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In the last article, I wrote about composing good table shots. Now let’s talk about manual camera settings. I took the same photo four times but with different settings so I could show you the differences. Your settings will depend on your own environment and your camera, but it should be similar enough to give you a good idea where to start. Then you can adjust from there.

Photo #1

The settings on this picture allowed too much light. The yellows are blown out so you lose the detail of the pumpkins and some of the dishes. The cup farthest back lost its blue coloring.

The settings are:
aperture: f/2.2
shutter speed: 1/30
ISO: 400

Photo #2

I like the lighting on this one. While a couple of the pumpkins are still a little blown out, I was able to capture good detail overall and kept the ISO at a great speed for the indoors.

The settings are:
aperture: f/3.2
shutter speed: 1/30
ISO: 400

Photo #3

I also like the lighting on this one. The disadvantage of Photo #2 is the slow shutter speed. A shutter speed of 1/30 is too low for hand-holding the camera, which is what I was doing. But sometimes you can get away with it when photographing inanimate objects (as opposed to people, who are always moving, at least a little).

The disadvantage of this one is that I had to crank the ISO up to 800 in order to let in more light. The higher the ISO, the grainier the shot. Photos #2 and #3 were a compromise between slight blur and a little grain. The lower shutter speed in the previous photo let in more light than the higher ISO in this one.

The settings:
aperture: f/3.2
shutter speed: 1/80
ISO: 800

Photo #4

Looking at this photo, you can see that one of the two compromises I mentioned above is necessary. The reason is that trying to get a good ISO and a good shutter speed for hand-holding required a higher f-stop (or smaller aperture).

Even in this well-lit room the smaller aperture produced a dark picture. I wouldn’t want it any darker than it was in Photo #3.
The settings are:
aperture: f/5
shutter speed: 60
ISO: 400

The natural light in your dining room will have a large effect on your settings. Because this was our breakfast table, and because our room gets the most light in the morning, I had a lot of help from the sun. If the sun doesn’t grace your room at the time of your picture-taking, don’t be afraid to push the ISO to 800. Any resulting graininess won’t show up as much in a 4×6 as it will in enlargements.

I hope this give you a good starting point for your own documentation of your holiday table.

If you’re like me, a major part of most holidays is the mood you set in the home, and much of that revolves around the dinner table. These photos are from this year’s Thanksgiving breakfast, but the principles apply whether you’re photographing your Christmas meal, New Years dinner party, or any other formal dinner.

Avoid full table shots. Instead, take a combination of close-ups and partial table pictures to show the ambiance of your Christmas (or other holiday) table.

Lean down to the level of one of the place settings to get a view of the dinnerware and the table beyond. Set the camera at a fairly low f-stop to focus on the place setting near you while the rest of the table is just slightly out-of-focus. For this photo, the f-stop is 3.2.

Getting an extreme close-up like this gives you texture.

To show the look of the overall table, you only need to photograph a part of it. Put the centerpiece to one side of the frame and get just a few of the place settings at the other side. Stand on a chair to get an above-view.

Now move in closer to the place settings to get a view of the dishes, the napkin rings, and the textured place mats. Notice the line that the edge of the table makes, the negative space on the other side, and the line of the plates and cups or glasses. Make sure the lines and negative space are attractive.

There is a common thread in all but one of these pictures. Do you see the L-shape? I usually place the tallest item (in this case, the over-sized vase) to one side, making the vertical line of the L. All the others stretch out sideways, forming the horizontal line. The photo above is a backward L, which is okay, too. An L-shape is an aesthetically pleasing ways to compose a photo.

Last of all, don’t forget to highlight the most romantic part of any formal setting: the candle light and its reflection on all the glass pieces.

Take lots of pictures and put the focus on different pieces to see what kind of effect you get. In the next post we’ll talk a little more about camera settings so that you can get perfect lighting around your candle-lit table.