LIGHTING THAT TAKES THE CAKE

Posted by Leslie Fayre on May 26, 2009

Easy at-home techniques for getting great cake photos

You spent all day creating that beautiful cake. The piping is perfect, the icing smooth, the lettering just right. Before your masterpiece gets devoured, preserve it. Take a photo of all your hard work, and you'll have it long after the actual cake has been eaten.

So how do you get a good photo of a birthday cake, especially when it has lit candles on it? All you have to do is adapt a few basic lighting techniques from the pros.

Step 1. Start with some simple reflectors. Professional photographers often use mirrors cut into different shapes. You can get similar results with aluminium foil, cardboard and masking tape. Find a piece of cardboard. Cut a piece of aluminium foil that's slightly larger than the cardboard you wish to cover. Crumple it into a ball, then carefully open it up into a sheet again. Place the crumpled foil over the cardboard so it lays flat, folding the extra foil over the edges and taping them down on the back.

Step 2: Turn off all the inside lights, and switch your camera flash to “off.” Light the candles.

Step 3: Adjust your camera position so there's a window to one side or directly behind the cake. Now use the reflector card you just made to “bounce” light back into the deep shadow areas, such as under the plate.

Step 4: Ensure the light balance on your camera is on auto or daylight. What you're looking for is the nice warm glow emitting from the candles.

Step 5: Take the shot! Once you've followed these simple steps, you should get some great images that show off your cake – and give you great memories to put in your album, photobook or scrapbook.

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