The basics of food photography were well covered by Eric in his excellent posts on this thread [1]. Well worth a careful reading for those who wish to improve their point-and-click bread shots.

I picked up the topic again on PiPs' recent post [2], and rather than risking hijacking the thread by continuing the discussion further there, thought the time was opportune to open another food photography thread, this time seeking some tips on slightly more advanced aspects of food photography. Yes, there are plenty of places on the web that cover food and other photography, but I'm not a photography geek and really am only interested in improving my bread pics. I can think of no better place than here to put out the feelers for some more good relevant info. I think it's safe to assume I'm not alone on TFL in this interest.

One glad lesson that emerged from Eric and PiPs' threads was that it is not necessary to have an expensive camera to achieve some very impressive bread pics. I don't think you need to go to an SLR unless you're a serious hobbyist or pro. A good quality compact digital camera is quite sufficient (two posters who spring immediately to mind who amply demonstrate that are PiPs and HansJoachim).

I have a Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 - from the raves about this baby on photography forums, I can't complain about my equipment! Yet, all I have done with my camera so far is point and click using the auto setting. I know I am not getting the most out of my camera. I have a basic knowledge of what to do to get a half-decent shot (eg: arrange the subject as attractively as possible, trying taking shots from different angles, use good natural lighting where possible, focus, and don't move the camera when clicking!), but that's about it. I find the camera manual hard to read, especially since I'm only interested in food photography - the manual is necessarily expansive and general.

I'm wondering if some of the more experienced photographers out there could give a few pointers about slightly more advanced aspects of food photography for folk like me who have never graduated from the auto setting, but would like to do so. I suppose I'm after a short-cut: some more advanced principles and settings specific to food photography, so I don't have to wade through great volumes of more general stuff that are not relevant to me. Please assume zero terminological or technical photographic knowledge! At the moment, I don't know my aperture from my______ (you can fill in the missing word).

Any tips gratefully received.

Cheers all
Ross