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FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY 101:

MASTERING MANUAL MODE
How to become confident using manual mode in your food photography

What is Manual Mode?

Manual mode is the most powerful programe your camera has to

offer. It's the one that gives you the best control over all settings, so
you can achieve the look that you want.

Manual mode is the mode that gives you the freedom to choose The three settings you need
between three settings: ISO, aperture and shutter speed. It is not
to learn to control to
understand manual mode:
the camera who controls the settings, it is you! Those three settings
affect exposure, grain and depth of field and if you understand how
they work, you'll be able to create stunning images. - ISO
- APPERTURE
I know it can be daunting if you're used to shoot in auto or semi- -SHUTTER SPEED
auto mode. All those settings just sound so overwhelming. But
trust me, manual mode is no monster! Actually it's your best friend!
Once you get a hold of how it works it's very easy and it can really
lift your photography, since it gives you the creative control over
your final image.

I started using manual mode almost at the beginning of my food

photography journey and I believe it was the biggest game
changer. 
 ANJA BURGAR | WWW.USEYOURNOODLES.EU
Setting up the ISO
ISO is the camera's sensitivity to light.
The higher the ISO the more your camera is sensitive to
light, meaning more light will come to the sensor and
the image will be brighter.
At the same time ISO also affects grain. The higher the
ISO, the more grain your image will have.
So how do you choose the ISO number?
I personally start with the lowest ISO my camera has,
which is 100, since I want minimum grain in my photos.
I control my exposure with the shutter speed most of
the time (action shots are sometimes an exception) and
not with the ISO.
How much grain is produced at higher ISO settings
greatly depends on what camera you have. So the thing
I recommend you to do is to put your camera to the
test using different ISO settings and finging out at
which number you start getting too much visible grain.
After you've learned that number, you can then adjust
your ISO to a higher number if you need more exposure
and still be confident that the image won't be too
grainy.
I recommend staying under 400 for food photography
or even lower with older cameras.
Image close-ups:
Left image was shot with ISO
100 and the left was shot at ISO
400 both with my old
Canon600D camera. You can
see how an ISO of 400 already
caused a lot of visible grain.
 ANJA BURGAR | WWW.USEYOURNOODLES.EU

Setting up the aperture

Aperture is the setting on your camera that affects how
much of your food is in focus.
We measure how wide your aperture is with using f-stops.
Lower f-stops mean wider aperture which leads to a
shallower depth of field. This creates a soft blurred
background. Higher f-stops do the opposite.
With food photography it's about finding the sweet spot
between having a nice blurred background and have
enough of your food in focus to really draw attention to
that dish and not to either just a part of your dish or the
background.
So when to use which f-stop?
I use lower f-stops for images where I really want my
subject to stand out from the background. With most of the
imges I usually use f-stops between 2.8 - 6.3.
I use higher f-stops for flatlays. I sometimes go up to 11 or
so, depending on the hight of the overall set and how much
of it I want in focus.
Remember that the lens will also greatly affect how much
of you food will be in focus. For example if you're using a
50mm lens an f-stop of 2.8 will probably be okay, but with a
100mm lens the area in focus might be too small and you
might consider a higher f-stop.

Comparison between two

different f-stops:

Left image was shot at f-

stop 7.1, so I could get most
of the mushrooms and
backdrop in focus, while the
right photo was shot at 2.8
so I could get the front cut
plum in focus and have a
blurry back of the bowl and
a blurry background.
 ANJA BURGAR | WWW.USEYOURNOODLES.EU
Setting up the shutter speed
Shutter speed is the amount of time the shutter on your
camera lens stays open allowing the light to hit the sensor.
It is measured in seconds.
For example a shutter speed of 1/10 means the shutter
stays open for a tenth of a second and a shutter speed
of 1” means the shutter stays open for one second.
Slower shutter speeds can create motion blur if you're
holding the camera in your hands or if camera is
moving in any way.
So how do you decide on the shutter speed I need?
I almost exclusively shoot on a tripod. Therefore, this is
usually the last setting I change. If I'm shooting a still
image then I use the shutter speed setting to adjust
the exposure. This might mean that in some cases my
shutter speed can be very slow if I'm working in very
dark conditions.
If I'm shooting an action shot, then I will set the shutter
speed before setting the ISO, usually at least at 1/200
second, but I won't go lower than 1/125 second. Action
shots require a bit more of going here and there. After
adjusting the shutter speed and apperture I set my ISO and
if I consider my ISO too high I re-consider if I can use a
slower shutter speed and still achieve the look I want.
The same principle as for the action shots applies if you're
shooting handheld.
Comparison between two
different shutter speeds:
Left image was shot at 1/2
second on a tripod. Right image
was shot at 1/125 second also on
a tripod.
 ANJA BURGAR | WWW.USEYOURNOODLES.EU

Deciding on the settings

Using a tripod Handheld

1. Set ISO to 100 1. Pick an apperture

2. Pick an aperture 2. Pick a shutter speed fast enough to eliminate any
3. Check the exposure motion blur
4. Change shutter speed if needed to correct the 3. Check the exposure
exposure 4. Set the ISO to correctly expose the scene

© 2020 Anja Burgar, useyournoodles.eu. All rights reserved.