Since I started this blog, my partner has been threatening to set up a blog with the name TheTruthBehindGinger&Bread.com, documenting the mess I make and the chaos that follows in the wake of each post.
Being very neat and tidy, any mess upsets him; but a mess that is not tidied up immediately, for example because I ‘only’ want to take a few photographs while the food is still hot, is simply intolerable. He has this theory that I ended up in Britain because I was expelled from my neat and tidy home country (probably after violating the cleanliness laws I mentioned in my last post).
Our situation is not helped by a rather small kitchen and dining area, nor by two children and a cat. There is only so much space to prep food cook food, plate food and photograph it – never mind eating, doing homework, or curling up to sleep (that’s the cat; the rest of us are quite happy to use our bedrooms for that particular activity).
Anyway, to prevent this ultimate act of revenge I thought I’d better get in there first, by showing you how to overcome issues such as lack of space or lack of tidiness when it comes to your photographs. Unlike in real life, where cropping out that pile of ironing on top of the piano is not an option, by carefully blocking out messy vistas you can get pretty pictures in a limited space.
A few days ago I posted this Bavarian-style cabbage salad, which I made for our first bbq of this summer: 
A black background helps you to bring out pale foods, and it allows for quite dramatic effects. I use it very often for my pictures, mostly because the setup allows me to make the most of the limited light we are getting here in the UK, but also because I don’t need to clear up a large space of my kitchen or dining area to take the photographs. In fact, this is all I need:
The background is a large baking tray, slightly worse for wear, which you cannot see in the finished pictures. Four slate place mats can be arranged depending on the angle of the picture, to create a dark surface. In fact, the picture I showed you first looked in reality like this:
What is missing from the finished picture is the mess around it – such as the pan in which I prepared the salad, which has just been plonked into the sink.
You can’t even see the rest of the bbq, such as all the other salads, nor the large glass jars I made the elderflower cordial in, which I need to pack up and bring to the shed.
With this simple setup I took some of my favourite photographs, such as this detail of my sourdough couronne:
I documented my foray into Mexican food, corn tortillas, using the same backdrop: 
For the traditional German onion quiche I only used the placemats: 
The set up allowed for this surreal-looking Hugo I posted last week:
As you can see, a small space and a messy cook are no excuse! All you need to do is come up with a fail safe set up that allows you to make the most of the space – and the light! – you have got. My next challenge is to try and come up with a way to take larger scale pictures, ideally with more props arranged around the food, little details, such as plates or flowers in the background … but that requires more space, time, and, ultimately, effort. We’ll see.
Anyways, I’m sharing these pictures with my friends over at Fiesta Friday: Angie, together with her co-hosts Quinn @Dad Whats 4 Dinner and Naina @Spice in the City, is hosting this party now for the 72nd time! Check it out, guys, there’s so much to explore in terms of ideas and food stuff that you’ll never ever need another cookery book again.
Ginger&Bread 
Thank you for sharing that it’s fab you divulged secrets. I always have issues with backdrops as my house is so so busy but this is a fabulous idea. I would have to work out how to prop it up but the black works amazingly well. What photo editor do you use? X
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It’s the one that comes with my old laptop – iphoto I think. I promised I’d look up my camera but I keep forgetting (it says it on the manual that I haven’t looked at yet …). It’s part of my good intentions list to learn how to use it!
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ah yes i know that one, its stunning photography x
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Great post. I have similar problems regarding messy kitchen and struggle to get photos of food just right. You have a number of good tips here that will help. Thank you!
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The problem with us is light: this window has the best indirect light in the whole house, but it’s in the busiest corner! I’d have to make an effort using some gauze on the dining room window to stop the glare, so I always end up going back to my plan A.
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This is a great idea; I always have to deal with untidy background clatter in my pictures too so I’ll try to remember your tricks.
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It’s the problem with a busy kitchen: Wo gehobelt wird and all that…
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Ha, as usual you hit the nail on the head dear Ginger! There would definitely be a few surprises if we all posted things the way they really are 🙂 But in fact your posts always feel real even if they’re beautiful, if you know what I mean… including the pictures of the Hugos, they are amazing!!!
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They were a real surprise to me, too! I thought you’d have to have them lit from the back, which ended up with strange reflections. Sometimes you get lucky, I suppose!
