My 5 Favorite Food Photography Props

I think we can all agree food photography doesn't "just happen." Most images of food online are staged to make the food look as pretty as possible. If my food photography was "real" pictures of my food, you'd probably see a lot more images in bad light, on the couch with maybe a glass of wine nearby and Parks and Recreation playing in the background. Real life.

In order to make food look as delicious as possible, it helps to have some props! Props can get spendy pretty quickly, but most of my favorites are probably already in your kitchen! Of course there are tons of fun props to use, but these are the five I find myself using constantly. This post from Pinch of Yum is full of more great ideas! Also, if you're looking for some very basic food photography tips, this post might help.

Now, my top 5 food photography props!

1 // Cutting board Definitely my most used prop. My kitchen doesn't have great lighting (it's horrible actually), so taking pictures on my kitchen table doesn't really work. So in order to get the light, I photograph my food outside on my back deck. I use the cutting board to give a nice clean background, and to kinda give the allusion of a kitchen table. The bigger the cutting board the better!

White Chocolate Chip and Almond Matcha Cookies

life is good.

Yes, the past month or so have had their ups and downs. But looking through my Instagram photos helps me realize how sweet the ups have been. Lots of kitty snuggles, good food, warm fires, antiquing, and being with my boy. Life is good, even when it's hard.

olloclip: macro lens

A few days ago, Tommy surprised me with an olloclip, and I have been loving it! An olloclip is a small, three-in-one lens clip for your Iphone. The clip includes a macro lens, wide angle as well as a fish-eye lens. One of the really cool things about the olloclip is you can use it with instagram, vscocam, or any other app you love!

I have only been playing with the clip for a few days, but I have been having so much fun with the macro lens! Macro photography has always been something I wanted to try, but was out of reach due to the hefty costs of macro lenses. I feel like the clip is worth the price because of the macro lens alone! 

Yes, the photos are a little grainy and you need an extremely steady hand in order to focus. But looking at stuff through a microscope is so awesome! I went out into my yard and went exploring, it's amazing how different everything looks with a macro lens!

Do you have an olloclip? What do you think of it?

Brittney and Adam's wedding

 Last Saturday, my good friend Brittney got married to her boyfriend Adam. These two grew up in a small town, and have known each other since kindergarden. How cute is that!? Because of this, it seemed so fitting that they got married in their hometown at a family members barn.

Part of me really wishes I grew up in the country; I want an adorable barn wedding! The weather was absolutely perfect, and Brittney looked so beautiful! The newly weds are moving to Portland, so I am very grateful I was able to share their special day with them.

 The reception was full of swing dancing and country songs...so fun!

Graduation Announcements

My dad's side of the family all lives in the midwest, which kinda sucks because we rarely get to see them. So when my cousin got married in California and some family decided to swing by Seattle on their way to the wedding, we were all super excited! 

My aunt Britta is an extremely awesome photographer, and because I had graduated the week before, I asked if she could take a few photos of me for graduation announcements. The weather made it difficult, but she was able to get some great shots that I loved! She was also kind enough to design them for me too. You can find her beautiful photos on her blog, and the post about my grad announcements here. Thanks again Britta, you seriously rock!

Megan and Adam's Wedding

On Saturday Tommy and I attended my friend Megan's wedding to her high school sweetheart, Adam. It all took place at Stepping Stones Garden in Burlington, a completely charming venue full of flowers, ivy and rustic details. The weather was perfect, the food was amazing and the ceremony was both full of love and humor. Congrats Megan and Adam!

I totally dropped the ball on taking photos while the wedding was happening, but because I got there early to do Megan's makeup I had plenty of time to snap shots of the beautiful venue! I also totally forgot to have somebody take a picture of Tommy and I...does anybody else constantly forget to ask to have pictures taken with their significant other? Ugh.

4th of July

Hope you all had a great 4th of July! Mine was really laid back and relaxing. I tended to my brussel sprouts, put a few coats of paint on my clothing rack (almost done!), made blueberry pie, and ate hamburgers with Tommy.

This blueberry pie was one of the best I have ever had. I used this recipe, and only tweaked it slightly. I used a bit more flour, a splash of vanilla and let the pie sit in the fridge for about 30 minutes prior to baking. Why don't I make more pies?

Later we decided to watch fireworks from our back yard and play with sparklers. I had never played with long exposure before, so I grabbed my camera and gave it a go! 

Loomis Dean beach shoot

Well, it's raining again. It started pouring last night and hasn't stopped. I like the rain when I get to stay inside, but all I want to do is lay outside in the sun, read Game of Thrones and eat cherries. Is that too much to ask Washington clouds?

Because of the lame weather I have been working on a clothing rack (post to come soon), and watching lots of Mad Men. How did it take me so long to start watching this show? I'm thinking about being Joan for Halloween, I just need to convince Tommy to be Sterling.

Since I started watching the show, I have been looking at the Time Magazine photo archives via Google. There are some pretty amazing photos! Here is one of my favorite shoots I have stumbled upon by Loomis Dean, called "Bathing Suit Caps And Beach Fashion California." I love the muted colors, red lips and fun bathing suit caps.

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