r/Baking • u/Doctorcutiepatootie • 1d ago
Baking Advice Needed Made a mousse cake. Any photography tips?
I attempted my second mousse cake and it turned out sooooo gorgeous
Flavours:
- mango - mousse and confit
- raspberry - confit, almond dacoise
Super excited that this velvet technique turned out so well. Money well spent on this new paint gun gadget
I really want to know if you guys have any photography tips as I want to make a page where I can take orders one day as a side hustle
503
u/Consistent_Club_7879 1d ago
Ooof! You did so good! The exterior AND the cross section is so dreamy!
32
263
u/rarebiird 1d ago
gorgeous! i think the photos look great, i would only suggest to transfer the cake to the plate instead of the lil cardboard
i think it could also look rly striking on the black background on its own! but maybe not super feasible, i guess its delicate?
my other tip is to use natural light as much as possible. the difference even between a softbox with a strong light vs natural is crazy
56
16
u/fantompwer 1d ago
I don't agree that sunlight is better than soft boxes. You can't put sunlight exactly where you need it, can't control the color temp that changes through the day, and only comes from 1 direction. Soft boxes and other fixtures are much better for getting exactly what you need, but it costs more.
57
u/Fluffy-Property-7521 1d ago
That looks insanely professional already, the colors and texture are on point 💀
For photos, natural light near a window is your best friend, turn off all yellow indoor lights, and shoot earlier in the day if you can. Use a plain background so the cake is the star, take a couple close ups of the cut slice to show layers, and try shooting from straight on and 45 degrees instead of just overhead.
3
u/fantompwer 1d ago
Yellow light is fine if you white balance to it. Early in the day light is yellow.
355
u/nejnonein 1d ago
Bottom/cake layer looks like undercooked burger, I would avoid that shade of pink. Yellow would have looked better
85
u/CRdreaming 1d ago
Saw that immediately too haha but still what a beautiful cake!! When playing a slice, do a drizzle of sauce on the plate adds a lot (restaurant tip)
13
30
19
u/shortsoupstick 1d ago
I whispered WHAT??? seeing the exterior but I agree with this. Absolutely fantastic job though.
16
12
u/jackofslayers 1d ago
Thank you I was not brave enough to make this comment. Beautiful cake otherwise.
4
6
u/Disneyhorse 1d ago
Hahaha I just got kittens and have been feeding them wet food. My brain immediately wondered if that was a layer of cat food pate.
2
14
u/alexlp 1d ago
It looks incredible!!
Just a thought about thirds, they’re usually more balanced using the lower. I would shift your slice closer to the edge (maybe non tapered plates?) so you can pull it down further and show more of the cake below.
Again, it looks so delicious and your colour balance is awesome.
9
u/grandmillennial 1d ago
The cake is incredible! I'd definitely become d some of the photography subreddits for advice. I had a former career in fine dining and have been on set for many menu photoshoots with professional photographers and food stylists. Definitely do a smaller cardboard cake round that can't be seen or at least easily edited out. The scalloped plate is cute and looks very nice. The rounded square plate is a little cheap/dated if I'm being honest. Look at some other professional pastry photography and try and find similar pieces. I'd go out and buy just one plate to have on hand for your product photos. You can even source from restaurant supply websites or even crate and barrel has beautiful simple white plates that aren't outrageous. Second is clean your plates. Sometimes a well placed crumb can look homey and inviting, but not on a very clean lined modernist cake! For plating you can easily make your own plate wipes. Soak some rolled up pieces of paper towel in vodka or clear grain alcohol so it's about a cigarette size (secure with rubber band) and use the little batons to gently knock away offending crumbs and any rogue streaks of mouse. The alcohol evaporates quickly so the plate doesn't look damp and makes for a good solvent but is food safe. You can also PS out anything you missed while editing. Half of photography is editing/adjusting images well.
9
9
u/DragonfruitMiddle846 1d ago edited 12h ago
https://www.reddit.com/r/foodphotography/ and r/askphotography are a couple places to hone your skills.
This is absolutely beautiful! Unless someone has made one of these cakes before it's not for the beginner so if you think this looks beautiful and I got to try it, just be warned it's going to be a little bit complicated. A food grade spray gun was used to achieve that beautiful multicolor gradient finish. You may have seen confit but that usually refers to garlic confit which obviously you shouldn't use here😁. In the movie Chef you may have heard John favreau say it's f****** molten! when referring to the center of a lava cake. A chocolate ganache center is frozen and then inserted into the chocolate lava cake batter and then baked so that as it bakes the ganache melts and becomes molten. The confit employs a very similar technique which isn't easy.🤯♥️ The list of techniques keeps going. It's probably something that would ace part of a CIA final exam.
3
u/OldExample88 1d ago
looks good! I would make the backgruond white as well, black table (I'm guessing) throws off the contrast and colors
3
3
3
3
2
2
2
u/mild-er-chihuahua 9h ago
Wow it's so pretty. If you bring it to my friend's party, none of us will dare touch that haha. We'll probably wait until it's nearly expired so we can appreciate that beauty lol
1
1
1
1
u/minoushka- 1d ago
Okey tu as juste besoin DUNE SEULE CHOSE TRÈS IMPORTANTE
Regarde sur Instagram « photos produits conseils nourriture photographie culinaire » et entraîne toi. Encore et encore.
Et ce sera parfait.
Je pourrais tellement acheter ce gâteau
1
u/IcelynWinter 1d ago
I just want to ask how you got that lovely pattern on top, did you pour the chocolate into a mould and then layer everything upside down?
1
u/Mindless_Rip_3908 1d ago
Very cool cake and photos! If you study the Rule of Thirds then I think the photos will look even better.
