
Food videography can be a challenge. It’s an art form where you need to tell a story rather than just making food look good. Zooming can add visual variety and prevent a food video from becoming boring. For example, zooming out can help you capture an inspiring table spread and give more context to a dish.
What Is Zoom?
Zoom is how you adjust the focal length of your lens while making videos. You will use zoom in to get closer to a subject and zoom out to get further away. If you’re filming on an iPhone in the camera app, placing two fingers close together on your screen while in video mode and then spreading them apart allows you to zoom in. When you bring your fingers closer together again you will zoom out. Different phone apps usually have various quick actions you can perform to zoom in or out.
Zoom shortcuts can help you to zoom in or out when creating food videos on a Mac. To activate zoom in on Mac or zoom out, you can use keyboard shortcuts, mouse scrolls, trackpad gestures, or other tools. To use a Zoom shortcut Mac when in an app, you will hold the Command key and press the plus key (+) to zoom in. If you want to know how to Zoom out on Mac with keyboard it is easy. Zooming out on Macinvolves holding Command and pressing the minus key (-).
What Equipment Should You Use?
Your iPhone is all you need to begin with and the latest ones have great cameras. If you want to upgrade, a DSLR camera allows you to change lenses. A model like the Canon EOS 80D offers good autofocus and low-light performance.
- If you have to choose only one lens, choose the 24-70 zoomover the 100mm macro. You don’t want a fixed lens with only one focal length. When shooting food, you need some versatility to add interest.
- Stable shots are essential and a tripod will focus the camera on the food without wavering. If you have a tripod holding your camera while filming, it allows you to be in the scene. Not having a tripod can really limit your videos. A tripod with a horizontal arm is useful as you can adjust it to any angle between 0° – 90° degrees.
- When filming food the process can last for a number of hours and the light will constantly be changing. You should use natural light where possible but in many cases, you may have to use artificial light. Using a continuous light or strobe will offer more creative control. Softboxes help to create even, diffused light.
Set The Stage
You need to choose props and backgrounds that will complement your dishes. Elements like textured linens, colorful plates, and beautiful wine glasses help to add visual interest and create a specific atmosphere. Don’t make the styling too complex but focus on conveying a story. Viewers should be able to imagine sitting and eating your dishes in a wonderful setting. This is where zooming out from a dish to take in the surroundings can convey atmosphere.
Start Wide Before Zooming In
You can start with the widest focal length on your zoom lens to capture your whole cooking station and then gradually zoom in. Position your cooking station so that the light falls on it from the side or slightly behind. When you start by capturing more of the scene viewers can get more idea about the setting in which you’re cooking.
A zoom camera movement example is to shift the attention of the viewer from the wider context and then to narrow in on the subject of the frame. You go from a focus on the whole food station to focusing on the specific dish.
Prioritize Composition And Movement
You shouldn’t rely too much on zooming although this can be tempting. Just zooming in can lead to flat and uninspiring composition. You must experiment with different distances and angles to add interest. Moving around a scene can add depth and dimension.
Panning the camera from left to right while on the tripod is a way to show the ingredients you will use in a dish. This creates a feeling of momentum. You can then show the raw ingredients one at a time. A dish guide zoomed in could reveal how the ingredients look on the plate. An overhead shot is easier to compose as you eliminate depth. Your food becomes shapes and colors that you place in the frame.
Conclusion
The next time you set up for food videography, think about dynamism, movement, and telling a story. The food must look delicious and appetizing but it’s about more than this. You have to showcase the journey from using the right ingredients to coming up with the finished product. This will ensure success for you irrespective of the platforms on which you post it.