“Ah, the power of cheese”

Cheese is special. Its a versatile food with flavors and scents that range from simple to very complex. I love cheese platters and welcome any excuse to put one together. Around the holidays I made trips to some of my favorite shops and took photos of some of the platters. I experimented with the arrangements of the items on the platter and also with emphasizing some objects by shifting other out of focus.
I placed the platters on my countertop and used regular overhead lights and my on-camera flash. Disgust, shock, awe…typically on-camera flash looks horrible but I attended a food photography workshop where the instructor showed us a neat little trick where a simple piece of folded paper is used to diffuse the light emitted from the on-camera flash, brightening the picture while softening the shadows. It’s certainly not the best method but I like it in a pinch or for taking a few quick photos.