Ignore the advice from gilded-fork professionals whose work appears in Bon Appétit. What do they know outside their successful careers? They pursue perfection, whereas most of us just want a clear snapshot of our meal. If you’re with me, tune into the New Jersey Diner edition of food photography tips.

It’s fun to shoot your food, whether you’re sadly dining alone at home or pigging out at some snazzy joint like Subway or Dairy Queen. Some people share snaps of their bountiful repast on social media sites, and others save the images so they can remember what they ate when they get home. Me, I’ve made a habit of shooting supper whenever and wherever I travel—since nearly all travel has some sort of food consumption involved—and I associate the pictures forever with the trip. Even those times when I got severely sick in Kuala Lumpur (tainted goat) and Kenosha, Wisconsin (too many cheese curds).

Get the Color Right
To make any feast look more delicious—or at least nonpoisonous—use a custom (manual) White Balance setting on your digital camera. It takes just a minute to do, and 45 seconds of that are time spent rereading the owner’s manual. Using the correctly-adjusted WB setting means your whites turn out white, your reds stay red and your greens are still just as tasteless as before, but at least the color is correct.

The Science Behind Food Color
My college anthropology professor told us the ability to discern and identify colors was a crucial survival skill that saved our ancient ancestors from befriending poisonous snakes and consuming unripe vegetables or overripe fruit.

Overripe fruit can behave as an intoxicant—you don’t want to do a header into the macaroni salad, right? I can hear you now. “Honest, officer. All I had was two fermented plums at brunch and some sort of toasted avocado—or something that sounds like that—I promise.”

Which leads us to a delicate question. Ever wonder why your ever-loving partner sometimes serves dinner by candlelight? Well, wonder no more—it has nothing to do with romance—it’s so you can’t see the true color of what you’re being fed. Food that’s an unfamiliar hue is instinctively perceived as unappetizing, so we don’t eat it and thereby escape food poisoning. If you don’t believe me, add a few drops of tasteless blue food coloring to the mashed potatoes when no one is looking and watch how your family reacts.

Equipment
You can use just about any camera, even a phone (if you must — ugh). The sushi pictured here was shot with an ancient (but still wonderful) Nikon D90 and a Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 zoom. That camera just happened to have been what I was carrying that afternoon when we stopped to eat some raw fish. It could have just as easily been a Canon point-and-shoot, Sony mirrorless full-frame or my favorite Fujifilm X-T5. Or anything else.

Technique
Use the close-up setting if you’re using a compact camera. It’s the little icon that looks vaguely like a flower. (I wonder how meaningful that symbol is to people who live in the desert or on the rapidly disappearing frozen tundra?)

Also, be wary because many popular compact cameras are equipped with zoom lenses that begin at the otherwise wonderful 24mm focal length. Do not, I repeat, do not photograph the person sitting 30 inches away from you on the other side of the table with a 24mm wideangle lens unless you want them to look like a toad’s eye view of a garden gnome. Wideangle lenses make noses (and anything else close to the camera) appear unnaturally large. No—instead use that distortion to make your minimalist one-ounce Nouvelle Cuisine minnow fillet appear humungous.

Sit near a window if you can (and it’s daytime, of course) and luxuriate in the natural light. Outdoor dining works even better. I try not to be excessively obnoxious or attract too much attention while shooting my meals because a) my wife has a vicious left jab that can break a rib without leaving an external mark, and b) the floor in my garage is way too hard to sleep on comfortably, even with the dog. Besides, you don’t want the restaurant manager to mistake you for an online influencer and offer to comp your grub in exchange for a 5-star rating.

Be Aware of Motion
Watch out for steam that can rise from fries (or whatever) and fog your lens. This is one of the many challenges that make it difficult to photograph food that’s still cooking. Also, beware of anything on your plate that’s still moving. While ambulant food might make a cute movie, it’s best avoided.

Don’t Be Shy But Don’t Overstep, Either
In general, refrain from photographing food that’s on strangers’ tables, no matter how delicious it looks—that’s frowned upon at most sit-down restaurants. If you can’t resist it, at least introduce yourself first, and be sure to get a signed a model release. And no nibbling. That said, freely snap your own vittles and don’t let anyone stop you.

Have a Little Fun Post-Processing
Use Adobe’s Generative Fill feature to mix up the menu. Replace broccoli with live frogs or carrots with ripe reptiles. Don’t show it to anyone, needless to say. And please don’t mention where you got the idea.

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If you never venture out with a camera after dark, you’re missing out on a bunch of great photo opportunities. Landscapes can take on an awe-inspiring look, and urban scenes that appear boring during the day transform into magical tableaus full of sparking lights, interesting reflections, and vivid colors.

