Simple Photography Tips - how to photograph that 'lazy Sunday' morning coffee
- Michael Blyth
- Jun 27
- 3 min read
Eight simple photography tips on what to do when you're in love with your coffee - Camera and Phone Camera
Notice the angle of the light
Check the exposure, move the camera until the light is right
check the depth of field and shutter-speed if you're using a camera
beware of the background
If there's a great background, deliberately incorporate it into your picture
Try to avoid post-adjustment
Dont spend good friend time photographing your coffee
cold Coffee is not good, unless it's iced coffee
If you do a quick search online you'll find numerous articles on this subject, but they're mostly artificial, studio shots, amazing, but not what I'm trying to inspire you with.
What I'm doing with these Simple Photography Tips is help you produce the best image of the artistic designs on your flat white, or latte. Perhaps, as my title says, it's a lazy Sunday, bringing back memories for me of photoshoots for Taylors of Harrogate.
Equally you may be somewhere overseas sipping your first of the day, and this unexpected bit of travel photography is beyond temptation.
Sitting outside Henderson's Artisan Bakery and Café, waiting for my daughter (one of three!), I thought about you, and wondered if you struggle to get a decent shot of that wonderful mix that hits your palate and sends yum signals to your brain.
So I took a bunch of images to chat about. Yes, a whole series of photos of the same cup of coffee! Forgive me if they're not perfect, I was in a rush - flat-white, if properly brewed get's cool quickly, and I DO NOT LIKE COLD COFFEE when it's supposed to be hot coffee!
There's not very much to write about, it's a much more of a visual 'how to'.
The scenario is an outside table, nice wooden texture for the table top, good strong colour on the outside of the mug, and an early summer sun on your left side, casting a shadow, on the coffee, and on the table..
Image One is the go-to for a 'left-handed hurrier' who will drink and go. With the sun shining from the left produces a well balanced image.
If we look at Image Two, 'right-handed hurrier', the shadow on the coffee highlights the curve of the simple rosetta, rather than masking it as in the first image.
The downside, as such, is that the sun, relative to the mug, means that the handle, and hole in the handle, is starting to disappear - still pretty good though.
Image Three shows off the latte art to best effect, but the handle at 'right-left sharer' is now mostly in shadow. I still like it, especially as the sun is high-enough in the sky, (half-eight in the morning here in the UK) to light up the top of the handle.
The shadow however has lost it's mug-like shape, and the handle shadow looks like a cherry on top, if you see what I mean.
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Image Four, is actually still at a realistic drinking angle, 'settled down for a good chat', when, like me, you curl your mug in towards you. The shadows are not nearly so artistic, and the top of the rosetta is clipped.
Image Five, the handle is now really at a "no you're not having my coffee" angle, called the 'right-handed my mug' but with the sun as is, the handle is starting to come alive again, and although the top of the art is hidden, the bottom is clear.
Image Six, the 'left-handed my-mug', has in fact gone beyond being at right angles to the direction of shadow, but does allow light through the handle.
Image Seven, the 'left-handed sharer' is quite an odd one with this light, the handle is fully lit, but casts no shadow. The mug itself does cast a shadow, which balanced with the lit handle is quite attractive, but is not a mug-like shadow.
The whole process of photographing your coffee is very subject to light and where it's coming from, and artistically, the barista should know whether they are pouring for a left-handed person or right-handed. An upside-down rosetta or whatever, doesn't quite allow the whole picture to work.
Don't forget that some backgrounds add to the image, especially if they are from your travels. This marvellous café in Rotterdam did great food, and had marvellous staff.
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