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Thanks for sharing!
I face similar but slightly different problems, ie my black kitchen surface/back splash is so shiny it reflects everything including me making the photos! So I often have to place my lunchbox to the dining table or resort to using napkins, table linen etc.
I do like black as a background though and your black tiles/slabs are perfect!
Your photos are always very pretty.
And to be honest, I actually think a little bit of strategically placed background mess (maybe slightly out of focus) could highlight the perfection of your dish!
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I always hope for that effect, but it never happens. So many pictured of cakes, perfect light and perfect camera angle, but the slightly blurred blob of playdo/Fimo in the background, which I ovrlooked when taking the pictures, will never ever look ‘strategically placed … I do love it when other people do it, but I simply don’t have the energy to look for picturesque props, which means back to the lazy close-up.
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I love this- and LOVE your photos. I haven’t experimented with dark backgrounds- SO helpful.
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I hope it works for you! It always surprises me how the black background enhances the colours even when the light is far from perfect.
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That’s interesting about the light. I think it also would have helped me a lot in the past with lighter colored dishes…
Next time! 🙂
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Dear Steffi
I love your photos and your tidy ways of hiding the “mess”. I know your kitchen and the way you cook and its always clean and hygienic and delicious what you create in there! (The cat is usually on your bed with her Teddybear.)
One wish I would have: Please is there a way you could show two options for some recipes like the Zwiebelkuchen and the Krautsalat with and without meat. I realise I could just leave the baken out but maybe you got some spices up your sleeve to give it that authentic taste but without the meat, a Vegetarian option.
That would be wonderful!
Lol,
Oli xxx
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Ha ha, remember the mess we made when we were making ravioli?! But on a more serious note, I find it hard to suggest alternatives to these very ‘meaty’ dishes! I’d use vegetable bouillon, which brings out the flavours (the Reformhaus one without natriumglutamate), but I’d love to hear what works for vegetarians! Bacon is such a distinctive flavour, its smokiness in particular. Smoked paprika powder, perhaps?
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Or sunflower seeds fried lightly with soya sauce – almost better than bacon.
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Thanks for the hints Ginger – one of these days I need to sit down and study my camera, learn more about WordPress and put all the info together 🙂
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I know what you mean! I have no idea how my camera works, whenever I accidentally use manual settings it ends up in a mess, I got my partner’s camera and he keeps telling me to read the manual, but I always fall asleep after the second diagram …
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Love this post, thank you very much for all the suggestions, Ginger! 🙂
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Thank you, Linda! I’m sure you have no problems with a lack of light!
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Ha ha Ginger, you’re too cute, I doubt you’d be making such a royal mess in the kitchen…..actually I would take messes any day if I were dining in your kitchen :). Your recipes are quite wonderful! I too use backgrounds to hide the clutter – I purchased a black and also a white poster board and try to experiment with both. I don’t have a fancy camera, but I’d love to mess with some of the settings I do have. Thanks for all the tips n’ tricks.
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I was thinking about using a white backdrop; if I take pictures on our dining table I get that effect, but I am always struggling to control the direct light there. I wish I could figure out those different settings without having to read the manual …
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Thanks for this honest post. Big kitchen or large kitchen, messiness is always a challenge. Plus timing because undercooked food often looks better but of course you want to eat the stuff afterwards. We have a clear task division: my husband takes the photos (his reward is the food he gets to eat afterwards) and I clean up and do the dishes and clear the setup after the shoot while he works on the photos. Couldn’t do it without him. I am a pretty bad photographer and won’t even get into it.
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You are so lucky! I sometimes cheat a little and take pictures halfway through the process, which not only makes soups and stews look a bit more colourful but also prevents my family from complaining that they have to wait for the pictures before they can eat!
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Loved reading your write up!!cute ❤️
The tips on pic taking are fabulous. Thanks for sharing Ginger. Your pictures are always awesome, where the main hero is your food!
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I wish I had the energy to create these lovely tableaus! But by the time I’ve finished cooking or baking I just want to tuck in, not arrange a few props and sprinkle seeds over my already messy surface … One day I will discover my inner calm and work on it!
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😀
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This is awesome. The husband of another blogger I know has an account where he takes ‘behind the scenes’ pictures of her setting up her shots. It’s fascinating stuff.
