Photo Title: Focus
Blog Name: The Sophisticated Gourmet
Equipment Used: Canon PowerShot A550, point and shoot
Technical Details: Flash only for photo of the lemon slices in bottom left hand corner. The macro setting was on for all of the photos. ISO is always on 200 for me.
Photo Editing: I didn’t crop or do any photo enhancements except to the photo of the sliced lemons where I actually used flash, so I cropped it a little, sharpened it a bit, and used the “enhance” button on iPhoto… That’s about all the editing I do to my photos. I don’t use anything too special for my photos, just iPhoto and sometimes if necessary, Picnik.
Setup Details & Props:
I shoot on my kitchen table near a window. No cardboard or anything… I don’t have a tripod, so I try really hard to keep a steady hand, especially when shooting at an ISO of 200.
- For the photo of the pasta sauce in a bowl, I shot it on the windowsill.
- For the whisk and spoon, I shot it on my kitchen table, using my black chef’s apron. It was facing toward two chairs and the kitchen sink.
- For the one below the previous photo, I whipped up some egg white in a metal bowl with the whisk until it had stiff peaks. I actually was going to make the egg white on the whisk have a point to it, but i decided against it because it didn’t look too appealing. I left the bowl in the background for this photo.
- For the photo of the lemon with the paintbrush and yellow paint, I used an old and worn out cookie sheet placed on the table and took a couple shots from above.
- The last photo of the lemon slices was actually a big mistake. I accidentally turned my flash on and took the photo. When I looked at it on the computer, it looked pretty cool, so I took the darkened lemon slices out of the photo by cropping it. The lemon slices were place on a plain white plate on the windowsill (where the sun was hitting).
TIPS:
- For anyone not using a tripod: sometimes when I don’t have a steady enough hand, I try to lean my hand up against something, even a stack of books, to get the perfect, un-blurred photo.
- Always try to work near natural light.
- Never use the flash setting on your camera unless you know what you’re doing. In my case, it was pure accident with the lemon slices, but it came out pretty well, don’t you think?
- Try to plan how you want your photos to look. This way, you end up with a great photo that doesn’t need to be edited much
- If you’re using a point and shoot like I am, I would definitely recommend using the macro setting, even if you are shooting from far, as it creates a more focused and sharper image.
Peaches and Blueberries Before & After
Photo Title: Peaches and Blueberries
Blog Name: My Baking Addiction
Equipment Used: Canon Rebel XSI, 18-55mm lens
Technical Details: Shutter Speed 1/8 second
Exposure Program- Manual
F Stop- f/4.5
Aperture Value- f/4.4
ISO- 100
No Flash
Photo Editing: I edited the photo in Adobe Photoshop CS4 by upping the contrast and brightening the photo. I also ran a sharpening and subtle color action.
Setup Details: The photo was taken in the kitchen on my table in front of a sliding glass door.
Props: White Ramekins from TJ Maxx
Shrimp Scampi with Zucchini and Tomato Before & After
Photo Title & Recipe Link: Shrimp Scampi with Zuchinni and Tomato
Blog Name & Link: goodLife {eats}
Equipment Used: Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5, point and shoot
Technical Details: No Flash, Macro Setting
Photo Editing: It was very dark last night due to a storm. Times like these I’m so thankful for programs like Photoshop and the wonders they work!
-Increased the levels
-Adjusted the contrast
-desaturated the plate because the white was not white
-used the dodge tool on the plate to brighten it
-added a blue/white gradient map layer at 40% soft light to help remove excessive yellow
-sharpened the image
Setup Details: Kitchen table with a white board opposite light. Everyone waiting anxiously for dinner while I snapped shots as fast as I could.
Props: placemat from Kohls
Additional Tips: Learn Photoshop! It has really saved pictures that I thought were too far gone. This being one of them.
Snapshot Spotlight will be a regular feature on Culinary Snapshot, featuring blogging food photographers, their backgrounds and tips for creating great food photography! Are you interested in being in the spotlight? Contact me at admin<at>culinarysnapshot.com
I am thrilled to have Helen from Tartelette as our very first Snapshot Spotlight guest. Thank you, Helen, for sharing your wonderful photos and tips for great food photography with us!
In the Spotlight – Helen from Tartelette
When & why did you start getting into food photography?
