The curtain of the food photo contest fell......

Since starting this blog was inspired by attending the food photography contest, I think I should complete the story. Check out this link Winner of the food photography contest Yes, I won the first prize!!! hooray~~~ This is really out of my expectation. I found out this contest on July 28th, only two days before it closed. I hurried to buy ingredients and dishware and finally sent out my photos on the deadline day. Only a couple of days later, I got emails saying both my photos were selected into the final. At that point, I was already extremely surprised. Then, I had the feeling that I might win something, but didn't expect to win the biggest prize. I was totally overwhelmed when I went to Leite's Culinaria website on the night of the 30th, and saw my curry coconut noodle soup photo popped up on the home page.

I want to say congratulations to all fellow winners too. You all did a great job as well!!

I wanna share some my technical summary to the curry coconut noodle soup shot, maybe you'll be interested.

1. I love back lighting. The white background makes the food more appetizing. Back light also makes photographs clean and simple, washing off unnecessary extras.

2. I love color. I always try to make photos colorful.Contrasting colors can make  balanced visual sensation if used properly. In this photo, the main color is of course yellow, but it's boring if it's just yellow. So, I used cilantro and lime to chill out a little green, red pepper powder to spice up some red heat, and the blue dishware to create some calm feeling.

3. Repetitive composition. Used by many professional food photographers, repetitive composition creates unity and harmony, and fills up the whole photograph. Having something blurry on the back also emphasizes the clear subject in the front.

4. Match dishware with the food subject. I was thinking how to make this food photograph stand out before shooting. This noodle is different from other pasta dish because it's an Asian food. How can I emphasize this distinction? By using Asian looking dishware!! I bought the bowls and plates especially for this dish, and I already had the china spoon and chopsticks. They matched so well. Even the crosses on the spoon match those on the bowl, though I got them from totally different places.

5. I used natural light. Very diffused and easy to work with. 

If you have more questions, feel free to leave me comments and I will try my best to answer.

Corn and jalapeno

This is a super simple and appetizing summer side dish. When I was growing up, my family always ate this in the summer along with congee.  

Ingredients:

2 corns

4 jalapeno pepper

cooking oil 1tbsp

salt to taste

Steps:

1. Chop jalapeno peppers and peel corn from the ears

2. Heat a pan and add the oil

3. when it starts smoke, add corn and pepper to stir fry for about 15 mins until the surface is a little burnt.

4. Add salt to taste. Turn off the heat and serve.

It is also good when served cold.