Gadgetory

when you're out dining at a restaurant and you've got beautiful food in front of you you might be tempted to take a photo of it and upload it to Instagram but there's a lot more to consider than just applying a filter I'm Sharon Vaknin at Dobbs Ferry in San Francisco with a few tips on how to take spectacular food photos lighting can make or break a great food photo it can make your salad look even better than it tastes or it can make your food look like something the cat dragged in so look for a spot in the restaurant with soft natural light it'll really bring out foods natural textures and color for times when you're dining in a dimly lit restaurant do not use your Flash not only will it annoy all of the patrons around you but it's the fastest way to make your food look super unappetizing instead use what's around you right now the restaurant is pretty well lit but if it was darker I'd move this candle closer to my plate and use it to light the food and I move this stuff out of the way and hold your phone very still as you take the photo also if your phone has HDR mode now is the time to enable it once your lighting is set it's time to start thinking about composition most of us will naturally put the food in the center of the frame but you'll get a much more compelling photo if you put it off to the side and crop out some of the plate take one like that and we'll move it around it's always good to take as many photos as possible so you have lots to choose from check out these two photos the one on the right is the one I'd want to eat personally I really like the overhead angle it lets you see everything on the plate plus it just looks really tidy same rules apply here shoot off-center and crop out some of the plate that's beautiful but if getting out of your seat in the middle of a restaurant makes you feel kind of weird the 3/4 angle is the go to so those are the biggies but here are a few extra tips for really good looking food photos first always shoot the pictures as soon as the food comes out of the kitchen when it's still hot and it looks really fresh you can also create a cool-looking photo by putting a little bit of it on your fork like this so just hold the camera in one hand get some of that goodness on your fork and then bring it closer to the lens so that that's in focus and everything in the background is out of focus now is also a good time to use that focus and exposure lock option on your phone just tap and hold to set the focus now once I've got a few photos that I like I want to upload them to Instagram but first I like to apply a filter using an app called vsco cam so just add a filter give it a final polish and now it's ready for uploading now I'll just wait for the likes to come in and let everybody be jealous of my fabulous food if you have any questions or tips of your own hit me up on Twitter and check out how to sina.com for the written version of these tips for CNET I'm Sharon Vaknin you