It really started becoming my passion when I started my blog and realized that images speak a thousand words and I’d beter buckle down, play around, study and practice. One may have a natural disposition for food photography but there is nothing like studying composition, light, depth of field, etc..
What equipment do you use?
I still shoot mostly with my Rebel XTi (surprise, surprise! People think I have the super duper stuff- well, no) I say mostly because I rent a lot of different cameras and lenses to try to settle on a future purchase and renting is a great way to try lenses and camera bodies without breaking the bank, but I know my Rebel like the back of my hand and I know exactly how to set it up for food shots without having to fiddle around too much. I use Picasa for “triage” as I can easily create albums and pre-select the pics that I want to keep. Then I upload them onto LightRoom or the Canon software that came with my cameara and do my post processing there.
Please share one of your very first food photographs with us:
Banana Muffins
What has been your absolute favorite food photograph you have taken ? Why is this photo your favorite?
Snickerdoodle Ice Cream Sandwiches
There are a handful I really like (I tend to be extra hard on myself) but one of the latest one I love is the Snickerdoodle Ice Cream Sanwiches I shot. I love the simple set up, the ice cream melting, the color balancing each other. Makes me hungry!
Please share with us how you typically set up for one of your food photography sessions:
You can read everything about my set up HERE. It’s pretty basic. I use a tripod, a set of reflectors, a white foam board and anything that is on hand to work with the light (pieces of paper, mirror, plates, plastic wrap, extra glass, etc…) It’s kinda of McGiver-ish in a way but one could easily spend too much money when the solution is right here at hand. The trick is to practice, practice and practice.
I am lucky to live in an area with plenty of sunlight even late in the day but when it rains here it’s pretty much pitch dark. Up until now I’d tend to postpone a shoot but my McGiver husband just built a huge lightbox for a museum to shoot their artifacts and he’s decided to build a smaller one for me for darker days. I haven’t tested it yet and I am a bit reluctant to do so but I am willing to try this winter. We shall see! If natural light is not availabe where you shoot, studying the concept of strobes or sofboxes may be a good altenative.
Share some tips that you think might be helpful to food bloggers when photographing food.
- First, you have to decide what type of photographs you want to shoot and how much of your time you are willing to invest in it. I like the process of composing and lighting so I spend quite a lot of time in creating food stills. That’s my passion and I tend to suck at “real time” shots. I believe we all have a different forte and once you find your own creative outlet, go for it, go all out with it! There is no right or wrong styles. Find your own and make your pics the best that they can be according to that.
- Learn your camera, whether it is a point and shoot or a DSLR. Put one cupcake on a table and use as many settings, white balances, apertures, as possible. Take risks, the beauty of digital is that you can always erase.
- Don’t get hung up on the number of megapixels you shoot with: it makes little difference on a monitor screen. If you shoot for print, yes it starts to matter but not so much as the technology of your camera. Example: perfect prints come out of a Canon MarkII with only 8 megapixels. Why? Because the technology behind the camera and its lenses make the difference here as well as the lenses (higher quality models on these).
- In that regard: regardless of your camera, invest in good quality lenses. I only use prime lenses, no zoom, to retain as much quality as possible. I am the zoom so to speak, I move around the food, forward, backward, up and down, even with a tripod.
- Keep your backgrounds and table setting clean and simple so the viewer’s eyes are completely focused on your plate and not the stripes on the tablemat.
- Try to shoot vertical and not horizontal: it is easier to work on the depth of field and make a plate speak than with horizontal views. Sometimes there is no need to show an entire plate, a cropped version with a glass in the background may work better for example.
- Instead of boosting your ISO setting to the highest when the light is not perfect, try to use the exposure button on your DSLR (on Canon it is labelled A/V+)
- Learn your camera white balances and settings: if you must shoot when the sun is out, play around with all the balances features to figure out the one that looks most natural. In those circumstances, when the sun is long gone, I often shoot on “tungsteen” instead of “daylight”. I also have learned to set my white balance manually before every shot so I can be as close to the natural one as much as possible. It takes effort and practice but what good comes without those, right? It makes a big difference and it is easy if you have a DSLR and the manual.
- No matter what software you use to post process your picture, there is just so much they can do without losing quality. Meaning: a mediocre shot (not talking about composition but light, shadows, exposure) can be fixed only so much even with software. Aim at the best quality you can produce because the post processing will be less of a headache, quicker and will retain as much of the original quality as possible.
