Every time I have dinner, I try to use that as an excuse to do some food photography, before I eat it.

And often I can. In those cases, as on the evening of August 10, I do the following:

1. I whip out my 35mm or 50mm prime lens;
2. I go to manual or aperture mode;
3. I set a very large aperture – a small “F”-number, like f/2.0, or in this case, f/2.5;
4. I compose carefully, to remove distractions. So I tilt, get close, move things, and blur out backgrounds, all to get a simple image;
5. I get close! Cutting off half the plate is good. Fill the frame!
6. But I include some of “plate, fork, glass”: things to indicate that this is food in a nice setting.
7. I expose well, ensuring a fast shutter speed;
8. I turn the plate, or reposition the food on the plate if needed;
9. Ideally, I want open, soft light, and backlight. So I reposition the food to obtain that, if at all possible.

If I do this right, I now get this:

And then I eat (Pork Tenderloin – yum).

And while the food lasts mere minutes (knowing me, seconds), the image lasts forever. I thus see restaurant food as an investment. I eat, and I get a stock photo into the bargain.