Taking Cake Pictures

Decorating By fcakes Updated 15 Mar 2013 , 9:40pm by Relznik

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fcakes Posted 10 Sep 2012 , 10:23pm
post #1 of 23

I see so many lovely pictures and wonderful photography that really complements and enhances the look of cakes here on CC. I was wondering if anyone has advice on how to arrange a set up at home that we can use to take such elegant pictures... I've read about DIY light boxes but how to use them when photographing large cakes... (just use a large box? lol!) Any advice would be appreciated!!

Here are some lovely examples of the look I'm trying to achieve -

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22 replies
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Crazy-Gray Posted 11 Sep 2012 , 8:08am
post #2 of 23

My best purchases were little stand alone lights- got them from Amazon- like the gorilla pod tripod thing but with an LED lamp on top. Don't use the flash on your camera just use these lights and the light in the room or through the window- you can bounce the lamp light off white card or cake boards to soften it a little too. You'd be surprised what difference a different light angle makes!

Buy some nice fabric too for backdrops, make sure it's easy to iron so not elasticated bed sheets!

Oh and turn the ISO on your camera down a bit and use a tripod- this stops the photos being too grainy when you don't use the built in flash.


HTH icon_smile.gif

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aliciabrown87 Posted 11 Sep 2012 , 8:30am
post #3 of 23

Hey, i Buy wrapping paper sheets or samples of wallpaper and blue tac them up on a wall with a side next to it (like in the kitchen) then put the cake on and take the pictures that way, then you get loads of different colours and patterns, they're not quite as good as the pictures ive looked at and what i was trying to acheive but they look better than my old pictures so im happy... for now icon_smile.gif
Hope that helps
Alicia xx

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BakingIrene Posted 11 Sep 2012 , 2:20pm
post #4 of 23

Your bottom picture was taken with a digital camera in point and shoot mode using the camera's flash.

If you want better low-light pictures, use the settings that are built in (read your manual).

ALWAYS make sure the camera cannot "see" the light source or you will have a bad exposure.

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fcakes Posted 23 Sep 2012 , 3:33pm
post #5 of 23

thanks for the tips everyone! appreciate it!

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carmijok Posted 23 Sep 2012 , 4:10pm
post #6 of 23

OK...mine aren't NEAR as good as these...but I have had some luck using an idea I found here on CC. Get two large poster boards...I use the kind with the foam core...and use one as the back drop and the other underneath. If you have a window and can get the light from the side, it works great. My problem is I live in a house with a thousand windows and it's still dark. Anyway, I've draped fabric over the poster board and once I used brown kraft paper. Sometimes I'm in such a hurry I have to take the picture at the location....but I always look for the largest neutral backdrop I can find. Again...I don't take the best pictures and I have no idea what an ISO is...but I have discovered that if you can make the background somewhat plain, the cake will stand out more.

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tcbalgord Posted 23 Sep 2012 , 4:29pm
post #7 of 23

My husband has recently started taking all my photos from my job and photo shopping the back round to be black for the book the there. I would love for him to start taking my other cakes and adding different backrounds to each.

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fcakes Posted 23 Sep 2012 , 5:03pm
post #8 of 23

thanks carmijok! I'll try the posterboards as the backdrop. They should work well icon_smile.gif

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Rosie2 Posted 27 Sep 2012 , 2:08am
post #9 of 23

This thread is awesome, thank you thumbs_up.gif ---but, can someone explain what ISO is?? I have a Canon G9 which I thought is a pretty good camera but I still take crappy pictures of my cakes icon_sad.gif

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Crazy-Gray Posted 27 Sep 2012 , 8:01am
post #10 of 23
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rosie2

This thread is awesome, thank you thumbs_up.gif ---but, can someone explain what ISO is?? I have a Canon G9 which I thought is a pretty good camera but I still take crappy pictures of my cakes icon_sad.gif


ISO is a measure of how sensitive your camera sensor is to light, the darker the subject the more sensitive (Higher ISO) you need as the sensor needs to be able to 'see' more light- but the more sensitive it is the more grainy the picture will look.
Your Cannon G9 camera is good in that, like an SLR camera, you can adjust everything to get exactly the picture you want, but this can be a real nuisance if you're not sure what all the settings mean icon_smile.gif You should have an ISO dial on the top of your G9 camera I think, try setting your ISO to 200-400 for indoor pics, lower if you're using really strong light or sunlight through a window.

