New gig: FOOD photography. Need help on lighting, examples included! Thanks!!!

[gomatt]

Hey everyone, a lot has changed since I have been on DP Review! I am leaving my 9-6 job in May for more travel, part time jobs, and to free up time to develop a business with a partner. This means I will be thinking "find money where there is no money". A co-worker of mine owns a thai restaurant with no website. So I made a simple website and took a few shots of the food. They came out better than I expected, but she has since started to pay me for menu pictures, etc. And before I charge customer #2, I want to get my shots looking more worthy of the $$$.

Any help would be great in suggesting what I can buy to simulate daylight. On a sunny day, by the window, I can get a few good shots, but the clouds and sun I cannot control. If it is equipment I need, it has be small enough to lug into a restaurant and use at a table.

I don't think I am looking for a background sheet or anything, just a light or two, or a screen? to get nice light, without the shadows.... please see below....

I would like to keep the price down, maybe one light with a 5k bulb and a diffuser?


Current equipment: Nikon D90 with 17-55 2.8 lens. No flash.

Thanks again for your help! Matt


More pics are here: http://gomatt.smugmug.com/Other/Pimaan/27491964_gvjRgP#!i=2356641823&k=CTr43hz


This is my best one (lighting wise):


This is what I am going for, this was just using the window and window blinds.......




These are OK, but you can see where the shadows come in.....

 

[John Deerfield]

Well, I am not a food photography but I would say that you simply need to learn lighting. And you need a tripod. In terms of lighting, what's wrong with shadows? Direction of light reveal depth, color, and texture. A natural consequence of this will be shadows; you just want to learn how to control the lighting to achieve the result you want. I suppose the defacto place to start is the book Light: the Science and Magic. And Kelby Training has a few courses on lighting food.

As far as the tripod goes... see anything similar about your shots? The position of the lens in relationship to the subject (food) is going to strongly influence your composition (understatement). A tripod simply gives you more control and the ability to use a lower ISO and slower shutters when needed.

And I might suggest a macro lens, especially if being paid. You don't want every shot you create looking like anyone with a camera and kit lens could have taken the photo.

 

[Duncan C]

Product photography is tricky business, and food photography is one of the hardest forms of product photography.

In addition to using quite a bit of gear and a great deal of specialized knowledge and experience, product photographers also do a lot of post-processing on their images.

Pro food photographers have a dedicated food stylist who preps the dishes for photographs, stages the shots, etc. There are lots of tricks to making food look appetizing. Tricks that took years -decades even- to figure out

You need to shoot each dish immediately, since it starts to dry out and look stale very quickly. The goal is to make the food look fresh and appetizing.

I'm no expert on the subject, but I know enough to know what I don't know. I've done a moderate amount of product photography, and I would not try to sell my services as a food photographer, just like I wouldn't sell myself as a karate instructor after taking a year and a half of karate lessons.

Your samples are fairly decent, but not consistent. The shots with soft window light are the best. You've got soft-edged shadows that define the shape of the dishes without being too harsh. In the third shot, the shadows are too strong. The food looks a little dull in most of the shots however.

I don't think your goal of a very low-budget setup that you can set up at a single table is realistic. You could fit it all in a car to get it there, but it sure would not fit on a table once it was set up. I would expect to fill half a small dining room with equipment.

As the other poster said, you need a tripod.

Hot lights are also not really an option because they are - surprise! - hot. They will dry out your food before you can get a decent shot. You also need a modifier like a softbox to create a larger light source than you will get with just a light and reflector.

I would say you're going to need 2 or 3 studio flashes with stepless power adjustment, light stands, at least one boom arm, a small soft box, possibly with a grid, maybe a strip light, plus various reflectors, black cards, gobos, etc. You'll also need a light meter. Then you'll need to learn how to use that gear.

(I have most of the gear listed above, and am fairly comfortable using it, but I would still not do food photography for money unless the client understood that this was an "I'll do my best, but no promises" project.)

