But have no fear, all the recipes and shopping lists will be posted tomorrow. Just in time to start your Thanksgiving preparations in earnest. But today I want to tell you about an awesome Food Photography workshop I took this past weekend. It was given by Lou Manna, a world renowned photographer and who specializes in food photography. Just have a look at his website  and see his beautiful work.

So it was only natural that I was incredibly nervous and intimidated going into his studio. My food photography skills are really lacking and even more so, my camera is just really too complicated for me. But Lou is really down to earth and incredibly personable. Plus, he really enjoys teaching people how to take great pictures. He completely put me at ease with his easy going manner and I learned so much!

The workshop went from 10am until 5pm and covered everything from lighting to focal points, composition and even some basic camera settings. When I went in, I was shooting in the P mode (preprogrammed, easy and automatic) now, I am pretty comfortable in A (aperture mode), S (shutter mode) and even M (manual mode).

The class learned all kinds of tricks, like using simple cosmetic mirrors (smoke and mirrors!) to aid in lighting and create highlights in dark spots. This really amazed me because I actually have several makeup mirrors already around my house and I would have never thought to use them this way.

I also learned that I really should invest in a good strobe or studio light. Just one would be sufficient, but it makes a world of difference in the photos. I could also use some reflectors and arms. So those will be my next equipment investments.

After our lunch break we all brought back some items to shoot. I choose some cute cupcakes, while others in the workshop brought back everything from sushi to apple tarts and one participant, a chef, even brought back a fillet of salmon with some haricot verts, heirloom tomatoes and capers and cooked it right in the studio kitchen!

Here’s a look at just a few of my pictures. As you can see, that they get progressively better!

The last two are so much better! The first ones were shot with only available light, which unfortunately fades very fast and was subject to clouds. The last two are shot under studio strobes. A thousand times better!

I am so very happy that I took this workshop. They are run through Adarama Camera Store here in NYC, and I would highly recommend taking this workshop if you are ever have the opportunity. It is well worth it and gets two spoons (thumbs!) up from me!