26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Technically unsound, but still valuable, October 4, 2011
This review is from: Plate to Pixel: Digital Food Photography & Styling (Paperback)
This book contains way too many technical inaccuracies.
About half the book addresses technical issues (basics, camera modes, natural light, artificial light, post-processing [unread]), it is a shame that these chapters are riddled with so many mistakes, some minor and some huge. And when there are no mistakes, technicals aspects are sometimes poorly explained. Begginners reading this book will be confused, more advanced photographers will cringe.
Dujardin is a talented artist with a good eye for composition, styling, colors and lighting, but is sadly lacking on the technical side. She compensates for this with her own artistic sense, but alas she tries to explain photography in technical terms and fails.
She should have either steered away from technical discussions, or have those chapters written (or at least proof-read) by a more technically competent photographer. I would not recommend this book (in the present edition) to someone starting out. Or perhaps I'd tear the first half off and attach some better resources to it (ie :
Understanding Exposure for basics, and Strobist.com for artifical light)
Some examples of inaccuracies :
Minor :
- some captions not matching the pictures (as in page 54, caption says "soft light" but it is hard and undiffused as described in the text)
- on p.31 the phrase "these pears were shot with a wide aperture and shallow depht of field" might lead a begginner to think these are two distinct settings.
Not so minor :
- on p.81 calling a speedlight on the camera's hot shoe an "off-camera flash" (even if you bounce the light)
- on p.73 the setup shot and description are confusing. Text seems to indicate the light goes through the umbrella, bounces on the ceiling and back at the subject, but looking at the setup it seems as if most of the light hitting the food is the light bounced from the umbrella, not the ceiling.
Huge :
- on p.60 "the light [...] was very strong, even though it was diffused, and this created a shallow depht of field" : DoF does not depend on the amount or type of light.
- on p.86 "The second bounce further further increased the amount of light[...] and this helped to create a more pleasing depht of field" : same as above.
I haven't read the less technical chapters and believe (hope) that I might yet learn something valuable from this book, but I find the above issues extremely distracting.
EDIT : I have now finished reading the book. While I stand by my previous criticism, the book does fulfill its main objectives. It provides some very usefull tips for food photography, especially in the styling department (props, colors, ...) and with its beautiful pictures, it is also inspiring (both photographically and for cooking) Perhaps the "tips" could be more clearly presented (lists ?) rather than mentionned conversationnaly in the text but that is of minor importance.
I've upgraded my initial rating from 2 stars to 3.
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26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing book!, April 27, 2011
This review is from: Plate to Pixel: Digital Food Photography & Styling (Paperback)
I have just received a copy of "Plate to Pixel" yesterday and I am really thrilled! I could not put this book down (my family can testify as dinner came later than usual...).
I am amazed at how much extensive information the book provides and how clearly the information is organized throughout the book including many examples in real life situations, great pictures and illustrations, settings, tips...
The style all along is very easy to grasp and convivial. You almost feel as if the author is sitting on a chair next to you sharing a cup of coffee while explaining in detail the ins and outs. It just flows naturally and you learn so much out of it.
I would definitely highly recommend this book! The book offers a tremendous amount of useful information on both photography itself and food styling. Obviously, all pictures are amazing as you can expect for those of you already familiar with Tartelette's blog. The resource list at the end of the book is also a very nice added bonus!
I am grateful to the author for doing such hard work with such ease!
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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Tres bien!, May 1, 2011
This review is from: Plate to Pixel: Digital Food Photography & Styling (Paperback)
I'm an outdoor photographer in Maine and I became interested in food photography this past winter. What I quickly found out, however, is that I'm not terribly good at it! I found out about this book through the author's Tartelette blog (which I love) and I ordered it right away. The tips, techniques and advice about controlling light are spot on, and as another reviewer mentioned it is written in an easygoing style and illustrated with beautiful photographs. In addition to sparking your creativity with a camera, the book might inspire you to prepare wonderful meals, too. If you are interested in food photography for cookbooks, blogs, etc. "Plate To Pixel" is a great place to start. Bravo, Madame Dujardin!
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