Yum yum, or not?

First attempts at food, how an these be improved please? Thanks.

For teh first - hire a better cook!

The second was shot through glass - at a guess, and te reflection is a real problem. Try to avoid going through glass if you can.

Louise - the important thing to remember about food is presentation. It has to look appetising! I dunno if you are old enough to remember the pictures of fish'n'chips that they used to hang on the walls of Woolies cafes - there was the obligatory slice of lemon, with some "shrubbery" alongside to make it look yummy!!

Another technique I know of is, when photographing sandwiches, have a little fine-mist spray with water nearby. Apart from stopping the bread from curling up under the heat of the studio lighting, the droplets of water on the skin of a tomato, on the lettuce leaves, etc makes a BLT look delicious!.. Of course, it normally gets thrown away after the photoshoot.

As for ice-cream, 9 times out of 10, it's actually mashed potato, sometimes dyed with food colouring to look like the corresponding flavour of ice-cream (pink for strawberry, yellow for banana, etc).

As Gamka says though - shoot the cook, and try photographing the food without a reflective cover. The chips in shot 1 could do with being laid out a bit more symettrically too! The scones in shot 2 need centred up, and a wee dollop of butter and/or strawberry jam in the shot wouldn't go amiss!!

I would tell him but I might get dismembered with a meat clever, Woolies is going back a bit, I can remember as a kid their milkshakes.

Not a food photo expert, but some comments on appeal...

For the first, get your color balance correct. If color balance is correct, stay away from strong yellow / green light and light reflecting from such colors..
Additionally, if its something that is going to melt and sag into a less than appetizing slump, serve it cold (or less hot). i.e. Would be better if you could see the layers or at least a more structured display.

For the second, beyond the reflection in the glass the lighting is nice except you need to increase exposure a bit and maybe fill the shadows slightly. The dirty plates in the background do not add to the appeal.

And there goes back my appetite!

A polariser is your friend! And lighting! I'd go for reflectors instead of flash though.

I've been on a low carb diet for the past five days. .. so all I'll say is. ..

THESE LOOK PRETTY DAMN GOOD TO ME!!! :/

scones......yum yum I could go for one of those right now with some clotted cream.

Good first attempts Louise and looks like you have been given some excellent tips for the second attempt.

Thanks for your comments. I will try Mr Kipling cakes next, what filter can you recommend for that please?