1. Presented by: Paul Valerio

2.  Your mobile device is now a high resolution camera with low light sensitivity that affords you instant access to the internet.  Some users are in the middle of a contract with their carrier but want to share photos. For <$150 you can get a great camera with Wi-Fi and it fits in your pocket.

3.  Apple and Droid  To focus and meter, tap the screen on the area you want sharp. This should be your subject.

4.  Feb 16, 2016: Editor and Chief of Bon Appétit magazine, Adam Rappaport, discusses the popularity and accepted practices of mobile device food photography and blogging. His tips from the CBS Morning News follow…  Use natural light  Capture the image directly overhead  Edit and use filters, but not too much  Post no more than once a day (1 to 3 photos)  Don't stage the picture  Quality over quantity

5.  Use existing/ambient light first and foremost  Diffused window light is best.  Avoid flash unless it is bounced or diffused.  Make sure there’s sufficient light.  Natural or manmade.  Move the food to the light or the light to the food.  Use a reflector to reduce shadows or change temperature.  Silver or gold foils

7.  Unless it looks horrible or combats the presentation.  Why? The overhead capture intends to alleviate distractions such as clutter and anomalies like rogue highlights. Your subject should be the brightest clearest item in the frame.

8. Every plate is different! Only one shot works! Neither are shot overhead

9.  Snapseed, Instagram, & LR mobile are great products  All three are free (LR w fee if you sync desktop)  Instagram lets you edit but is geared toward filters & posting on Instagram, lets you simultaneously post in Twitter and Facebook. (Hit 3 places with 1 post)  Snapseed lets you edit, even with a brush, and you can share anywhere.  LR Mobile lots of tools, nondestructive edit to original.

10.  Combine Bon Appetit’s advice of quality over quantity and post once per day.  Going to a dinner? Share 1 to 3 photos per day and you will be more relevant than those who use the machine gun method posting 100 photos in one night.  One post can go to multiple venues ▪ (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, etc)  Share your passion and don’t get into a competition over quantity or being first.  Take multiple shots of each plate changing the light and or angle.  Share your best shot, not all shots.

11.  I disagree a little.  A plate’s presentation IS a staging in itself.  Making sure a scene doesn’t contain a soiled napkin isn’t staging, it’s scene cleaning.  It’s better to not have any fork than to have a gratuitous fork at some intrusive angle.  A plate at a fine dining experience is not a hamburger and coleslaw on a picnic bench and vice versa. Let them be themselves, let them look natural.  Sometimes a slight slant can help your plate on non- overhead shots but watch your sauces…

12. Can you see the staging fails? A plate of food by itself is always a safe bet!!!

13.  Your plate can die, shoot it as soon as it is plated  Food can dry out; shoot fast, brush with fat, or spray with Pam  Acids and heat can wilt vegetables  Salt can draw water out of food  Let’s see a very brief example

15.  You’re not limited to the finished product. From the farm to the table are important chapters in today’s food blogs. Put a chef in a chicken coop or a blueberry patch, you have social media gold!!

16.  Angle and composition  Lighting  Highlights and shadows  Soft light vs. harsh light and diffusing  Bouncing, reflecting, & temperature  Tap to focus

17.  Your subject is most important  Highlights and shadows  Saturation/Vibrance/Temperature  Sharpening  Once you’re happy, it’s time to share

18.  Questions?  Thank you for having me!