Controlling reflections on your subject has to be one of the trickier skills to master in photography. It's a deep and nerdy topic to dive into, but this video is specifically about food photography and how simple changes in your shooting angle can dramatically affect the final image.
In his latest video, food photographer Brandon Figueroa of Fig and Light explains how this works in a clear and detailed fashion. Be sure to take in everything he's saying because it's information that can be applied to many forms of photography. Indeed, it could be argued that all of photography is essentially about reflections — it's how we see things. I think that once you're able to grasp this fundamental concept, photography can become more intuitive.
In food photography especially, we hear a lot about diffusion versus hard light. And while these are, of course, supremely important factors to consider, I feel that experimenting with angles tends to get lost along the way sometimes. No doubt, seasoned professionals know and understand how important this is, but this is more aimed at those of us looking to raise our skill levels from that of a decent amateur image-maker to something more rounded and confident.
Have you been neglecting your reflections?