Maybe a working pro who's done food photography can chime in here.

gomatt wrote:

Hey everyone, a lot has changed since I have been on DP Review! I am leaving my 9-6 job in May for more travel, part time jobs, and to free up time to develop a business with a partner. This means I will be thinking "find money where there is no money". A co-worker of mine owns a thai restaurant with no website. So I made a simple website and took a few shots of the food. They came out better than I expected, but she has since started to pay me for menu pictures, etc. And before I charge customer #2, I want to get my shots looking more worthy of the $$$.

Any help would be great in suggesting what I can buy to simulate daylight. On a sunny day, by the window, I can get a few good shots, but the clouds and sun I cannot control. If it is equipment I need, it has be small enough to lug into a restaurant and use at a table.

I don't think I am looking for a background sheet or anything, just a light or two, or a screen? to get nice light, without the shadows.... please see below....

I would like to keep the price down, maybe one light with a 5k bulb and a diffuser?

Current equipment: Nikon D90 with 17-55 2.8 lens. No flash.

Thanks again for your help! Matt

More pics are here: http://gomatt.smugmug.com/Other/Pimaan/27491964_gvjRgP#!i=2356641823&k=CTr43hz

This is my best one (lighting wise):


This is what I am going for, this was just using the window and window blinds.......

These are OK, but you can see where the shadows come in.....

--
Regards,

Duncan C

dpreview and PBase supporter.

http://www.pbase.com/duncanc/image/61499136/small.jpg

Galleries by Duncan

www.pbase.com

My macro gallery:

Macro pictures by Duncan

www.pbase.com

 

[Darrell Spreen]

I think your sample photos are generally quite good (though I'm not a professional food photographer). Those with strong shadows are weakest and you are right to be thinking in terms of large diffuse light sources. You can create a good approximation of window light with a large shoot-thru white umbrella or a large softbox.

The food photography I have done was also at a restaurant (a confined area near the kitchen) and I used an off-camera hot-shoe flash (portablility counts!) through a white umbrella situated above and behind the table. That is an often recommended angle for lighting as it brings out textures (with soft shadows) and also the important highlights.

Everyone in product photography started low on the learning curve, but you should not get discouraged. The advantage you have in food photography (probably starting out without a food stylist) is that the chef is very concerned with presentation, so others will be trying to help you. Your initial challenge may be to come up with a setting that complements the foods (some of your photos are a bit cluttered, IMHO).

I personally don't see the need for 2 or 3 strobes, though a small reflector can be useful. Also, plan to spend some time in post-processing. Here's a website that is all about (professional) food photography and may give you some pointers. Notice especially the lighting in some of the 15 chosen "amazing" food pictures -- most look like window lighting as you suggested.

http://www.learnfoodphotography.com/

 

[Hugowolf]

Duncan C wrote:

I would say you're going to need 2 or 3 studio flashes with stepless power adjustment,

Just out of interest, why 'stepless'?

Brian A

 

[ZalaFoto]

There is no "Buy two XYZ light" secret here. Great food photography can be done so many different ways. Even window light can be used.


I would study the subject as much as I could from photographers, who really mastered that part of the trade. Another great way to advance is to look at images that are appealing in food related magazines or on Flickr, stop for a second and study the layout, the composition, the angle.


Bill Robbins has a great video and there is a great book Food Styling for Photographers: A Guide to Creating Your Own Appetizing Art by Linda Bellingham and Jean Ann Bybee that I would recommend.

 

[Darrell Spreen]

In my post above, I said you could match window light pretty well with an umbrella or softbox, so I thought I'd check it out to see what I get.

I rounded up some stuff for a picture and set up some lights. I used 2 hot-shoe flashes, side-by-side, camera left, each with a 30" umberella. Each flash was set at 1/8 power (really bright lights are not required). In this case, I decided to add another slaved very low power hot-shoe flash with a grid to give a little spotlight. It was also set up camera left. You can see the shadow it cast. The flashes I use are all very inexpensive and I always use them in manual mode. It's not as difficult as it may sound.