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That sounds just too funny! I hope I prevented this from happening .., for now …
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What a great post, so interesting to see how you create lovely photos in your limited space 🙂 x
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Thanks, Elaine!
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Really great post, your photo’s are always just beautiful. I have to get something black to act as background. It really does make a difference when photographing something pale. Really good tips. Thank you.
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It does help, especially with light issues! I bet you must be struggling in the winter, too, with short days and a low sun!
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Grear post – thanx for sharing. … 🙂
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Very helpful post as I still struggle with photographs and mess in the background.
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And I struggle with alternatives to bacon! Thanks for your wonderful suggestion, Hilda!
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I burst out laughing when I read about ‘Thetruthbehindgingerandbread’ 😀 😀 But seriously, thank you for all the tips, I am trying to improve my indoor photography, so it is wonderful to see how other bloggers set it up! Thank you for sharing at FF 🙂
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Thank you for your lovely comments!!
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Pale color foods are one of my problems when it comes to photography. I bought black card board before, too, but I don’t use it often. Thank you for sharing your secrets, Ginger. 😀 It’s nice to see how you get those pretty photos. Happy FF. 🙂
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I know what you mean, card is hard to prop up and all that … I’d have lost interest or have started eating by the time it’s all set up!
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Hahaha! Yes! When I don’t get the right photo, I stop and eat. Until I eat the good looking ones. 😀
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Magic stuff. I love the insight. I also love that whole ” sleeping in the bedroom” thing – I’m defo giving that a bash 😜
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If you’ve got a bed it absolutely beats the work top! 😉
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😜👍
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Best post ever!!
We all suffer from small-kitchen-itis, thank you for sharing this and telling the truth on behalf of all of us 😀
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And there was me worrying about showing you my mess! Your picture with the plastic gloves is still haunting me …
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Hahaha, that’s right, it better!
😀
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Loved this post – and clearly so many other people did too! Thans for sharing your secrets with us 🙂
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My secret mess, you mean?! I thought it might come in handy, as a ‘Plan B’ when people haven’t got the time or energy to set up a full tableau. Or tidy up. 😉
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Hi Ginger. What a wonderful post. I think if my kitchen was seen during some of my shoots the food police would come and arrest me. When I am making blog food, which is most of time, I am usually trying to get the same dish on the table for my wife and 3 kids to eat. The kitchen is a disaster. But it is amazing what you can hide. Thanks for the awesome tips and great pics. Thanks for sharing with Fiesta Friday #72 and the shout outs. Have a great week… :)))
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Thank you, Quinn! Now I am waiting to see pictures of your fridge, before and after! 😉
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Been a long day of installing appliances. I will post pics soon. Thanks GInger
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My heart goes out to you! I need to clear out my freezer, there’s more ice than foods now but I am dreading it …
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Great post! And so true….we all make such messes in the kitchen while cooking and blogging..my hubby gets antsy for his hot food while I’m trying to take photos…and the light in my kitchen is awful…i don’t like taking photos with the lights on but the natural light just isn’t enough…great ideas for future use!! Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
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It took me a while to figure it out – I took quite a few pictures in the bath tub (sorry to burst any bubbles) because it has fantastic light, when I noticed that I can get rid of an awkward window frame by leaning a baking tray against it!
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What a lovely blog! Black and dark notes are always great as a background and your photos are so good they are edible 🙂
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Thank you, Petra! Looking forward to seeing you at work 🙂
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likewise! 🙂
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Fabulous post, GInger! I really appreciate all the tips; they’re very helpful! I haven’t experimented a lot with dark backgrounds, even though I find them dramatic and beautifully mysterious. I’ve always loved your photos, btw! 🙂
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Thanks, Angie – that means a lot, coming from you!
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Thanks for the tips. I also have a space (and lighting issue). I had never thought about using a black background. I will have to try it soon.
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I like all the tips as I too encounter most of the situations. I have a tight little corner near my back door that I use but have to clear it up soon as every one uses the door. I am going to follow your advice! Summer is a blessing as I can go outside, but the harsh light is a challenge!
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I know what you mean! I have to avoid the sun or block it now, and the later the evening the better.
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fantastic…thanks for all the tips…you did great service to all of us struggling with our photos 🙂
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