The Click Happy Album - March 2014

This month we have received an overwhelming number of photos at our facebook group ( I have been working on this post since last 4 days) !! It has become a fun, lively place with loads of food photos, tips and interesting conversation doing rounds!!
To know more about the group you can visit the original post here.
If you haven't joined the group, do it soon coz you are missing out on lots of fun..
Thanks a lot to all those who shared their pics and their thoughts!! We are learning a lot from all the discussion and the information shared on the group.
Now without talking much I'll share the album for the month of March as there is lot to talk there :)

Priya Elias

We liked the first one better. The colors are great and Priya made me want to buy a marble mortar pestle set with this pic!! The fact that Priya had removed the curry leaves from center to show off the fish and the mango also went well. The only critique was that in the 2nd image we would have liked to see the leaves facing us rather than the stem.

This one was a very well liked image on click happy. Loved the surface, light and the mood. Priya wanted to know if the tomatoes and the parsley on top were distracting. We were not sure about this, so asked Priya to do the retouching and she posted this image.

Now the original looked better.

Priya went out of her comfort zone to take a white on white image and she did a great job!! Lighting is great in both the images. Out of the two second one looks better due to composition (probably too much empty space in top left in first image). Then she posted the one with the dividing line intact and it looked better than the first one.

This was the first image from Priya's new camera on Click happy!! We are so happy!! It was a well liked image with nice light and colors. The nitpicker (me ;) ) said that the handle of the tawa looked a little distracting.

Though Priya was worried about the blown out white fritter, we didn't really mind it much. We loved the lighting, the idea of using coconut shell and the garnish of green chili. Though we nitpicked that the handle (spoon) was looking a little out of place.

Shobha Keshwani

We felt that the 2nd image looked better. in the first one the yellow bowl looked a bit distracting.

The simple approach and the garnish look good. The light in the first one is good while in second one it needs improvement. Somehow both the images look blurry.

The styling in this image is good. But if the edges of the bowl were not cropped, it would have looked better. Some spoon or fork may add nice touch. The light has room for improvement. Clarity is a bit less and there is some noise in the image. With respect to the dividing line in the background, the image looks a little tilted. Can be easily corrected in post processing software.

We liked simplicity of the image. Here we feel that though pretty the serving bowl doesn't somehow go with the food. A little garnish and a bowl with smaller mouth would make the curry look better. And then Shobha posted the below image. It was liked better, but we would have loved it, had it been filled more and was rotated a little to make an angle.

These are a nice bunch of photos. They looks sophisticated. Composition too is good. The third one was my favorite with nice light and clarity of image. Though the brown thing in background was a bit of distraction. By changing angle of plate the image may look even more interesting. Priya liked controlled business in the first one. Though some re arrangement in the cloth underneath may help, but it was overall liked.

We feel this one is nice and we loved the fabric of the bread basket. We felt that this once can be improved with little garnish on the daal and little sharpening in some post processing software. One thought was that the pic look busy in a good way, while another thought was that somebackground items didn't seem to belong in the pic, like the small bowl of pickle. And then Shobha posted this pic which was liked better than the original one.

This looks like nice and clean image. It bothered a little that the bowl and the soup sticks were cropped. The  suggestion was to remove black line at the bottom in some post processing software.

Out of all the sheera shots, this one was the most favorite. The plate and the light looks good. Thought it would have been better had the sheera was filled to edges. It would have been good to get the right hand edge of the sheera in the picture as it is highlighted and the eye goes to that portion.

The one with sheera in the bowl looks great!! The light is good, the garnish is good, the sheera mounded in the bowl looks good. Still going a little away and giving a little more space around the sheera may make it look better. The clarity looked a little less.

Shobha wanted to know which one looked better. And unanimously it was the second one.

The overall setting of this image was well liked. The blue contrasted well with the rolls and the board underneath looks good too. The critique was that there is too much of towel in the pic and it grabs attention. The Shobha posted the below pic. Though in this one there is less of towel, the angle seemed better in the first one. 

Linsy

This innovative dessert can become the star of the photo had the background been plainer or with smaller design. If the tilt and lighting is also taken care of the image will instantly improve! Also one suggestion was to have someone hold the spoon to show off the dessert.