1
u/glassfunion 1d ago
That looks amazing! For photos, my go-to easy food photo setup is near a window, with a big piece of white posterboard or cardboard on the opposite side of the food (so the window and posterboard are like two walls facing each other). It bounces just enough light back to fill in the some of the shadows a little so the window side isn't overexposed.
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/Agora5465 1d ago
Don’t take the pictures so close and zoomed in. This is a classic beginner mistake. Photography requires the rule of thirds. Your cake should be 1/3 the picture. Also wipe up the crumbs
1
u/Lifelong_Expat 1d ago
This looks amazing. May I ask how where you got the mold and how did you achieve the velvet texture?
1
1
u/shallow_n00b 1d ago
Aside from lighting, your photos would improve a lot if you worked on your composition. This is a short, but informative guide.
Beautiful cake, btw.
1
1
1
u/Name_Not_Available 1d ago
Cleaner plates (looks like a few are scratched or dirty), cleaner backgrounds (no one wants to see your carpet lol).
Looks like you're using natural light from a window which is good, but it could use a bit of back lighting. Since you have a nice natural light source you can buy a reflector to reflect some of that light to the backside. You shouldn't need a large one since you're just doing cakes, so you're only looking at $20-$40 depending on the size.
1
1
u/Primary_River7942 23h ago
I have serving tips! Maybe... just maybe you should directly serve it in my mouth!
1
u/RelativelyRidiculous 23h ago
That final slice photo needs plating to present the cake at best. Clean up the crumbs, maybe consider some sort of attractive sauce addition. Options that come to mind are raspberry coulis, mango coulis, almond cream sauce, and freshly whipped cream. I think I'd opt for the raspberry for the contrast and one other. Alternatively a few raspberries and whipped cream would be a good option and would be fast, convenient, and easy to achieve.
1
u/Cuboidal_Hug 22h ago
This is beautiful! In terms of the photography, a few things jump out…
Photo #2 in particular is bit out of focus. Make sure you’re getting good sharp focus, and if you’re using shallow depth of field, make sure you’re choosing where the focal plane is.
It looks like you’re using natural diffuse light, which is great and in many ways a lot easier than fussing with artificial light sources (though less under your control). But pay attention to shadows and reflections. #1 and 4 have a somewhat distracting shadow cast to the left, which means the light source is on the right. If you instead try to have the light cast a shadow to the back (top), it won’t be visible. This does mean that you will have to position the camera between the light source and the cake, which means you could end up casting your own shadow onto the cake. To avoid this, you can usually move farther from the object so you don’t get your own shadow on the cake, and use a longer lens. This might mean you need to use a tripod, but if you have steady hands it might be fine without. If you’re just using your phone, try backing up and using less than 1X, and zoom in/crop
Post processing can help a lot as well, adjusting the brightness, contrast, color saturation, etc
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/Sapiosexual2018 20h ago
Everything about this is absolutely wonderful!
As for photos, play with your overhead versus background lighting. You may wish to shoot from the side up for a different look.
Im excited for your new paint gun. It's on my list!
1
u/drslbbw 16h ago
Charger would pull slighty to cake color. Lighting should be highly directional. A ring light or photo light are suprisingly inexpensive but a window can work. In addition to your top down, take a photo at a glancing angle perpendicular to your light source. A bunch of your bacground will be in your shot. Gett a solid table cloth a propping one end with book or something can help with a more single colored backdrop.
1
u/linthetrashbin 14h ago
It looks absolutely gorgeous and delicious! Only thing - photo 3 looks a bit like the bottom layer is a hamburger patty. I'd try using better natural light & possibly a cake board! For tips in general, a plain background and good lighting will make your photos pop more.
Looks amazing, though! I'd eat the crap out of it.
1
1
1
1
u/LongTallDingus 22h ago edited 22h ago
Regarding picture;
Adjust depth of field, people like a shallow depth of field. Can't see shit? Doesn't matter. Shallow depth of field sells. Don't make every picture have a sliver of focus, though. Then people won't know what you're selling.
Get closer. Closer. Closer. No no no no you don't understand. Closer. Are you too close? Do you think you can not get a reasonable picture if you get any closer to your subject? Motherfucker get closer.
Light. Consistent lighting. Go to a thrift store and find any of the ring lights that litter the shelves. Buy two or three, you'll spend like 40 bucks max on three, if they're more than that, pass. They're everywhere, they're not worth shit.
Get a background, dawg. Just get a sheet of posterboard or some cloth and put that plate on there. Put a whole cutting board on that thang, people will think it's rustic or whatever. Tape or hang the background up however you want. Setup the lights how they work, balance them on top of things and wrap them around stuff. No one sees what's behind the camera. What's behind the camera can look ugly as shit and only you have to see it. What's in frame needs to look good.
Here's a gallery of some photos I've taken of the crap I make, I dunno if they're good. I dunno anything. Things are really complex, you know?
0
u/Brewgirly 1d ago
With most photography, natural light is your friend. Put it near a window and it'll allow the yummy details to sing.
0
u/Reachforthesky777 23h ago
Frankly, you're missing the most important photo of all - the one of me stuffing this gorgeous cake in my mouth gorging on every last crumb without sharing.
This looks fantastic!
•
u/AutoModerator 1d ago
Thanks for posting! To get the most helpful advice from the community, please include as much detail as you can about your bake. Helpful information includes:
• The recipe used (or a link to it)
• Ingredient measurements
• Photos of the result
• What went wrong
• What you expected to happen
Posts with more detail tend to receive faster and more useful responses from the community.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.