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Food Photography Tips… gone very wrong!

 

For even more bloopers, see: Going Behind The Scenes – With A Food Blogger

Do you watch the blooper reels they sometimes include at the ends of movies?

I happen to have my own set of blooper reels. You might think, “Food doesn’t even move, so photographing food must be the easiest thing in the world,” but this is quite untrue! Food photography is a tricky—and often frustrating—subject. The best food photography tip I could ever give to you is to have a sense of humor, because sometimes things can go very wrong…

bloopers

Starting with my Single Serving Banana Pancakes.

This is what happens when you’re lazy and try to save time by taking food pictures and not using a tripod and timer. Pour with one hand, hold the camera in the other, and you’re bound to get syrup all over the place.

Not so fun to clean up, but not nearly as bad as this next example:

blooper drink

Watching the camera, I completely misjudged where to pour… And I was very sad because I’d planned to drink the shake after taking the pictures. Instead all I got to do was clean up a giant mess.

Remember how gorgeous this milkshake looked in the finished photos?

 

Now a lesson from Henry: Photo Bombing 101

dog cookies

Oh hi, Flourless Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

 

food photography tips

Hi again! Nutella Rice Crispy Treats

 

coffee cake dog

What, you mean you don’t want my beautiful face in your food photography pictures?

Coffee Cake in a Mug

 

Henry could have a degree in photo bombing. And he’s teaching Batman his evil ways…

bloopers batman

Think I’ll just help myself to some Crispy Sweet Potato Fries.

 

Dog eating cookies

Get away from those Pumpkin Stuffed Chocolate Cookies!

 

More food photography bloopers:

blooper cake

Behold, the exploding red velvet cake in a mug!

spilled milk

At the time, I actually thought this picture of my Vanilla Chai Milkshakes was artistic. I even submitted it to foodgawker… and was surprised when they rejected it! Seriously, how on earth could I not see the resemblance to bird poop?? What was I thinking?

Funny, I was just gonna go across the hall and write that on Chandler.

Then there is ice cream:

blooper

Going going… Pumpkin Cookie Dough Ice Cream

 

chocolate cauliflower cake

Gone. Cauliflower Chocolate Cake

After the ice cream fell, I decided to just give up and call it a day. Scooped the ice cream back on top of the cake, and ate all the evidence.

Part Two: Chocolate Covered Katie – What You Don’t See On The Blog

 

 

Published on May 1, 2013

Meet Katie

Chocolate Covered Katie is one of the top 25 food websites in America, and Katie has been featured on The Today Show, CNN, Fox, The Huffington Post, and ABC's 5 O'clock News. Her favorite food is chocolate, and she believes in eating dessert every single day.

Learn more about Katie

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104 Comments

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  1. Alyssa B says

    Haha eat all the evidence! This one time my sister and I made a pan of brownies for dessert while our parent’s were away. We ended up eating half the pan when it came out of the oven. We were embarrassed so we just ate the rest of the pan to hide the evidence before my parents got home. Lol.

  2. Kayla says

    This is a really funny post! Now that I think about it, one-woman food photography would be a little hard!

  3. catydid says

    I received an email from pinterest that they are deleting your pins due to a copyright violation. I do not understand why you have a pin button if you don’t want pins. It is a little daunting to get that message from pinterest and I don’t think it makes you look very good.

  4. robyn @ the freckled pie says

    this is awesome! as a new food photographer my self i appreciate all the help i can get! these pics are hilarious! xox

  5. SamICan says

    Katie, I always love your blog. I’ve been addicted since the cookie dough dip.
    Thanks for this post. It makes me feel so much better now that I am trying to get decent photos for my blog. I’ve had a lot of bloopers too!

  6. Julie says

    Well these were fun! Thanks for sharing. Someday I hope to have a blog, I’ve been practicing in my own kitchen. Sometimes it’s good other times nada.

  7. emi says

    Hi there!
    I came across your blog searching for pink smoothies. I laughed out loud at this post!:)

    Keep up the good work! 😉

  8. Josh says

    Correct food photography should be lit from behind with reflectors and diffusers in front. A professional food photographer has a team that specializes in the food preparation, this is not the photographer’s responsibility and is a different area of study altogether. There are no exceptions here, each area requires study. I would say you are a cook, and a terrific one at that, concentrate on what you do best and keeping sharing your great recipes! 🙂

  9. Lynnette says

    This is a great post. I love that your blog is filled with beautiful yummy posts and photos but you are not afraid to show the ‘blooper side’. My bloopers mainly consists of me dropping things while transporting them from the kitchen to my ‘food set’ haha.

  10. I Love To Cook! says

    Never been interested in food photography, but this was an enjoyable read. Being well written and informative; while short and to the point. Personal and technical points mixed very well, along with great pictures that matched their tips. Bravo!

  11. Angela says

    Katie, these are so funny and honest!! I especially loved the ones that Henry photobombed and the Vanilla Chai Milkshake…your commentary is priceless!! My immediate thought on that one was that the spillage looked like bird poop, then read your comment!! So funny. Thanks for sharing! By the way, I’m in the process of developing content for my first-ever blog and will definitely be linking to some of your recipes. ?

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