Food Props on Sunday, part 4-textiles and more. (this time on Monday)

As promised, here we have the fourth part on Food Props on Sunday, one day late but that's the way life goes now and then. Today I want to talk about textiles and some other materials that aren't textiles. Fabric is a great prop, you add colour and you add textures to your settings and you don't even need that much of it plus that fabric is easy to store. Tablecloths, table mats, kitchen towels, napkins or just a spare piece of fabric, all textiles that are easily found and easy to use. I have a stash of fabrics I have collected over many years because once upon a time I used to sew clothes for me and the children, I recently remembered them and dragged them out from their nook in the attic; some are large pieces and some are leftovers but they all will come in useful one time or another I'm sure of that.

Tablecloths can be really beautiful too and you don't need big ones either, ask your mothers and relatives if they have any they can donate to you or just borrow them for a while if you don't have much space. Old linen ones can be fantastic with the right light, they have such a beautiful shine to them... Go easy on the loud patterned ones as they could draw the attention from the food and the rest of the setting but if you have plates that goes well with it, give it at try, remember that our eyes see things differently from a camera eye, it's three-dimensional against bi-dimensional and you never can tell in advance how things works.

Kitchen towels, I have loads of those in different colours, patterns and shapes, they are great when you want to put a bit of fabric under a dish to add more colour or interest to a shot. And if the kitchen towel is big enough, you can use it as a tablecloth in the photo. Or as a background even. And when you are fed up with them or need some, you can use them in the kitchen so no waste of money and that goes for tablecloths and napkins too. You can get fabric cheaply from thrift shops and fabric shops where they sell left-overs from fabric rolls (I'm sure there's a name to it but I can't remember which) and don't forget upholstery shops where they sometimes sell or give away out-of-sale fabric sample books (or whatever that is called! Help!).

Then we have table mats or place mats, really great props because here you find lots of interesting textures, patterns, colours and materials and they can really make a photo so much more interesting. I love the bamboo ones that you can make rolls of and I have several made of wood, they make a slightly less soft image but I think they are great props. Not to forget plastic ones or the usual textiles table mats!

Napkins are to food photography what scarves and hand bags are to fashion photography, great accessories! The addition of a napkin next to a plate and a fork makes table setting and a crumbled napkin tells a story! Or whatever way you like using them. You can use fabric ones and here as well you can ask your mothers and relatives if they have any odd ones and thrift shops are definitely a good place where to find them. And obviously the usual shops as well. You can also use paper napkins and here you can find almost anything you can imagine, colours, patterns and sizes-there's no end to the choice. I buy a packet and save say four napkins and then I use the rest of them when we have guests or need some fun colours.

I'm sure I have forgotten some aspect but this will have to suffice for now. You mustn't forget to Show Us Your Food Props though. Write about and show us your own food props in any way you please, it can be only photos, you can tell us which ones are your favourite ones or just give us useful tips about how to find or make great food props! Blog it, link back to any of the Food Props on Sunday posts here on Lucullian and send it to me at luculliandelights AT gmail DOT com with your name, the name of your blog and the url to the blog post and I will include you in the roundup that is planned for the 4thof July! Please remember to put Show Us Your Food Props in the subject line so that I don't spam your email.

Food Props on Sunday, part 1
Food Props on Sunday, part 2
Food Props on Sunday, part 3