favourite image #5

I am one of those photographers that prefers a light, bright and airy aesthetic in my images and am a little intimidated by tackling dark and moody photography. Initially I thought that shooting dark images was all about having less light. That’s true to some extent, but there’s so much more to it. It was (and still is) a steep learning curve but I’m getting the hang of it, the more I practise. 

I’m sharing this image of blueberries as one of my favourites, because it is one of the first images I shot…

• that was dark, moody with a touch of the dramatic

• using artificial light

I’m also sharing with you what I’ve learnt about capturing the beauty of dark, moody and dramatic subjects.

here are my 5 tips:

1. highlight the hero

• the main subject should be the hero in the shot. In my case, it’s the blueberries. It is what you want to stand out in your photograph.

• to make the hero stand out in your photo, you need to guide the viewer’s eye to the brightest part of the frame - this is usually where we position our subject. This is the area of greatest contrast.

2. choose props and backgrounds carefully

• the hero should not compete with your props or background. Your background and surface should be dark. The props should also be dark or muted, so as not to detract the viewer’s attention from the main subject.

• the background needs to be in shadow and not compete with your subject/s. White or light dishes and props also create too much contrast and can be distracting. It can also be difficult to correctly expose images with such stark contrasts.

• choose matte plates or dishes because they’re less reflective than shiny or glossy crockery. Reflections can be hard to manage in food photography. They also look best in darker, neutral tones.you don’t need as much light as you do with bright and airy images

3. select your light source

• if you’re shooting with natural light, experiment with moving away from your window. It will be less bright the further you move from your light source.

• if you’re using artificial light, a one-light set-up is all you need - which is what I did

• play around with the direction the light is hitting your main subject. My light source was to the side and back of my blueberries - about 10 o’clock on a clockface. This position adds dimension to the light and also brings out the texture of the food.

4. sculpt the light

• when producing darker images, you need to carve and shape the light to create shadow and lead the viewer’s eye to your subject.

• use fill cards - I used black poster board - to reduce the light bouncing back onto my subject and to kick in shadows where I wanted them.

• create a tunnel of light to hit your subject. I used a dark piece of cardboard and cut a small hole (about the size of a saucer). The light from my lightbox entered through the hole and I was able to aim in the direction I wanted i.e to the side and back of my blueberries

5. edit

• I use Lightroom to edit my images.

• for my blueberry shot, I mainly used the adjustment brush. This tool enabled me to darken, lighten and increase saturation on selected areas of my image. Can you see where I increased the saturation and the exposure?

• applying a dark vignette also works. It creates additional drama and draws your attention to the hero of you image.

And there you have it! Do you love to capture and create dark food (or any other subject) photography? Please leave a comment below if you have found this helpful or you’d like to share some of your tips.