When I saw the challenge theme, I immediately thought of "food", because a lot of recipe book photos and menu pictures are shot with extremely shallow depth-of-field. I got the idea of "apple pie a la mode" for the "Things That Go Together" challenge, and it kind of stuck with me... unfortunately.
Even though I created "fake" ice cream (made of light corn syrup, vegetable shortening and powdered sugar, then tinted to look like french vanilla), the pie was "real", and it was very difficult to keep from "oozing" out of shape.
Not expecting a ribbon because it probably doesn't have any "wow" factor, but I did spend a lot of time on this challenge...
Note: the shallow DOF is "from the camera", there was no post-shot blurring or manipulation.
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To me the major draw back is the tilt. Yes, many cookbooks have tilted images, but this feels as if the pie will slide off the table. It is not an enhancement to the image.
The pie itself is not that attractive. Too much crumb topping not enough apples and the ice cream should have a little melt to it so it looks real. There are too many crumbs on the plate.
If your going to tilt the entire scene it should be done so it shows more of the pie. More of a looking down slightly from an angle. This is shot straight on which makes the tilt even more noticeable. Also changing your angle should help eliminate what looks like blur on the top of the icecream. All of the food should be in focus, or only a very specific area if you are going for extreme shortened DOF.
Bring the entire image closer to the edge and closer to the viewer.
The apples in the background are good, no need for the out of focus cinnamon in the foreground, it's just a distraction on the checked tablecloth.
Food styling and photography may be one of the hardest techniques to perfect.
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