Lately, I have been so frustrated with photography! A few weeks ago, I determined that I would not post things that did not have a decent photo. I just adore sites with beautiful photography like this one and this one and this one.
I was feeling really sad about the ugly old Horitiki image that wasn’t even 1/100th as appetizing as the actual salad. But, I wanted to post the recipe, so I did it. When I scan back over old posts, I cringe at the over-flash filled Greek salad bowl.
It guess it is all about the natural light and as the days get shorter and I spend most of my natural light filled hours at work, I fear the problem will get worse. Finally, I posted the little story about my neighbors even though the photo was dark and blurry but I was a little sad about it. In the past weeks, I made a yummy tomato and basil soup and a delicious Pork with Marsala Sage Sauce. The recipes were good, the photos were not.
Bad photography…To post or not to post, THAT is the question. Luckily, I am going to spend a few days with a photo expert where I hope to revive my inspirations and pick up a few tips!
September 25th, 2007 at 1:50 am
You don’t know how many times I’ve gone through this same phase! And there are several good recipes I made that I never posted because I thought my photos just weren’t good enough for my blog. But you know what? It’s not just the photos that people want. They want the food, they want the writing, they want to share an experience with you. I just read the story about your neighbors and I loved it! And I loved
the photo too because the photo itself tells a story. I’ve found that my photography really suffers when I start worrying too much about it. Lately I haven’t had much good light at all and most of my photos have had to be “fixed” in photoshop. I used to hate that. But now I just try to focus on the food, the stories, and if the photo turn out great, that’s wonderful! If not, I am the only one who ever notices! There’s nothing wrong with the Greek salad photo. Of course it doesn’t look as appetizing as when you ate it, but we don’t know that! It looks good to me and makes me want to try it! That’s the most important thing :-)
So don’t let your photo insecurities hold you back! We want the food!
And some more advice…don’t spend too much time worrying about photos in the older posts. That’s another thing I used to do and I even went so far as to consider replacing all the old ones that I thought were so terrible. But now they’ve grown on me. They’re a part of me and a part of my blog and I wouldn’t change a thing!
Whew! Sorry about this ridiculously long comment…maybe I should have e-mailed you! hahaha! Take care!
September 25th, 2007 at 3:01 pm
Wow Nicole, thanks. Such kind words from a master!!!! Sometimes I forget that blogging is for fun!
September 25th, 2007 at 4:25 pm
I had a “my pictures all suck” moment this week too (not the first time, either). I’ve vowed to sign up for a digital photography class once I can scrape together the cash to buy an SLR. Nicole’s right, though, writing about food is a combination of the food, the narrative, the visual and the perspective of the individual. I dig all four of these things here at whipped and will come back for more conversation from around the table. Don’t forget that as a hostess (virtual or otherwise), you have to be having fun for your guests to have fun, so relax, pour yourself a cold one and enjoy yourself, that’s why we do this, right?
P.S. Maybe the limes with bad hair days weren’t magazine quality images, but I think of them every single time I juice a lime now. ;)
September 25th, 2007 at 6:55 pm
what? are you nuts! your blog rocks sooo hard! it’s true what people are saying. images are just one part of the story. WE LOVE YOU WHIPPED! your words are worth a million pictures, or something like like.
September 25th, 2007 at 8:30 pm
I can relate. I’m unsatisfied with about 75% of my pictures. My solution is to take tons of shots and hope for the best. And natural light does rule.
September 26th, 2007 at 10:29 am
might I just say, “pshhhh!”
I have loved all of your photos! :) They have made me want to make your dishes, so they must be doing their job, right? Don’t be discouraged, I think they are all lovely…and unique because they are your own.
September 27th, 2007 at 8:28 am
Hey friends, thanks so much. I was not trying to fish for these nice compliments but… your kind words do make me want to get back in the saddle again and the connections with friends like you are a big reason to keep up blogging!
March 25th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
[...] If you have been reading Whipped, you know how much I love to bake. Well, these past 9 months have been the baking project of my life. I tend to write about food more than my personal life so I have not mentioned my pregnancy thus far, at least not directly. It certainly had something to do with my less than creative recipes in late summer, severe need for donuts now and then and emotional outbursts about things like less than perfect photography. [...]
August 21st, 2009 at 6:04 pm
This had me giggling and sympathizing. As a blogger who constantly has to apologize for her shitty photos, I know exactly where you are coming from.