Kristen here – I am having a total “duh – why didn’t I think of that?” moment here. I think Jenn’s idea of using a simple TV tray to set your food up on is so smart. If you lack room in your home or if your source of light changes throughout the day, having lightweight, portable table to move around is such a great idea!
Giveaway details also detailed at the end of this post!
Photo Title & Recipe : Molasses Granola
Blog Name & Link: Jenn Cuisine
Equipment Used: Nikon D200 DSLR, Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor Lens
Technical Details: Focal length – 50mm
Auto ISO, f/2.8, 1/15 exposure time
Aperture priority mode
No Flash
Photo Editing Photoshop Elements: Upped brightening, contrast and saturation in both photos, as well as some cropping.
Setup Details: I am no professional by any means, and my constant battle with taking pictures for my blog in my home is lack of good light. My main source of natural light is our sliding doors, which face the west. Directly outside is some very dense growth of trees and other wetland plants which are helpful in that direct harsh light is rarely an issue, but getting enough light to take quality photos is always a challenge.
For this shot I had a very minimal setup – I placed the granola in a bowl on a wooden TV tray and pushed it as close to my sliding doors as possible. I took the shot from two different angles. The first has the light coming in from the right. The second was more eye-level with the food, and the light was coming from behind me. My exposure time was short enough I did not feel there was a need for a tripod.
Props: 1 TV Tray, 1 pyrex bowl
Additional Tips: There are a couple of key differences between these two photos.
1. Light. The direction of the lighting compared to where the camera is can make a big difference as far as the shadows and color that your camera sees. While the after shot does have a bit of glare from the pyrex bowl, because the shadows are much less prevalent it really allows the color to come out better. The before shot comes across looking a bit dark to me. I like to use something simple like a TV tray because it allows for me to move the subject easily. Since I can’t direct the light where I want it to go, I like to be able to move my food (or me) to best find the light. If I’m not using a TV tray, I usually have my food on my coffee table which is also fairly mobile.
2. Perspective. Shooting a picture at eye level with the food can often give a more dramatic effect. It gave the after shot an impression of having more height to the food, even though absolutely nothing was changed in the styling whatsoever. The after shot is also a lot closer to the food.
3. Background. In the before shot, the only background is the wood of the TV tray. In the after shot, there is also some color in the background from looking into my apt. By shooting with a fairly low f-stop/wide aperture, the entire background is nicely blurred so that nothing is distracting or keeping the food from being the main focal point.
Culinary Snapshot Participation Giveaway!!
You read that right…we are having a giveaway here at Culinary Snapshot. Our first giveaway is for a $50 Amazon.com gift card. Been eying some new camera equipment, photography books, editing software, etc? I hope this gift certificate will help one lucky participant splurge a little. Qualifying for the drawing is easy. All you have to do is submit a before and after photo (can be pre/post editing or setup/finished product) with the appropriate details any time from the beginning of Culinary Snapshot through midnight CST on August 1st. Those of you who have already submitted qualified photos are already entered to win! I will use the random number generator to draw the winner of the gift certificate. Number of entries into the drawing is equivalent to the number of qualified photo submissions you make.
I have had a couple of people pop forward with opportunities to win their products, so hopefully we will have participation giveaways on a regular basis.
Also, think your photos aren’t good enough yet to submit to Culinary Snapshot? Never fear… we will be having a “Fix My Pic” post once a week too. If you have a photo that you want fixed, send it in to me at admin <at> culinarysnapshot <dot> com with details of what you feel can be improved within the picture or specific questions you might have and we will let our community of shutterbug food bloggers have a go at fixing it up. These photo submissions will count towards the gift certificate drawing as well. One “fix my pic” submission per blogger per giveaway time frame.
Kristen here – Simone touched on something in her tips that I really want to work on (and hope to learn how to from this blog!) and that is how to use the Exposure Value (EV) setting with my camera. I’m going to challenge myself to start playing around with those settings more!
Photo Title Recipe Link: Cherry Clafoutis
Blog Name & Link: Junglefrog Cooking
Equipment Used: Canon Eos 5D, Canon 100mm 2.8 macro lens
Technical Details:
Shutterspeed: 1/6s
Aperture: f5.6
ISO 50
EV +1/3
No flash used
I always shoot in RAW
Photo Editing: I edited in Lightroom 2.4 first.
