Use a fast shutter speed
to freeze moments of
liquid or steam
Capture
9 motion
Pouring liquid, whether it’s maple syrup on
pancakes or gravy onto a roast dinner, is a
surefire way to inject action into food photos
and make them look even more delicious.
Moving elements, such as steam from hot
food, can also be captured to make dishes
look more ‘real’ rather than staged, appealing
to the viewer’s senses.
You’ll need to shoot with a fast shutter
speed, so Shutter Priority is a sensible
exposure mode to use. Compose your scene
and lock it off on a tripod, then focus and
lock this off, too. Your lens might struggle
to focus on steam, so switch to manual
focus if this is the case. Set a wide
aperture such as f/3.5 and increase the
ISO until you have a shutter speed of
around 1/200sec or faster.
It’s helpful to put the camera into a
high continuous burst mode, so that it
will take multiple shots as you press
the shutter button down – increasing
your chances of capturing a shot at the
perfect moment.
You’ll likely find it easier to work with an
assistant for liquid shots, so they can pour
onto the dish as you take a burst of images.Mouth-watering moment
A fast shutter speed will capture
liquid pouring and dripping,
appealing to the viewer’s senses
© Getty Images
TECHNIQUES