OK so I’m one week into my 30 Days to Better Food Photography course and I’m really enjoying it.

What’s been great so far?

Well firstly the Facebook community. There are loads of people all taking the course together and so each night a new batch of photos go up where people show their response to the set exercise and get feedback from others.

I’ve also found the discussions about props, lighting, backgrounds, use of space etc. very helpful. And in return I shared my advice about using the DoF Calc app that I mentioned in a recent post about aperture.

Secondly, taking the course means that I have to take food pictures every day and there’s really no substitute for practice in photography so I’m enjoying that too.

Thirdly, it’s fun to play around with different props and get into some of the details of this genre of photography such as making sure bowls are clean, napkins un-creased, tomatoes shiny etc.

And finally, I’ve realised that I need to get myself a larger softbox so I have ordered an 80cm umbrella-box from eBay for less than £20. It’s used with a speedlight rather than studio strobes which makes things easier and I’m hoping to get some good use out of this on food and then try it for portraits too – any excuse for some new kit, right?

These are shots from the first week of assignments – not bad, but not great – be interesting to see if I can improve in the coming weeks.

If you’re interested in learning more about Food Photography, click the link in the left hand side-bar. The course is run a few times a year so you can always sign up ready for the next one.