It has taken a number of adjustments and even more emails to figure out this whole light box thing. Every day since we started, I feel our pictures getting better, cleaner, sharper, and more polished; they are becoming refined. Although to be honest, some days it feels as though we take two steps forward and one step back. This can usually be attributed to user error, often mine, although the end result (eventually) is that we learn how to take better pictures with every photo we shoot.
It’s easy to forget to push yourself. It’s a mantra that we repeat so often in the kitchen that sometimes it slips my mind during other occupations. Fortunately, there is almost always someone nearby to help get me back on track. Thankfully, we have readers who know more about photography than we do. After a recent flurry of emails, we have made some adjustments and tweaks, and now our pictures are truly popping. They make me smile.
What is ironic is that the pictures we took just two and three days ago made me smile as I thought that they just could not get better. And still, I sent out requests for honest feedback because I know that we have a lot to learn about photography. The response we received contained well-thought-out guidance and practical assistance for our photography and editing.
This morning, as we were stripping down the essence of a dish, we employed our new knowledge. The dish is a hot encapsulation of our apple and cheddar soup topped with shaved white spring truffles, Benton’s country ham, and parsley leaves. In order to show a bit of contrast in the dish and the photography, we have for your comparison a picture of the original apple and cheddar soup with black truffles, parsley, and apple sabayon taken just a few days ago. The lighting components are exactly the same in both pictures. The refinement is the difference.