This delicious looking thali can look even better if the background was plain. The top down view would have been more interesting, also having the kheer katori inside the plate would make it look better. If flesh was on, it should be turned off.

Linsy promised that she would change the fonts in the next batch. We felt that the third one though too tightly cropped was the best of the lot as the color pops more. The angle too was found to be a bit odd. Now that the spring is here, we would love to see Linsy taking pics in daylight. Priya was wondering how does Linsy manages to take all the step by step pics!! We get exhausted doing it!! I too want to know Linsy!!

They are much better photos. We felt that the first one can improve further with some light fill and contrast. The light in the second one looked harsher. Also changing the spoon's position to 2 o'clock may improve the photo.

Linsy felt that the first one looked better and everybody agreed that it indeed looked better as it had better light and curry texture. One suggestion was to use watermark rather than colorful text as it doesn't distract rather enhances the image. Though it felt a little too tightly cropped.

Rafeeda

This was a well liked image. The suggestion was to do something about the double toned cloth in the front as it was proving as a distraction. This pic may also benefit from a little white balance correction.  BTW this made us want a food photography corner of our own in our homes. Hope we get that soon :)

This is an overall good pic. The composition too is good. But the tilt is a little discomforting.

This delicious and healthy date cake was shot at night. The suggestion was to have a spaced out shot so that the background cake and the fork in the front can be easily visible and be appreciated. One more suggestion was to remove the background cloth. The white balance too seemed a bit off, so filling light or correcting it using some post processing software was suggested.

Rashi

These images were overall liked. While some of us felt that the first one was better. The light and contrasting effect are good. We weren't sure if the mats were going with the sophisticated look of the shot. Also the scratches on the table needed some retouching. in the second one it may have been better to go with two juice filled glasses with grapes scattered below.

This holi special thandais look great in outdoor setting. The idea, light and composition too are great. The rose petals on top too look beautiful. Despite being busy, this works! This image made some of us want to go out and click!!

Out of the two, 2nd image was better liked. Lighting and color are great in both the images. In the first one the statue proved a little distraction as it grabbed all the attention. The only suggestion i the second one was to retouch the little peaking napkin in the left.

This was a well liked image. Th composition, the light and especially the background were liked. The dark background is giving nice contrast.

Tanya

Tanya wanted to know how to reduce highlights while shooting raita. The suggestions were to keep the raita  in a dark colored bowl and away from light source and sprinkling some red chili powder. If the light is soft enough then highlights may be less in a white bowl too. The highlights can be corrected in post processing software too. The plating and garnish in the image looks good. The light too is good. But the first image needed some cropping.

Lisha

We loved the light and the garnish here. Lisha also shared her secret of the black backgroun - A Saree!! This one may benefit from a little straightening as the tilt is a bit bothering. We would also like to see a little higher angle.

This healthy soup's photo has good light. But it looks a little blurry too. Also it would be better to use a white serving bowl and a different spoon. The bottom part of the image looks a little blurred. 

This crispy crunchy vada are nicely arranged here. Though using a different serving bowl (like crockery) in place of steel one would have been better due to reflection. Also it would have been better had the the serving bowl was flatter. Some garnish of curry leaves too may help adding a nice touch.

Priya Ranjit

We all were surprised that this crystal clear image was taken using phone! Priya shared that it was an i-phone 5s image!! While we all loved the bowl and the food and the light and the clarity, we all felt that though pretty the background cloth was a bit distracting. A plain lightly textured background would have worked better (white or black). With bold design it took away attention. The front shadow looked distracting, and as Priya said, she can correct it using a reflector.

Priya Suresh

The light, clarity, the board and the colors were well like in this image. The only critique was to go a little away from the food and keeping bread uncropped.

Priya Anandkumar

This is a very healthy drink. It can look better with the glass in the background removed. Also we would love to see a plainer background with better lighting. Though Priya informed us that it had been cloudy when she took the pic. She wants to have suggestions on shooting white food. Plz share if you have any suggestion.

This looks like an innovative dish. Here the suggestion was to reflect light back into the plate using a steel plate or al foil. the reflection of food in the background bowl seems to be a bit of distraction. The fonts needs to be placed somewhere else.