4 more tips for you:

1- Google how to change shutter speed; a longer shutter speed will lighten your picture as you give the camera more time to collect light, if you use dim lights on your cake youll get a lovely soft effect. Use a short shutter speed with bright light to get really stark shadows.

2- Google how to change aperture settings, this will let you control how much of your cake is in focus which can give you a lovely effect,

3- Use a tripod or a beanbag on a chair anything to make sure the camera is totally still otherwise you get a blury shaky look- I find it helps to set a 2 second timer and stand back, it really helps get a good crisp picture icon_smile.gif

4- Take lots of pictures with lots of settings changes - I take about 40 pics per cake and chose just one for my website!

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carmijok Posted 27 Sep 2012 , 3:20pm
post #11 of 23

Thank you Crazy-Gray! Very informative!

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carmijok Posted 27 Sep 2012 , 3:37pm
post #12 of 23

Thank you Crazy-Gray! Very informative!

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Rosie2 Posted 28 Sep 2012 , 5:30pm
post #13 of 23

Ahhhh, thanks a million Crazy-Gray!! this is very enlightening, no kidding! thumbs_up.gif

I gotto play with my camera a little more icon_biggrin.gif

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missamylynn06 Posted 28 Sep 2012 , 6:05pm
post #14 of 23

Im so glad i found this! I was wondering how to get a beautiful background also. I defiantly think it, it makes your cakes more professional looking. I cannot wait to try out some of the tips on here. icon_smile.gif

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SethDesmarais1 Posted 14 Mar 2013 , 9:44am
post #15 of 23

I made a list of my favorite cakes. I'd love to call them fruitcakes, because the word has such a delightful meaning

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Crazy-Gray Posted 14 Mar 2013 , 2:16pm
post #16 of 23

A great tip for fabulous backgrounds is to change your aperture setting to the lowest possible (smallest f-number), this makes the background blurry and keeps the cake in focus, it's amazing how much it makes the cake stand out; if you can't change the aperture setting you can photoshop your pics and manually blur the background too :-)

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fcakes Posted 14 Mar 2013 , 3:12pm
post #17 of 23

I am so confused about the Aperture settings! I have a Canon Rebel XS and it has different modes for the manual settings and I don't know which mode to use to set the aperture low.... :-/ 

 

But thanks so much for all the great tips!

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Crazy-Gray Posted 14 Mar 2013 , 5:04pm
post #18 of 23

AThis site might help you :-)

photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=293874

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Crazy-Gray Posted 14 Mar 2013 , 5:05pm
post #19 of 23

A

Original message sent by fcakes

I am so confused about the Aperture settings! I have a Canon Rebel XS and it has different modes for the manual settings and I don't know which mode to use to set the aperture low.... :-/ 

But thanks so much for all the great tips!

This site might help you :-)

[URL=http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=293874]photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=293874[/URL]

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Relznik Posted 15 Mar 2013 , 8:23pm
post #20 of 23

I've done almost all of my cakes with a plain black background.  I know I don't have the photographic skills (or decent lighting, half the time) for some of the lovely backdrops I see.  But I think that if you look on my website, the fact that almost all of the cakes are on a black background looks quite good...  it's the uniformity.

 

Here's the very technical set-up I use!!!! icon_biggrin.gificon_wink.gif

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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AZCouture Posted 15 Mar 2013 , 8:58pm
post #21 of 23

Natural light! Can't say that enough. Supplemented with flash that is well diffused or bounced off the ceiling or sideways at a white piece of foam core-NEVER straight at the cake. 

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Norasmom Posted 15 Mar 2013 , 9:03pm
post #22 of 23

If you have a Mac, you can also use iphoto to enhance your photo.  Sometimes my cakes are brighter than the picture shows, so I adjust accordingly in iPhoto.  I also use iPhoto to blacken out the background, or blur it depending.  It's true, the photos make all the difference in the world when it comes to marketing!

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Relznik Posted 15 Mar 2013 , 9:40pm
post #23 of 23
Quote:
Originally Posted by Norasmom 

If you have a Mac, you can also use iphoto to enhance your photo.  Sometimes my cakes are brighter than the picture shows, so I adjust accordingly in iPhoto.  I also use iPhoto to blacken out the background, or blur it depending.  It's true, the photos make all the difference in the world when it comes to marketing!


Definitely.  The black fabric I use isn't as black, black, black as it was when I first bought it.  But it's very easy to 'enhance'.  I also make the pic brighter if I need do, etc...

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