Exposure value was +0.55
Clarity +17
Vibrance +25
I then edited the settings a bit further in photoshop to enhance the contrast a bit more.
Setup Details: I shot this in my living room with natural light coming from the left. (I have a window that is facing north-east, so no direct sunlight)
I used a white foamboard with some aluminium foil to bring out the shadow details on the right.
Props: White plate, little rustic oven bowl, some flowers and a little ramekin in the background
Additional Tips: I do try and get the exposure as well as the cropping as good as possible in-camera. Adjusting a lot of settings on the final photo will usually result in more noise. A lot of people do not use the exposure value compensation a lot but change the levels later in photoshop. Try and experiment more with the EV value, as that will ultimately result in cleaner photos and will save a lot of time in photoshop work later.
Photo Title: Bowl of Cherries
Blog Name: Dine & Dish
Equipment Used: Nikon D300, 50mm 1:8 lens
Technical Details: From EXIF data
Exposure: 0.005 sec (1/200)
Aperture: f/4.5
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO Speed: 640
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: No Flash
Photo Editing: I edited the photo in Adobe Photoshop CS. I increased the Levels as well as the Saturation to give the photo some bright, vibrant colors.
Setup Details: My set up was on my kitchen table, next to a row of windows that provided plenty of natural light. It was a cloudy day, so I used a white reflector board plus a white foam board background.
Props: small bowl
Additional Tips: This is a simple still life photo. I like to practice my food photography skills by doing still life photography. Often times, when you are photographing food, there is a hungry crowd of family members waiting patiently to eat your creation. By practicing with still life photos, you don’t have the pressure on you to rush so people can eat. You can experiment with your settings until you get the exact shot you are looking for!
Kristen here – I am so excited because this post is by a professional photographer. There is a lot of detail here to study and some great tips on the technical side to learn from.
Photo Title: Dinner Roll
Blog Name: The Cupcake Project / J. Pollack Photography
Equipment Used: Canon EOS 40D
Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM
Bogen 3001 Tripod Legs
Manfrotto 808RC4 Tripod Head
Reflector
Technical Details: I mounted the camera on my tripod and set the camera up for 1/8 second exposure and f/5.6 aperture at ISO 100. I manually focused, turned off image stabilization (always a good idea if you’re using a tripod), and set the camera up to use a two second delay once the shutter was depressed to let any shaking from pressing buttons subside.
I always shoot in RAW.
Photo Editing: I edited the photo in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.4. Exposure was reduced by 1/3 stop, black levels set to 10, brightness at 50, and contrast at 10. White balance was manually set to 4200 and tint at 10. I also cropped the photo to square since the sides of the plate and surrounding tabletop are distractions.
Setup Details: I shot this photo using natural light on our dining room table using a plate purchased at a thrift store and a car sun shade as a reflector. I asked Stef to hold the reflector at an angle to add a little light to the back and side of the subject while I used the Live View function of the camera to perfect focus and check exposure the image slightly.
Props: plate, table
Additional Tips: Use household items as props and backgrounds for photos, and always shop at thrift stores to get the best deals on plates and other items used in staging food photos!
On the technical side, bracket exposures if you don’t have the ability to instantly check photos for overexposure or underexposure.
Kristen here – I think beverages are really hard to photograph. Katie does a great job with this photo by taking the picture from a non-traditional point of view (angled and looking slightly down at the subject matter).
Photo Title and Recipe Link: Aloha Smoothie
Blog Name: goodLife {eats}
Equipment Used: Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5, point and shoot
Technical Details: No Flash, Macro Setting
Photo Editing: Using Adobe Photoshop CS, I upped the contrast by about 12 and also uppsed the saturation by about 10. I also used the sharpen filter to make the image crisper.
Setup Details: Afternoon in my kitchen. Set up on counter island with white foam board facing light source.
Props: Placemat, 2 plates, kiwi slices and another rolled up placemat behind the plate & in front of board to cover the edge of the board
Additional Tips: Use natural light wherever you can find it. Afternoon is great in my kitchen, but morning is best in the dining room. I move my set up around to get the best depending on the time of day.
