この記事は英語と日本語の切り替えができます。
This article is available in both English & Japanese.
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Hello everyone, this is Akaru.
On my recent trip, I stayed at a traditional Japanese ryokan and photographed what I would call The Japanese breakfast.
Morning light has a completely different mood from the evening. It is softer, cooler, and full of calm energy.
In this post, I will share how I captured that refreshing atmosphere using natural light, along with some beginner friendly camera tips.
If you simply enjoy looking at food photos, that is totally fine too.
Let’s get started.
Why Morning Is Perfect for Shooting Breakfast
Shooting a ryokan breakfast has one big advantage over dinner photography: light.
In the morning, natural light comes through the windows, so you often do not need to raise your ISO too high.
If you can choose your seat, go for one near the window. Soft sunlight will naturally highlight the texture of the dishes.
Morning light often has a slightly blue tone, giving your photos a sense of freshness and serenity.
It perfectly matches the feeling of starting the day with a traditional Japanese meal.
Focus on the Whole Table
This shot was taken at F7.1.
When shooting food, if your aperture is too wide open, only one dish may stay in focus.
To make the entire breakfast look crisp and balanced, try stopping down a little, around F7.1 or F8.
Even so, you may notice a soft blur toward the back of the table.
If it is possible without disturbing anyone, step slightly back from the table to keep everything sharper.
Here, I focused on the set meal in the lower right corner, while letting the top left plate fade softly into the background.
Even with the same aperture, changing your focus point can shift how the depth feels in the image.
I wish I had left a bit less empty space in the foreground, but every photo is a lesson.
Focus on One Dish
If you are shooting something like a grilled salmon breakfast, your main subject is clear: the salmon.
This one had a perfect golden edge and a bit of char that smelled amazing.
I focused on the fish and blurred the rest to emphasize its delicious texture.
Highlighting a single main dish makes the viewer instantly think, That looks tasty.
No ryokan breakfast is complete without a soft boiled onsen egg. It is one of my favorite subjects to photograph.
To bring out the glossy look, I used a tone curve adjustment during editing.
By slightly darkening other tones and keeping the highlight on the egg, you can make it appear more three dimensional and appetizing.
This photo was also taken at F7.1, but since the camera was closer to the subject, the background blurred nicely on its own.
You can control the background softness not only with aperture, but also by adjusting the distance between your lens and the subject.
Wrapping Up
I hope you enjoyed this little morning photo journey.
Shooting breakfast at a ryokan is a peaceful and rewarding experience.
It is not only about food, but also about light and atmosphere.
When you capture the warm simplicity of Japanese dishes under gentle morning light, you rediscover the quiet beauty of everyday life.
So next time you stay at a ryokan, take a few moments to photograph your breakfast.
You might find that the calm morning glow becomes the real main dish.
Gear Used
Camera: Canon EOS 6D Mark II
Lens: SIGMA 24–105mm F4 DG OS HSM Art
Enjoy your photography journey, and remember, every photo you take is a small step forward.
Thanks for reading, and see you in the next post.
Article by Akaru, from Akaru’s Camera Like Blog
If you enjoyed this post, you can see more of my photo stories on Instagram:@akaru_camera.like.blog
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