A couple of weeks ago, we were in Eastwood City and we had coffee and dessert at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. Speedy said he just wanted coffee, Sam saw the pistachio sans rival cake on the display case and said I should order a slice for her father. Sans Rival is Speedy’s favorite cake in the whole wide world. Despite the earlier pronouncement that he didn’t want any dessert, Speedy was the first to finish his cake. He took the next two photos too.
Speedy is not a food blogger but I suppose that having a food blogger for a wife has affected his perception of composition and angle in photography.
First, a photo that shows the entire slice of cake. While an overhead shot might be good when photographing a whole cake, it doesn’t work when the subject is only a slice which has to be photographed obliquely. It’s a perfect shot really — it shows that the cake has three layers and there is icing between each layer. By taking the photo from a slightly higher position, the color of the pistachio nuts is distinct and clear.
But in food photography, there is nothing like details. Speedy supplemented the first photo with a second showing the pistachio nuts up close. Like I said, the second photo is a supplement. The first was perfect by itself.
Now, for the last example — a book shelf. How do you take photo of a shelf full of books?
Here’s a full frontal shot. It shows the shelf and the books so, in terms of composition, it’s complete.
But it looks flat.
I moved a little to the right and included the wall clock to add more interest to the photo.
But they look like they don’t belong together. They’re two unrelated objects (they’d be related if I was taking a photo of the entry study but I wasn’t) and combining them is like trying to mix oil with water.
So, I made use of leading lines. Straight lines that draw the eyes toward the subject. I mounted the camera on a tripod and positioned it at the same height as the shelf. Better? I think so. Except that it gives the impression that the height of the shelf is eye level. It isn’t. It’s a bit higher.
This is the shelf as I see it. A bit higher than my eyes. This photo works best for me although you might have other preferences, and neither you nor I will be right or wrong. Remember, you may successfully execute every composition and angle trick in the book but a photograph’s success still depends a lot on the eye of the beholder.
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that’s a very nice wall clock beside the shelf.
The last shelf photo for me, is perfect. It gives the impression that the shelf indeed is a bit higher than eye level. It’s really nice to learn something new each day.
that is an awfully small slice of sans rival! i bet bitin si mr speedy. i would be, i love this cake too!!! a nightmare to make but worth every effort.
Aha! I noticed that you have Ayn Rand’s “The Fountainhead”—great book!
Speedy’s photos are also exquisite! Maybe your being a good photographer has already rubbed off on him.
And about the bookshelf…I, too like the last one…it is at an angle and is not frontal and flat looking.
As usual, thanks for the great photos! It is good to learn through your examples.
Andeeeng, the wall clock was a lucky find in Dapitan.
Rhodora, ako din motto ko yan. Learn something new everyday. When I run out of books, I rummage through the books in the girls’ rooms and presto! New reading materials.
Gigi, LOL Ok na yun. Friendlier on his diet kuno. hehehehe
Crisma, have you tried books by Murakami and Paulo Coelho?
paulo coelho is a great read! also, isabel allende… you have a very beautiful house, ms. sassy. great taste in decoration and interior design, too. got class!!!
Thank you, Ensueño. I’m so glad I followed my instincts instead of hiring an interior decorator.
I am familiar with Coelho because of “The Alchemist” … however, I have yet to acquaint myself with Murakami. Thanks for bringing this up. While reading Coelho, oh how I wished that I had the same dexterity with language as he had…ang galing!
I love the Look of your home Ms. Connie…. i think that a furniture piece would look nice between the windows and french doors … Maybe a buffet table or something similar…
A China cabinet was what I’ve been thinking about for a long time.
Yes, i think that a china cabinet will look Nice in that space… Kasi, you already have a breakfast counter on the opposite side…
I see Amy Tan there in the bookshelf, I love her books.
I agree, your house is something else. Everything goes together.
Re: wall clock? really, that’s from Dapitan? wow.
some people always wonder why i take so many frames of the same subject what they dont understand it am actually “seeing” different angles, different frames….
Belated Happy Birthday, Connie! (just read that in another blog) The best to you and your family always! Does that make you a co-Libran? That explains so many things…James Michener (please tell me he’s somewhere in that bookshelf), French doors, crown molding in the library…Great home! Very well thought out shots. I’m tempted to eat Speedy’s sans rival right off this screen!
Thanks, Carmen. Yes, Libra. And yes, too many James Michener books beside James Clavell’s though not on that shelf but on the ones behind the wall.