Also, check the clearance at Target, Kohls, Macy’s, etc. for pieces that would be great as props. Placemat was 50% off at Cost Plus World Market. Yellow plate came in a set of 4 on clearance for $5 at Macy’s (Martha Stewart Line).
Photo Title & Recipe Link: Corn Flake Waffles
Blog Name: Dine & Dish
Equipment Used: Nikon D300
Technical Details: From EXIF Data
Exposure: 0.004 sec (1/250)
Aperture: f/4.0
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO Speed: 320
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: No Flash
Photo Editing: Using Adobe Photoshop, I cropped the photo some and added some brighter tones to the photo by increasing the saturation a tad and adjusting the curves.
Setup Details: On my kitchen table near a wall of windows with a white foam board reflector set up to bounce the incoming light off of.
Props: A simple, white, square plate and a red placemat. I also added a couple of cut up strawberries and a fork.
Additional Tips: I have found, especially with round things like cakes, pancakes, waffles, etc. that the photo often is more interesting when you crop part of the subject matter out of it. I used to try to get the whole cake or the whole plate of pancakes in the picture, but have discovered that cropping part of the food out of the photo adds more interest to the end photograph.
Kristen here – Katie’s amazing food photos are proof that you don’t need a fancy DSLR for great food photography. A simple point & shoot camera and some simple tips are all you need.
Photo Title & Recipe Link: Zucchini Apple Spice Muffins
Blog Name: goodLife {eats}
Equipment Used: Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5, point and shoot
Technical Details: No Flash, Macro Setting
Photo Editing: Used Adobe Photoshop CS2. Added a duplicate copy of picture as a screen layer and another as a soft light layer. I can’t remember the opacity %, just play around with it till the picture looks right.
Setup Details: Set up in my small dining room to take advantage of morning light. Used a foam board to reflect light.
Props: Placemat, Plates, Napkin
Photo Title & Recipe Link: Rosemary Focaccia
Blog Name: Dine & Dish
Equipment Used: Nikon D300, 50mm 1:8 lens
Technical Details : From EXIF Data Exposure: 0.004 sec (1/250)
Aperture: f/3.5
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO Speed: 1000
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: No Flash
Photo Editing: I used Adobe Photoshop CS and the tip below to turn this photo from really dark to presentable.
- Open your dark photo in Photoshop
- Up at the top toolbar go to the “Layers” tab and then drop down and select “Duplicate Layer”
- If your layers window isn’t open on the side of your PS main window, go up to the top toolbar, go to the “Windows” tab and select “Layers”
- OK – now that the layers window is open, you should see a drop down menu in it that shows “normal”. Click on that and go down to where it says “screen”. Your photo should brighten up immediatley. If it is too bright, adjust the opacity (located in your layers window) to a lower percent.
- Now, go back up to the Layers tab on the top of your Photoshop screen and drop down to “Flatten Image”
- If your photo still needs to be brighter, repeat steps 2 – 5.
- When I have the photo as I want it, I usually adjust the saturation slightly to give it a little pop of color and will also sometimes do a curve adjustment
Setup Details: It was late evening and my family was already seated to dinner around the table I usually use for photos. I put the bread by a window in my kitchen with a white foam board reflector. I had to have my ISO set really high to get a decent, not completely black shot, without using the flash.
Props: A brown satin fabric remnant, a sprig of rosemary from my herb garden, and a small bowl of dipping oil
Additional Tips: The Adobe Photoshop tip I used above is such a lifesaver for those photos that you think are a complete loss because of lighting!
Kristen here – Karen mentions using Photoshop Actions. If you have Photoshop, purchasing a set of actions makes photo editing a much simpler process. Usually with the touch of a button, a Photoshop Action takes all of the step by step work out of the editing process for you.
Photo Title & Recipe Link: Bratwurst Sandwich with Roasted Red Pepper Aioli
Blog Name: The Eclectic Cook
Equipment Used: Canon EOS Digital Rebel T1i, Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 lens
Technical Details: ISO 400, F/2.2, 1/30 sec
Photo Editing: Photoshop CS2. I used levels for a quick color cast correstion since I shot this under a kitchen light with the camera light balance set to “tungsten”. It’s always nice to have a bit of white in the picture to help with color correction when shooting under poor conditions. Used Pioneer Woman Action (set 1) “boost” which I use for many of my photos.
