3rd generation burger
Discussion
Last burger thread, I promise!
Its one step closer to the perfect burger, but still far from being "perfect". And Im well aware of that fact, and could critique it on half a dozen different points. So dont knock it too hard chaps. It took 12 buns, 4 heads of lettuce as the ones I bought this weekend had lost their freshness, some left over onions from the onion shoot, 2 trips to tesco, including going back in the doors a third time after forgetting the lettuce, a few hours of prep playing with lights with a dummy burger and the whole general setup and of course building the fire upstairs
Comments?
Its one step closer to the perfect burger, but still far from being "perfect". And Im well aware of that fact, and could critique it on half a dozen different points. So dont knock it too hard chaps. It took 12 buns, 4 heads of lettuce as the ones I bought this weekend had lost their freshness, some left over onions from the onion shoot, 2 trips to tesco, including going back in the doors a third time after forgetting the lettuce, a few hours of prep playing with lights with a dummy burger and the whole general setup and of course building the fire upstairs
Comments?
Edited by UKBob on Tuesday 7th November 08:25
jazzybee said:
I like that. That is a burger I really want to eat! Only 1 very minor point is the pale bottom bun - if it looked toasted, it would be absolutely perfect.
I have to agree with the comment about the pale bun, sorry about that! I think also that the lower bun's reflection looks a bit unappetising as it has a rather greyish look. Now if the burger had been "floating" in front of the flame backgroud, that would have been spectacular!
I have been following your foody shots with interest because I have been trying to develop my skills in this direction also. Another slight problem for me with this burger shot is that the burger is too symmetrical. I think I would be tempted to rotate this burger about 15 degrees, so that the "tongue" of cheese was not central, and have the veg not quite no evenly spaced. I seem to remember a comment on a previous burger thread suggesting it looked a bit like a face.
Perhaps you're trying just a bit too hard here. What do you think? Am I entirely off the plot? I must say though, I can almost smell and taste burger when I look at the shot. Great technique.
ed_p said:
jazzybee said:
I like that. That is a burger I really want to eat! Only 1 very minor point is the pale bottom bun - if it looked toasted, it would be absolutely perfect.
I have to agree with the comment about the pale bun, sorry about that! I think also that the lower bun's reflection looks a bit unappetising as it has a rather greyish look. Now if the burger had been "floating" in front of the flame backgroud, that would have been spectacular!
I have been following your foody shots with interest because I have been trying to develop my skills in this direction also. Another slight problem for me with this burger shot is that the burger is too symmetrical. I think I would be tempted to rotate this burger about 15 degrees, so that the "tongue" of cheese was not central, and have the veg not quite no evenly spaced. I seem to remember a comment on a previous burger thread suggesting it looked a bit like a face.
Perhaps you're trying just a bit too hard here. What do you think? Am I entirely off the plot? I must say though, I can almost smell and taste burger when I look at the shot. Great technique.
Making the burger levitate in front of the flames isnt hard, but the trouble is time. Right now, I dont feel like making any more burgers. As I slowly improve I find my shots taking more time per shot. And I still dont have a suitable rig. I couldnt do all that much about the bottom bun either, it was the best bun out of 3 packs of 4 buns that I bought. Its flawed I know.
poah said:
its very like the image burger king have for their burgers thats all
Yeah, Im a bit worried now, should I be? Ive already received one bill for several thousand poounds this year due to a legal issue, admitedly im a little paranoid.Tuna said:
It's got a face. It's looking at me. Make the scary bun go away.
Oi! 
Tuna said:
Top shot, Bob.. what food item are you going to tackle next? Nachos?
Gonna milk the fire theme for all its worth.
Can someone remind me who wanted to do a cereal shoot?
It looks a bit cold. Add more yellow and red. Also need to toast bottom bun, have cheese looking really gooey and tactile almost, also cook onions. It needs to look like it's just been cooked and almost too hot to handle. Hats off to you though Bob. I think that food photography is incredibly difficult.
Technically an excellent photo again Bob.
