior food photography.
• Our advice is to take a few practice shots before the big shot, possibly with different objects than the cake that will be photographed.
• This will give you a decent idea of which light is the most effective. After that, you can use an appropriate picture editing tool to further refine your food photograph.

You can get even better results in terms of contrast, brightness, and color depth, which even novices can do with a few clicks. Read also about the best way to style the food here.

3. The lens and the camera

There’s no reason to invest in a high-end camera even a modern smartphone is capable to capture your cake. It is adequate for this if you can operate the camera manually.

Food does not run away from you, and neither does time. As a result, you can utilize any DSLR or mirrorless system camera, as well as the occasional tiny camera. It’s also not an issue if the camera is a few years old.

It also doesn’t have to be a specialty lens; the kit lens will suffice. If you still have quick fixed focal lengths, you can mess about with the blur even more. The lens length should not be too wide-angle; Work with 35mm and 50mm on an APS-C sensor camera.

However, when working with wide-angle you must keep in mind that the distortion should not be too excessive and that the picture’s most significant features should be placed closer to the center. Pictures from above are highly suited for such a camera or even a cell phone.

4. Use a tripod to get sharp cake images

A tripod will come in handy if nothing else. It’s almost essential if you don’t have fast lenses or don’t like shooting at ISO 800 or 1600 with your camera.

It doesn’t have to be a proper tripod; a bean bag would serve. Even a Gorillapod, which can be clipped to chairs, is sufficient for a small compact camera.

If your camera allows it, I recommend using a remote shutter release. A cable release is sufficient, costs less than ten dollar, and is extremely adaptable.

5. Setup the camera for your cake photos

How blurry do we want it to be? That determines the aperture we use. If we use a tripod, we set the iso to the camera’s default setting, which for me is 200. The exposure time isn’t important either; after all, the tripod shouldn’t jiggle.

If you don’t have a tripod, make sure the image isn’t blurry. To be safe, multiply your focus length by two and take the reciprocal.

• For example, if you photograph with a 50mm lens – your minimum shutter speed is 1/100th of a second. Of course, if you have a steady hand, you can try 1/50s.

6. Variate your cake shots

There is no one best way to take a picture of a cake with your camera. The best angle is always the one that shows off your subject’s best qualities.

What works great for one picture might not be the best choice for another.

Think about the cake you’re going to take a picture of before you grab your camera. Choose the camera angle that will show off its best features and help you tell the story you want.

In general, layers of frosted cakes look best when they are shot straight on. This makes the structures and height of the cake stand out. 

The shots from above don’t work as well. Unless you want the attention to stay on the cake’s top. Or you want to tell a story with a lot of different things in the frame, like plates, utensils, and maybe a drink. Flat lay shots of cakes are good for telling stories.

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Summary

With a little creativity and skill, you can create great and meaningful photos even beyond professional equipment. Consider arranging the cake, muffin, or cupcake in such a way that no harsh shadows form.

Even photography beginners can achieve superior results in terms of contrast, brightness and color depth with a few clicks.

Take a few practice shots before the big shot to get a decent idea of which light is the most effective.

There’s no reason to invest in a high-end camera even a modern smartphone is capable of capturing your cake. Pictures from above are highly suited for such a camera or even a cell phone. 

Cake photography ideas