| The difference between an amateur and a professional is that the amatuer will take a photo, where the pro will push themselves to get a great shot, pursue all angles, and exhaust all possiblities in getting a great shot.
A Cake is a cake is a cake... or is it?: To illustrate how to 'push' for better details images, I'm going to narrow in on the cake shot. Almost every wedding has a wedding cake that 'demands' to be photographed. It's part of the day which in a few hours will be consumed, so the couple will want nice photos of it. Well, that's easy. Just take a shot...
The wedding cake - basic shot.
Lighting: The first thing you want to do is provide nice lighting, if the cake isn't already illuminated enough for a nice exposure. No direct flash here (that's for amateurs!). You want light coming across the cake so you'll see details via the shadows. Turn your flash head to the side and bounce off the wall like I did in the above shot. The wall in this room was not a neutral color, but I was able to fix the color cast within Photoshop.
But the above shot is basic. Most amatuer or new photographers would stop here. But don't. Think about it and push yourself to do something more...
Zoom in close for more detail shots...
Have fun composing a neat image showing more detail. Play with a smaller depth of field. Think 'out of the box'.
Use room lighting to your advantage. If they don't help illuminate your image, it's still nice to have lighting elements in the background on occasion. The DJ's mirror ball is shown in the background of this image.
Shoot the cake from above. With a wide angle lens, I hold my camera above it, lock focus, pull the trigger and verify cropping with the LCD screen. (Hint: make SURE to have a good grip in the camera!)
Look for detail shots that incorporate the cake.
The photojournalistic cake shot: Look around, find an interesting background to shot toward or wait till there's something else interesting to 'add' to the cake shot. Get an image that shows MORE than the cake and attaches the cake to the reception...
Guests looking at the cake is truly part of the story. Notice how this is the first image that shows 'more' of the reception. You see more of a 'story' with images like this.
This shot was taken with available light. Even a windowless hotel ballroom can look good!
A new 'vision' of detail. Now zoomed in showing the bride and groom in the background. Taken during dinner.
Sometimes you'll also find other parts of the reception hall to compliment the image (or you'll wonder if we're about witness a 'cake abduction from ballroom UFO's!')
You're not done when the cake has been cut!!
And, just in case, you didn't notice, all the above shots were taken of the same cake, in the same place, in the same room. I didn't alter anything.
More details: The Still Life Study of the Cake shot above is just an example to show you there are lots of ways to get the details. Look around for any and ALL details that help tell the story. They are everywhere! Think about ways to photograph each detail in a pleasing way or how to incorporate the detail into the story or the day. Use different and/or odd angles! Think 'out of the box'! Have fun!
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