Setup Details: White plate on wood table with a white display board in background to help with color correction in post processing.
Props: Plain white plate, display board
Additional Tips: I use simple plates, like the white one here, for colorful foods, and more interesting and textured plates and accessories when the food is more monochromatic.
I have a collection pf plates and napkins that I have picked up at various thrift stores. You get wonderful pieces for almost no money, because who (besides a food blogger) wants to buy that single plate or napkin?
Photo Title & Recipe Link: Shrimp Linguine with Lemon Basil Sauce
Blog Name: Dine & Dish
Equipment Used: Nikon D80, 50mm Lens
Technical Details: Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/400)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: No Flash
Photo Editing: I used the Adobe Photoshop Action “Indie Subtle Color” to give the photo a pop of color. I adjusted the color balance by increasing the yellow in order to remove some of the blueish/green tones that I often get when I shoot photos outside in the evening. I used the Unsharpen Mask (which I am just now learning about) to make the overall photo a tad more sharp.
Setup Details: We ate late last night, so the sunlight in our house was minimal. I took the food out onto our patio table to take this photo. If I can, I always opt for natural lighting for my food photos vs lamps or a light box.
Props: Black placemat and black and white napkin from Pier 1 Imports. Small round white plate.
Additional Tips: When I do food photos, I actually plate the food on small plates versus a normal dinner plate. I keep a lot of different small plates on hand for food photography. I think it is easier to make a plate look full with a small plate and it is easier to photograph as well!
Kristen here – This is a great example of how just a slight tweaking of levels can really give a photo that extra pop to make it stand out!
Photo Title and Recipe: Better Than Ultimate Brownies
Blog Name: Gourmeted
Equipment Used: Nikon D80 with Sigma 70mm F/2.8 EX DG Macro Lens (If I can marry this lens, I would!)
Technical Details: (Taken from the EXIF data)
Exposure: 0.025 sec (1/40)
Aperture: f/6.3
Focal Length: 70 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: No Flash
White Balance: Manual
Metering Mode: Spot
Photo Editing: Edited using Photoshop CS2 for Mac: – slightly tweaked the levels, used unsharp mask to sharpen, increased the saturation
Setup Details: Taken on a bright spring day during lunch, but without direct sunlight by a window seat. White balance was manually set using a gray card.
Props: Fabric and small colored bowl
Additional Tips:
For Backgrounds: Fabrics. Ever since I’ve gotten into sewing, my backgrounds improved. Why? I used my fabrics to double as table runners and napkins. If you don’t sew and don’t have use for big fabrics, you can still go to the fabric store and buy the bundles of a few different fabrics that are sold for cheap. No need to buy new linens but still have tables looking like they’re different all the time! 
If you do scrapbooking or just love papers like I do, those big square papers would work as well as a “placemat”.
Decorative bowls and plates: If you have a Japanese tableware store near you, sometimes they would carry a set bowls of the same style, but in different colors. These are perfect for dishes and you can just use the color that suits your dish.
Kristen here – I’d like for all the photos to have before/after shots, but Niki’s unique use of a shower curtain as a backdrop and her tips were too great to leave out!
Photo Title: Time for Tea
Blog Name: Stella Dolce Photography Blog
Equipment Used: Canon 30D, 18-55mm lens
Setup Details: A table was placed right next to a window to use the natural light. The backdrop is actually an old shower curtain that I thought complimented the cup and saucer really well.
Additional Tips: Take several shots with different things in focus. You never know which shot will look better than the one previous to it just because of a slight focus shift.
Title: Breakfast Cereal Muffins
Blog: Dine & Dish
Equipment: Nikon D80, 50mm Lens
Technical details: Aperture f/2.2, ISO 200
Photo Editing: I used Photoshop CS with Indie Subtle Color Action, pumped up brightness a bit by increasing curves and increased saturation slightly.
Setup Details: It was a cloudy, rainy day, so I had to set up as close to a window as possible. I opened the blinds and put the muffins on the table near the window. I used a piece of white poster board on the opposite side of the window to bounce the incoming light off of.
Props: Green napkin, cup and saucer
Additional tips? I often buy individual cloth napkins from Target when they are on clearance (which is often). I feel like the napkins just add an extra bit of warmth to the photo.