Though Priya was not happy with the light we feel that light is not bad. Still it can be made brighter by changing ISO and F-stop settings. The logo in the center seems a bit intrusive so is the design on the plate.

Shobha Kamath

Light is good here. But there seems to be a lot of reflection on the spoon and the bowls. Probably clicking from a different angle may help.

Light and garnish were liked in this image. But the dark corner on top left and chutney in the background looks a little distracting (it may work in top down shot). The colorful plate too takes away from food. We would have loved to see the texture of the khaman too. One very good suggestion was to keep the edge of the table out of the shot otherwise later on it may look awkward or may force us to crop more than we like. BTW Shobha's khaman pic is much better than mine..

Ranjani Raj

The first one looked better out of the two. Though the lighting seemed too harsh on the right side and the curry looks little blurred in the second one. The tilt was not very popular either. One suggestion was to crop a bit to get rid to of too much highlights on the right.

We like what we see in the glass. But outside it looks a bit too busy. The background color too is not flattering the food. The background tray design too is distracting. A zero angle shoot too may look better (she already had one in the post :) )

Anjana Chaturvedi

We liked the lighting and the image. Only suggestion was to avoid cropping the image in a way that they can't be recognised (like the red handle in the left and the kulhad on top). We would have loved to see a different angle too, may be a zero degree one.

Subha Subramanian

The light is good here, but some part of the image (like coconut) are too highlighted. Also using a different container (probably a glass one) could have made the image better. The tilt too is not very flattering. 

Shailaja Reddy

This crispy crunchy homemade popcorns would have looked better on a contrasting background. Also a taller and a smaller mothed bowl filled over the top and shot from sides would make for great popcorn image. The two lines on top can be easily removed using some post processing software.

Remya Sen

This too has similar suggestions as the below pic. It needs better food styling. Here light too is not very good. And the background cloth seems a little out of place.

We felt that this yummy biriyani will look better if styled better. The writing too is a bit of distraction. It also needs a spoon to give the inviting look. Lighting and clarity too has a little room for improvement.

Uma Nardas

This is an innovative dish of butter biscuit dahi wada. The food looks too far away and it's difficult to make out what it is from the pic. Going closer and using less distracting props was one suggestion. Or using the props in less distracting way (keeping them in background and partially cropped, or using ingredients and keeping focus on food). Lighting arrangement too needs improvement. The reflection on the table is proving to be distraction.

Me

Lighting was liked in this one and it was a well liked image. The suggestion was to wrap the towel around the tin to show that the rolls were just out of the oven. The cloth looked a little heavy. A torn piece of cloth or a kitchen towel would have worked better. (this one is actually my t - shirt ;) )

Though the first thought was that it would have been better had the paratha been easily roll-able rather than flacky, but on second thoughts this too was liked. Lighting too was perceived as good.

I needed some serious help with composition as nothing was coming to my mind, I just threw the chili and the green cloth. Priya gave some amazing suggestions: 1) Thepla on a black tawa and chili on the top 2) a broken theplu on top with chili, some old bowl or glass jar with some accompaniment in background, the green cloth too (I am excited about this one, will try it in my next flatbread shoot :) ) 3) Thepla on tawa with the green cloth around (like in her biriyani shot) same angle or the one witch shows off the stacked height.

4) May be putting a crumpled brown paper underneath and using the green cloth (as Priya liked it ). i think I may bug Priya before shoots now ;)

One suggestion for improvement was to use reflector for extra brightness.

I had to do one white on white image with blown out highlights (mainly because foodgawker rejected the one on black background ;) but they rejected this one too saying overexposed ;) ) The light, crispness and garnish were liked. The grey area in top right needed retouching. Also one question was about background napkin, if I had taken a photo without it or with a plain white napkin.

As suggested by Lisha, I tried black (contrasting background) with yellow curry, which was liked. The question was whether the focus was on highlighted part.

I had reflected light back in the bowl. It was perceived as a clean white on white image. The splattering though caused questions. The suggestion to remove the splattering came from a link Huma shared, where cotton swabs were used to remove it. Priya sometimes uses kitchen tissue papers too for this purpose!!