Food Photography (specifically cupcakes/cakes)

YAJones

Hi All. I'm new to this forum and would like to thank you all for the information I've found so far.

I'm co-owner of a business venture that specializes in cheesecake cupcakes and a big part of advertising our business is uploading product photos to our Facebook account. I've been taking some close up shots of our cupcakes and customers love the pictures so far, but I'd like to do better.

What are the best settings to deliver great looking photos with my limited gear (Nikon D3100, kit lens, tripod and a close up filter kit)?

Would this type of photography come under the macro heading?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Moose

@YAJones - Honestly, if you really want to take your shots to the next level, I would invest in a 35mm f/1.8 or 50mm f/1.8 prime lens. If you have limited funds, I would even go as far as selling the kit lens and filter kit and upgrading to one of the primes. You'll be able to get that "professional" look, where individual cupcakes will be in sharp focus while everything around it will be blurred into silky smooth blurry goodness.

As for settings with one of the prime lenses, I would enable Aperture priority (A) and set the aperture to f/1.8. Try to position the cupcakes near a window with natural light and whallah, you'll have some delicious looking shots! Happy shooting! :)