Time for another feedback request. This is a karahi (or kadhai) chicken photo, a traditional Indian recipe. Read more to learn what was the goal here and tell us how you would improve this photo? What would you do differently?
If you’d like to get feedback or critique on your food photos, please email me at neel[at]learnfoodphotography[dot]com
Photographing Indian Karahi (or Kadhai ) Chicken
Kulsum from Journey Kitchen took this photograph and is seeking your feedback. Below are some more details from Kulsum.
My goal :
The dish in the picture is a traditional Indian curry recipe (Karahi Chicken) but I always have a fusion element in my recipes or picture. Like wise, I wanted to present this dish in contemporary setting and yet give it an Indian and rustic look.
Technical Details:
| Camera | Canon Powershot G10 |
| Exposure | 0.005 sec (1/200) |
| Aperture | f/3.5 |
| Focal Length | 15.7 |
| ISO Speed | 200 |
Feedback
I would like to first of all know if my goal in the picture is delivered. Does it feel the way I wanted it to?
Secondly, I’m very new to the technical aspect of photography, so I would appreciate the feedback on that. I took the picture in day light. Also I’m still new to my own camera but there are limitations compared to a DSLR so I hope thats also kept in mind.
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My two cents
First of all, let me make sure all readers have read that this photo was taken by this camera. Yes! a point and shoot. This is an amazing photograph from that standpoint and just proves that great photos can be made even by point and shoot.
Without trying to influence the readers, I’ll leave it here. For now.
What Do You Think?
It’s your turn now. What do you think about this photo? How would you improve it? What can Kulsum change in this photograph? If you were to shoot Karahi Chicken, how would you shoot it?
Please read Kulsum’s goal before giving your feedback. Leave your comments below.
2 things for me on this: first, it feels a bit flat. I guess taking the photo straight from above causes that risk. Perhaps a bit more directional light from the back might have helped increase the shadows, make it less flat. Second, show more more of the food, less of the surroundings! I tend to crop too close into the food, that’s my problem, but I wish I could see more of this chicken. I love the wood as background, and I like the colours of the cloths, especially the splash or red. But I think I’d crop so the chicken took up more of the photo.
That said, these are nitpicky
It’s a good shot.
Thank you Nic for your review – I do think its a bit flat and needed a bit more of the food. But as a top shot I didn’t really want to get too close to the food and wanted to reflect the setting. I had other shots up close.
May be where there is all this empty space I could have showed chicken in the wok, in which it is cooked for more interest.
Technically the picture is fine even with the point-and-shoot camera. The issue I have is the composition. The gap in the bottom makes it seem to be top heavy. Also the red napkin on the top right corner covers too much of the plate and make me feel unbalance.
Personally, I think removing the napkins and move the frame up would make the photo better.
Thank you Kelvin for your review. I agree, I did think the napkin was taking a lot of place in the picture. I tried putting it under the plate – like a normal napkin but it was not reflecting the colors I wanted to come through that way. So I just wrapped it around the plate. I do think its top heavy – I tried cropping it but then the napkin was not making sense that way. I will keep your points in mind next time. Thanks much.
I think that overall it’s very good. I agree with the comments about there being too much “space”, maybe getting a little bit closer would have been nice to focus on the food. Also, the red in the corner is, IMO, a bit distracting. Our eyes tend to go to the brightest areas of the scene first, and because the red color is much brighter than the blue then it makes me look at the towel before the food.
I really like the textures and layers of the table, and the repeating blues. The light is nice, too, very soft and diffused.
Hey Nicole – after reading your comment I stared back at my picture and realized I could have avoided the red all together – may be all blue could have done the trick.I just got to carried away in portraying colors to highlight “Indian” aspect.Thank you much for taking the time to review.
Hi! I think the photo is pretty nice to be taken with a point-and-shoot and the props, colors and textures are beautiful. Besides some of the issues already pointed out, when I look at the photo I am immediately drawn to the surroundings of the chicken, I mean that the piece of wood takes up too much space and it maybe looks more attractive than the chicken itself, and definitely the red splash takes all the attention off the chicken. For me the result is that the chicken doesn’t play the leading role in the photo, which is nice if you don’t intend the chicken to be the focus point, but I don’t think that’s the intention. Also I think the shadows projected by the piece of cloth diminish the importance of the chicken plate, though this could be easily avoided by flattening the cloth or using some kind of reflector material like aluminum foil.
Thank you Mariam for your feedback. Like I said before, I agree that the red could have been avoided all together. I think I didn’t want the chicken to be the whole focus of the picture and wanted to highlight the wood.But then food was still the main thing so you are right – As for the shadow, where do you think the foil or reflector be placed for that inner shadow of the cloth? I tried using a white foam board but it didn’t really help.
Also I have been thinking could more chicken on the plate helped the picture? At the time I was thinking less is good.
The wood is indeed beautiful, but if you want to highlight the plate as well as the wood, maybe the cloth should be left out altogether. As for the shadow, when I want to reflect a lot of light I simply use aluminum foil, placing it to the left at a low height would help I guess. I think the amount of chicken is quite right and the drumstick on top looks fine.
As a general guideline, the reflector should be placed opposite the main light in order to throw additional light into the shadow area. In this case, the main light is top left so the reflector would be placed bottom right. You may have to fiddle with the placement a bit to get the exact effect you want.
Overall I too think that this is a fairly decent photo considering the fact that it was taken by a point and shoot. I just would like to add my own 2 cents. Instead of fill light I think light coming from 12 or 3 o’clock and reflecting it on the subject would have drawn more attention to the food. Getting a little closer to the subject as a result getting rid of the extra space on the side would have made a difference. Styling dark food specially Indian food is always a struggle for me too but I’m wondering if different props would have made the photo more interesting.
Thank you Prerna for your review. I generally tend to get stuck with one set up while shooting which i believe I need to change as an amateur I should try more set ups and props to get the right picture. Sometimes I’m just out of time, energy and creativity
What prop would you suggest other than kadai?
Some how i am completely agree with Mariam, working as a food stylish i am concern about props are not selected properly or may when select the props colors not keep the indian cuisin or dish in a mind…
Hi Kulsum. Nice work with the point & shoot.
I agree the red is distracting. Another reason to leave it out is that the chicken is a warm color and everything else is cold colored. A subtle but important point of contrast.
If you used a smaller plate, the chicken itself would look like a much larger portion. I would also move in closer so that the plated chicken occupies a much larger part of the frame, say 30-60%. You can do that and still keep the other elements like the table and blue napkin.
Thank you so much for your feedback. Thats a good point – yes may be smaller plate would have worked better.
It’s a pretty good shot. The linens definitely draw your eye away from the chicken. I was also distracted by the two different pieces of wood under the plate. I kept trying to figure out if that was a set of planks sitting on a blue table. A smaller plate, at least one utensil, and a tighter shot would change this shot drastically.
Hello Janet,
Thank you for the feedback. I’m glad you bought up the two woods point.I certainly agree that may be a wok at the side and a little closer shot would have been much better.
Going back to the wood – I had question. I don’t have a great collection of wide woods as base and like in this picture, the upper wood is a small piece of wood and while I was trying to shoot it, I didn’t know what to put under it.
Secondly do you think if the plate was centered it could be a better picture? At the time I was thinking and feeling that centering was making the picture look flat.
I love the composition. Except that the cloth seemed rather distracting. Love the texture of the tabletop.
Karahi or Kadhai is one of the famous traditional food of India. Often I order it via Indian Take Away. I like it very much.