Great advice, thanks, I will try to Auto Contrast filter, I have never done that.

I've always been a bit put off by any Auto Adjust feature. They seem to over/under correct most of the settings. Using the manual contrast, saturation, brightness and gamma controls independently seems to work better for me.

Many people don't understand the difference between brightness and gamma and seem to avoid using the gamma (mid-tone) control.  Don't worry, it has nothing to do with any type of nuclear radiation and won't nuke your image.

The main difference is that brightness raises/lowers all of the tones equally while gamma adjusts primarily the mid-range tones, opening/deepening range while maintaining the same general range of brightness.

I agree, although my first response is to hit that auto button to save time,  I find that most of the time it doesnt work and makes my picture darker. When I have time, I tinker around with all the other buttons, color, saturation, brightness, shadows....I am a totally photographically challanged, I am trying to get to know my camera better and what it can do and my software as well. You promfh, you sound like a professional photographer and your food pictures show it.

I like using the "adjust levels" feature in Elements and Photoshop for quick adjustments.

I'm like guitarmom.  I try auto fix first and then undo if I don't like it.  I really need to get better at my post production but I've been concentrating on getting the shot right first on my camera.  I'm learning at this and my instructor keeps drilling it into my head to not have the mentality of "I'll fix it later in post production". 

Hopefully one day, I'll be as good as some of the fantastic artists that post on here!  :) 

You have an instructor? I'm jealous. I'm such a newbie!

I found a very unconventional way of taking pictures, I have french doors in my kitchen, that lets in a lot of light in mid afternoon, so I put some items on the floor in that great light, and Wow, took great pictures.  I did not have to adjust them at all. So I will have to time my cooking dinner to that mid afternoon light to try to get some great shots. We will see how it works out.

I am wondering swibirun, do you take several photos first and then fix them all and then narrow down the best one? That is what I do, I take at least 10 pictures at different angles, but each one I take, I try to make it "the one". So I have some great shots to choose from, but, I am in agreement with you, being a perfectionist (I know, that's is not good) I strive for the best in every photo and will delete it on the spot if it is not good.

 Guitarmom hit it on the head... I'm a professional photographer, and the general rule of thumb for any shots is to take many, and delete relentlessly. I generally take 10 to 20 shots of still subjects, and then whip through them. The ones that don't make me go "aaah" instantly get deleted. 

Natural light, too - I avoid using flash if I can. I never, ever use direct flash; if I DO use flash, it's bounced off my ceiling. If your camera has a hot shoe, get an external flash that will swivel and allow you to bounce the light off a wall or ceiling. However, anything non-white will impart a cast, so adjust your WB accordingly. 

On composition and cropping: I tend to be a close-cropper, so I have a bias. Generally, the thing you are shooting should fill two-thirds of the frame. Capture moistness, glistening bits and that which makes the food yummy. Short depth of field is good for food, as long as you get what you want IN focus tack-sharp. I developed a knack for food photography by lusting over amazing photos in cooking magazines. Seriously. :)

GuitarMom:

I used to be from the school of "click like hell and hope one sticks".

One of the things I am trying to be better at (note: trying) is to be more purposeful about my set up before the click. 

Fred Picker once wrote:  Second only to locating something I want to photograph, searching out the most effective camera position is, for me, the most exciting, most creative act in photography.  (Zone VI Newsletter #43)

He talks in that newsletter of walking around your still subject without camera in hand, trying to find the best composition.  He also points out that an added benefit of the tripod other than stability is that it forces a bit more patience and forethought. 

So do I practice that every time?  Heck no, I still get clicky finger, especially when I'm hungry!!!! 

But my basic practice is shoot>check histogram>check highlight screen> and then either delete/adjust/reshoot or accept the shot.

Remember, I'm just a beginner and trying to get better so take everything I say with a grain of salt.....kosher coarse or maybe even some gray salt, lol.

GuitarMom,

It was not mentioned what your eventual output for you your images would be.  Are you posting to the web or are you printing.  The basic editing is close to the same but there are considerations for printing that are quite different from web posting.  In recent years I have been sending more to print than I once did. 

brucemcdermott,

The eventual outcome for my food photos is posting them. If I know that I am going to be printing a photo, I utilize the functions on my camera more then the editing functions on my software. Boy have times changed when it comes to printing photos, when I  want a picture printed, I just log onto my local Walgreens drugstore and drag and drop my pic onto their site, pay per picture, customize what sizes I want, and pick them up an hour later.

GuitarMom,

Which camera are you using?