To get back to the issue of hot, steamy dishes, some or all of the following have proven to work for me:
- Dark coloured dish, dark background;
- Longish exposure, taken maybe from an elevation of about 30-45 degrees above horizontal (implies a good tripod and remote shutter release or self-timer);
- Slight under-exposure to give a richer colour saturation;
- TWO light sources - shooting into some light reflecting off the food proper, and some light from 45 degrees behind your shoulder for a bit of fill.
- Shoot RAW, and then increase the range of the tonal width in the "shadow" areas;
If the above has been done, you should get nicely illuminated steam and a contrasty, moist-ish appeal to the food in the dish as well! Good Luck!
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