What do you ladies do? for now I have been taking them on my kitchen counter.

I want to start taking more professional photos. Do I get some fabric and drape it somewhere? and set the cake on that?

That's what I would suggest. I've seen a lot of nice cakes, but sometimes people don't realize, they left dirty dishes, or a bag of Frito's or something in the background! That totally takes away from the cake. Either that, or photoshop them!

or leaving the cake in the box.....GUILTY.

i go to the dollar stores and buy cheap wrapping paper in solid colors and use it as backdrops. I unroll it on my dining room table, set the cake on it and then have someone hold it up behind the cake about a foot or more behind the cake. Just like the seamless paper that "real" photographers use for portraits. I have lots of colors and can coordinate the colors to complement the cake. Be aware of shadows and how they fall on the cake... Take several pictures with the flash on and the flash off, a floor lamp turned on off to the side, etc to see what you like when you get the photos up on your computer or when the film is developed. Those are the best advice I can think of. I'll post a picture of some cake with my wrapping paper backdrops so you can see what I mean.

Deanna

I just take them on the counter, on the table, .... where ever. I think the important thing is the light and the quality of the picture.
Then I use a photo software and spend a little bit of time changing the background............I've been experimenting a little and getting better each time. For example I don't like to use flash because it shows all the little imperfections of your cake. So I turn all the lights in the house, open the blinds use a huge lamp with white light that I put over the cake and take the picture without flash.
I don't know anything about photography, so I take a bunch of pictures, download them and choose the best. Sometimes I have to do it 2-3 times until I find a picture that I like..... Call me OCD

You can check my pictures here at CC ( untouched) and then check them out here :

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cakeaddiction

They are not perfect, but at least you can't see the countertop or the table anymore.

Oooh, I like that look!

Too much cake!! Great pictures, Thanks for the tip.

I like to drape cloth on a corner table and then take lots of shots from different angles. My hubby actually takes better pics than me! He takes great artsy shots that look very proffesional, like the on in my avatar. So if he is home I make him take the pictures. The cloth I use in most of my pictures is actually a pink blanket of my daughters, it just seems to look really good behind everything and it has a matte pink side and a sparkly pink side, so I can choose which look I want. I think a some sort of cloth looks nice becasue you get some of the folds in the background and it gives the picture an elegant look. I have also seen people add tulle or fabric around the boards as well.

Another thing to think about is flash. Too many cakes, especially white wedding cakes, are washed out and the detail is lost. If at all possible take your pictures in the daylight and do not use flash. If you must use flash, simply step back and zoom in. The further the flash the better results you'll have. Background is also a key factor. I think a natural setting is nice but it's always important to make sure it's a clean space.

even more info in this thread:

http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-22610-photos.html