Customer Reviews

Plate to Pixel: Digital Food Photography & Styling

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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!

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!

This book is the best one I have seen to help improve my food photography. It is written in a conversational style that was easy to understand. My favorite part are the pictures and diagrams.The book is filled with hundreds of delicious looking food photos! I would suggest it to anyone who wants to learn more about what goes into making a great food picture!

I opened the book to read it on Sunday and finished reading by Tuesday! Neither because I know most of the book contents, nor the book has no contents except some gorgeous photos by the author! The book has almost 260 pages of useful information! But, because the book is written in such a beautiful style. As if someone is whispering in your ears. Also the information flow very smoothly and free of clutter of technical stuff although the book covers most of food photography aspects.

At the beginning I ignored and skipped the parts that talk about exposure, Aperture and Shutter speed and went directly to the parts of interests. After reading one chapter of those, I went back to the beginning of the book and read it from first page to the last. Even I read the information I already know. I don't know why but I felt inspired.

The author is a French came to USA in 90s and worked in several restaurant before she became the master chief of pastry for a French restaurant.

At the beginning she was photographing the pastry she make for the other colleague to make the same when she goes for vacation. In 2006 she left the restaurant job and started her award winning blog [...] and devoted her time in cooking , designing and photographing food.

Soon she progressed and became a professional food photographer and her photos published in national magazines such as Elle Magazine, Forbes Magazine and others

In the first chapter: a talk about the light in general and the importance of it to make a photo and some basics about how to deal with light and find it.

Second chapter is devoted for the talk about photography basics like Exposure variables and how to balance. Then a talk about light and controlling the white balance. At the last, a talk about the camera modes.

Third chapter is for the natural light and the characteristics of softness and hardness and how to control that using available tools. Then a talk about the direction of light and applying that in food photography.

In the fourth chapter: here where the artificial lights enter into the picture. A talk about equipment used as lights Scrim panel and some setting for them. Then a talk about the popup flash and how to utilize it in food photography. Then a little talk about triggers followed by a talk about soft boxes and their uses.

Fifth Chapter: Composition in food photography, this is where we start getting in to food photography business. A talk about where to put your subject - the hero - and centered subject in food photography. Then a little talk about the famous Rule of Thirds! Followed by a talk about the focus and its importance to make your subject pop. Then the importance of depth of field and its importance as every subject requires an appropriate depth of field. At the last of this chapter a talk about a very importance subject which is perspective and camera angle.

Chapter six is devoted for the preparation of the place and plate! The place you take photo at has to have some important features that make food photography a little easier safer and more fun. Also the plate has to be indicative of the food you are photographing all this along with making the scene and hero/props relation together with discussion about surfaces (backgrounds) and utilizing food height and color contrast are discussed in this chapter that ends with an important advise to shoot tethered . very important chapter and full of valuable information.

Chapter seven: a talk about food types and styling them. It covers most of the food groups like herbs and spices, pastries and nuts, fruits and vegetables, soups, fish, meat, fries and pasta, burgers and sandwiches, breakfasts and pastries. Also suits like cakes, pies, ice creams and frozen suits. Cold and hot beverages. The chapter ends with a discussion about styling kit and tools used.

Chapter eight - the last chapter of the book is for after photography related like downloading your photos from camera to your computer and the required equipment. then a discussion about copyrighting/watermarking your photos. Followed by discussion about post processing software available and the free ones of them. And finally sharing your photos in the web and printing.

The book has a section of appendixes that includes: A glossary, B equipment guide and C resources and where to get more information in this subject.

For me, the book is 100/100 and deserves all pennies paid and each minute spent with it.

The book is missing the part of post processing, but that is not so important to me. If you understand and apply the information in this book in your shoot, you will make photos that need no post processing or minimal amount of processing.

I'm about halfway through the kindle edition (on my iPad), and noticed several of the pictures did not match the captions provided. So far, I really like the book. All the information is well written and extremely useful and easy to read. I wonder if this only happens in the digital edition. I would be interested to hear if anyone else with a kindle version has noticed the same thing. If this could be corrected I would definitely update from 4 to 5 stars.

An easy, informative and entertaining must-read for food bloggers, especially new ones who don't have a photography background. Wish I would have had this two years ago. You will see an immediate improvement in your photos after reading just a few chapters. Gorgeous pictures illustrate the author's points as she guides you step by step through her thinking and picture-taking process.

I am writing a recipe book and this book helped me to understand better how to photograph a plate of food. The information in this book was organized in such a way as to help me to appreciate the different artistic style choices available and some understanding of the technical aspects necessary to improve my photographs. It helped me in several situations where, otherwise, I might have felt a bit lost in considering a professional-looking approach to each dish. Good job.

The book is very well written, and the included photographs are beautiful, rustic food photos. Even if your style of food photography is very different from the author's, there is still much than can be learned from her. Photographing food can be very different from other types of photography, and the author addresses the unique aspects of food photography, and the entire process of achieving mouth-watering photos. Although it may seem easy, anyone who has tried it understands how difficult is to achieve beautiful food photos. But it is also a wonderful avenue to truly learn and understand the fundamentals of photography--which this book teaches so well.

Other reviewers have mentioned the conversational style of this book. Photography can be very technical, and perhaps that is why it is so difficult for some to learn and explore. (I know it was for me!) The author has a gift for presenting this information in a way that is not only easy to understand, but is actually fun to read. And, if you are a visual learner, the photographs in the book do a wonderful job of showing the various techniques as well as the different camera settings. For example, she doesn't just explain depth of field and white balance, she shows you with pictures.

This book ended up being a very expensive purchase for me because it inspired me to buy a new camera. Having had an slr camera and only using it on auto, my digital camera purchases were all point & shoot cameras. I never put in the time to learn how to use my slr, so I could not justify the expense of a new dslr. But this book inspired me and gave me a desire to explore and learn photography in a way I never have before. And I longed for the control that I cannot get with my p&s camera. I know that I will re-read and reference this book constantly as I learn to use my camera and, and as I continue to explore food photography for my blog. But, with that being said--even if you have a p&s camera, there is so much you can learn from this book.

Everything in this book is helpful and easy to read. She shares a lot of tips and techniques and the pics inside are absolutely delightful. Don't think twice and order it, you won't be dissapointed!!!!