Unfortunately some photographers pack it in as soon as the sun drops below the horizon because of a misconception that night photography is beyond their skills. This eight-minute primer will disabuse you of that notion and provide the necessary confidence for to get out there and prove that nighttime is the right time.

Instructor Justin Carey just launched a new YouTube channel that explores the rewards of his creative life with a camera. In this episode he describes the basics of night photography and explains the necessary camera settings so you can immediately begin making beautiful photos in any low-light situation. He designed this lesson for beginners, but experienced photographers will pick up a helpful tip or two as well.

Carey admits that this genre can be intimidating to the uninitiated because some of the typical rules don’t apply. For those wondering why they should bother learning these new techniques, Carey says this: “First everything looks more interesting at night. Secondly, nighttime creates a landscape all its own, with the craziest things that you never see during the day.”

Bottom line, the more time you spend shooting at night, the more weird and wonderful scenes you’ll discover. No special gear is required to capture dramatic photos, so whatever camera you own will do fine. Even most point-and-shoot cameras and modern mobile phones include custom night photography modes. And, yes, a tripod or other form of camera support is important.

Carey describes the camera settings he prefers, being careful to note that these aren’t absolute rules, but rather suggestions for a starting point that’s subject to experimentation. Some “purists” may disagree, but Carey recommends starting in Aperture Priority mode—at least until you get the hang of things.

After covering exposure and other technical matters Carey discusses a few other important considerations for shooting at night. These include advice for keeping yourself (and your gear) comfortable and safe—especially when you find yourself in unfamiliar or “dodgy” territory.

After watching the lesson head over to Carey’s new channel and give it some support. Then check back often to see what else he has to offer.

And don’t miss the tutorial we posted earlier from another of our contributors, with a very helpful primer on using your camera’s light meter to capture perfectly exposed photos.

Lightroom’s HSL sliders are so easy to use that it’s rather surprising that so many photographers ignore them when editing their work. If you’re among that camp, today’s quick tutorial will likely change your mind.

As the acronym HSL suggests, these simple sliders enable you to quickly modify the Hue, Saturation, and Luminance of a photo. By using these tools in tandem you’ll be able to quickly enhance a photo—often turning a ho-hum shot into one that really grabs attention.

The video below is episode seven of a 20-part series explaining basic Lightroom tips for photographers of all skill levels. It only takes instructor Klaire Dixius five minutes to explain what HSL sliders do, and how to put them to work.

While his lesson is targeted at portrait and wedding photographers, the techniques you’ll learn can be used to enhance just about any photos you shoot. Dixius says HSL adjustments may not be necessary for every edit, but they are extremely helpful in certain situations—like in her example of an environmental portrait where vivid green grass biases skin tones of the bride and groom.

Dixius pulls up the HSL sliders, found within Lightroom’s Develop Module, to demonstrate the quick fix. The panel enables you to observe colors individually, but Dixius explains why she prefers to examine all of them at once. She notes further that, “When I’m trying solve color casts on skin, I’m really looking at those orange and yellow areas.”

You’ll see how she eliminates the unnatural green hues in this photo by “doing the opposite.” In other words, she brings down the reds to a value of -10 while slightly dropping Saturation and slightly increasing Luminance to lighten the effect. She also decreases yellow Luminance and Saturation.

Dixius also explains of how to fine-tune your results by using Lightroom’s Hue Slider. Then she provides an example of how Lightroom’s HSL sliders can make a big difference when shooting photos indoors. The example here is a bride and her father dancing on a hardwood floor with a decidedly orange tone that provides an unnatural cast to the skin tones of her subjects,

What makes HSL tools so easy to use is that you can simply experiment by moving the sliders, while watching the effects on your screen, until you achieve the exact look you’re after. Typically the goal is a natural looking image, but simple special effects or different moods can also be achieved.

After watching this quick lesson take a look at Dixius’ YouTube channel where you can view past and future installments of this popular Lightroom series.

And don’t miss the tutorial we posted from a top pro recently, explaining  a simple Lightroom method for transforming boring cityscapes into amazing Blue Hour photos.

The Insta360 X3 is an interesting action camera. Even though it targets the GoPro in some ways, it is a radical departure in terms of form factor, thanks to a pair of fisheye lenses on the front and back. Does it deliver on the promise of 360-degree video, 360 panorama capture, and good image quality thanks to the 48MP sensors? Should traditional photographers and videographers consider adding the X3 to their bag? Find out in this field review!