I think I have to agree with Ed about the symmetry though - it just looks "too staged" for want of a better phrase. However, I am just picking holes for the sake of it - I do follow your food work with interest.
Made me laugh for some reason!
ed_p said:
...Another slight problem for me with this burger shot is that the burger is too symmetrical. I think I would be tempted to rotate this burger about 15 degrees, so that the "tongue" of cheese was not central, and have the veg not quite no evenly spaced. I seem to remember a comment on a previous burger thread suggesting it looked a bit like a face.
I think I have to agree with Ed about the symmetry though - it just looks "too staged" for want of a better phrase. However, I am just picking holes for the sake of it - I do follow your food work with interest.
UKBob said:
some left over onions from the onion shoot
Made me laugh for some reason!
I'd agree with the symmetry aspect. I always tell students to avoid symmetry unless they are trying to evoke feelings of stabiltiy. Diagonals are far more dynamic. From a designer's point of view, you need to give the burger space to breathe. It's too tightly cropped so leaves no room for overlay of text (strap or copy) making it unusable in advertising.
TonyHetherington said:
prepare for a spate of;
cereal....WITH FIRE
cookie....WITH FIRE
beer....WITH FIRE
cereal....WITH FIRE
cookie....WITH FIRE
beer....WITH FIRE
EmmaP said:
It looks a bit cold. Add more yellow and red. Also need to toast bottom bun, have cheese looking really gooey and tactile almost, also cook onions. It needs to look like it's just been cooked and almost too hot to handle. Hats off to you though Bob. I think that food photography is incredibly difficult.
I can imagine such a burger. I think this one was far technical, as has been said, I tried too hard. One supposeth I need to create a more 'relaxed' burger next time 
spyke said:
Technically an excellent photo again Bob.
...too symmetrical...
Thanks for the feeback. I did try to layer the tomato diagonally, but it was too thick and didnt work. I recut and tried again with smaller tomatoes but again, the space between each slice didnt seem to work, somehow. ...too symmetrical...
EmmaP said:
From a designer's point of view, you need to give the burger space to breathe. It's too tightly cropped so leaves no room for overlay of text (strap or copy) making it unusable in advertising.
I add "copy space" to most of my keywords, and often shoot with CS in mind, like this one: 
However, on a trial and error basis I discovered that by cropping heavily, leaving no copy space at all, sales increase MASSIVELY! Crazy amounts of cropping simply means your subject stands out amongst the others as a thumbnail. If buyers dont click your thumbnail, you stand no chance of selling the image. Its one paradox after the other - stock goes against the rules of traditional photography in nearly every sense.
ed_p said:
I'm no cook, but isn't it usual to toast these buns before assembling your burger?!
I used some of the naff buns to test the waters, and grilled them whilst constantly moving them by hand to gain an even toasted look. The inside of the buns that is, hoping for golden edges. The bun lost its perfect edges which in retrospect wouldnt have been noticible with the food between the two buns, and whilst trying to be technically perfect I abandoned the idea, in fear of runing the one really good bun I had.
UKBob said:
However, on a trial and error basis I discovered that by cropping heavily, leaving no copy space at all, sales increase MASSIVELY! Crazy amounts of cropping simply means your subject stands out amongst the others as a thumbnail. If buyers dont click your thumbnail, you stand no chance of selling the image. Its one paradox after the other - stock goes against the rules of traditional photography in nearly every sense.
Granted, cropping can add impact to a shot, but as a layout artist you are severly restricted if you do not have space to work with. Editorial and advertising photography is shot with this fact in mind. Given your experience I would say that your buyers are from a different market or utilising the images differently.
I created a 10px feathered selection with the lasso tool to the shape of the lower bun. In a new overlay layer I filled this selection with a brown eyedropped from the top bun. A bit of fiddling with the opacity, eraser, and the paintbrush tool until it looked right. I repeated the procedure with the reflection, this time with a 1px feather, and knocked the opacity back to 25% until there was just a hint of colour.
Photoshop could 'relax' the burger a little too:
Photoshop could 'relax' the burger a little too:
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