The result is below and you can judge for yourself it if gives the effect you're after. There are lots of things wrong with this picture (bad background; the napkin, which I threw in for contrasting color, needs pressing; I probably should have used a wider aperture for more limited DOF, etc. etc.). I added some vignetting in post.

For me, the problems here illlustrate the number of things that need to be taken into account. There's lighting, but there's also composition and all the props. I moved these items around 2 or 3 times trying for a pleasing composition. The little food photography I've done has always been enjoyable, but it is very painstaking work.

The foodportfolio website (below) has links to numerous food photographers' work that may give you ideas and inspiration.

Great F 0 0 d Shooters

Hope this helps a bit and good luck in your new enterprise!

--
Darrell

 

[Duncan C]

Hugowolf wrote:

Duncan C wrote:

I would say you're going to need 2 or 3 studio flashes with stepless power adjustment,

Just out of interest, why 'stepless'?

It's not a requirement, but it makes life much easier. If you need to adjust your flash power by a little less than a 3rd of a stop, it's trivial with stepless power adjustment.

Full stop adjustment isn't fine enough for many situations. 1/3 stop adjustment would be ok, but then what if you want to go down by 1/2 stop?

Brian A

 

[PenFan2011]

I think a 32x48 soft box and flash/strobe right up on the food would work just fine. I don't have any personal experience doing this exact photography, but it won't take much in my opinion.




I personally think 90% shots are great. The only ones I would suggest you re-do if you had the option would be the few with the harsh shadows. Most of the rest make them seem natural and three dimensional. They are very well exposed and have a nice natural composition, not the sterile white backdrop and omni-lighting that can make the food look fake if done wrong. Honestly these pictures are making want to run to get some lo-mein and egg rolls, so I think you are doing pretty well so far.

 

[Peano]

Study the backgrounds of your shots. Then go to Google Images and search on "food photography" and study a bunch of what you find. Notice what is included (and excluded) in the surroundings.

Your shots are surrounded by all sorts of clutter that detracts from the subject.

One example ...

All of that stuff is under your control. Try applying this rule: Nothing is allowed inside the frame unless it enhances the subject.

--
~ Peano
www.radiantpics.com

 

[Hugowolf]

Duncan C wrote:

Hugowolf wrote:

Duncan C wrote:

I would say you're going to need 2 or 3 studio flashes with stepless power adjustment,

Just out of interest, why 'stepless'?

It's not a requirement, but it makes life much easier. If you need to adjust your flash power by a little less than a 3rd of a stop, it's trivial with stepless power adjustment.

Full stop adjustment isn't fine enough for many situations. 1/3 stop adjustment would be ok, but then what if you want to go down by 1/2 stop?

Thanks, I think it is an old thing, Most recent non-bottom end studio lights are in 1/10th stop increments - too little to notice in one turn.

Brian A

 

[DecibelPhoto]

I think you're doing great. I've worked with some high-end food photographers, I have a little experience.

First off, no shadows should pretty much never be a goal for any type of photography. Get that out of your head. It's all about well placed shadows.

That being said, food photography is almost always shot with very soft light coming from behind. Backlight is pretty much the norm. The main guy I work with will usually use a 4x6' box behind and above the dish, perhaps slightly to the side. There are also fill cards in front, and often an additional snooted head from behind and to the side to bring out texture in a localized area. You can also use heads with reflectors and silks, or v-flats. I would highly recommend staying away from hot lights.

Keep up the good work

 

[b4cktr4ck]

this book gives you an idea of what gears you need, different lighting setups, styling and propping, and other useful tips. I found it very useful to get me started

http://www.amazon.com/Food-Photography-Snapshots-Great-Shots/dp/0321784111