Micro / Macro food photography. Comments and your help to pick the best

[PKinDenmark]

Dear CR
I am currently making a number of photos for a small competition with the theme:
'Macro Food Photography'
This is for me quite an unusual combination as food-photography usually shows more of a full dish / a meal and maybe some environment in the background as well.

I have worked with a couple of ideas, and would like your view or comments before I decide which ideas / photos to submit. I can submit only two entries.
Idea 1: Small items on a plate - with some background to create ambience (example using f/5.6)
Idea 2: Small items on a plate - getting even closer (example using f/18)
Idea 3: Ingredients - different style - very crisp and dry - 100% sharpness all over (example using f/22)

All three are made with Canon 100mm 2.8 L IS macro. (I like this much - still learning)
Lighting setup based on small incandescent lamps. Steady tripod used.

Any ideas / comments appreciated.

 

[privatebydesign]

The problem with all competitions is you have to rely on the vagaries of the judges. Without knowing their personal preferences it is impossible to know. Their preferences might be photographic, in which case lighting and framing would be paramount, or if they are foodies best examples of subjects might win, or anything in between!

Best advice, shoot for yourself, to your style. From a photographic point number three is the best technical example, but it is also the most boring. You really need to control your specular highlights on the other two. Number one is the most emotional, but the background is distracting and too bright. Olives and cheese make me think warm, summer, comfortable, your scene is cold and hard. I'd get some cloth in there; glass steel and blue are as far from warm, summer, comfortable, as you can get. Also they are not complimentary to a brown with oil, I'd be thinking wood, sack cloth, candle etc. But that is just me and my thought process, I am not important for your competition

Hope this helps.

 

[PKinDenmark]

Private.
Thank you - I appreciate your feedback very much.
I want this type of conversation not so much for the competition as for the learning, and this type of personal feedback is very helpful. Especially as you talk about the emotions raised by each picture.