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09-13-2009, 07:05 AM   #1
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Food photography - need advice

By sheer coincidence I landed myself a paid assigment to photograph some dishes of fishsalads for some fishstore a friends works for. I've never done anything like it but the photos they're currently using for their advertisement are so poor I'm pretty sure I can do a better job.

I need a few pointers though. First, I guess my external flash isn't going to cut it and that I need to get myself a softbox or 2, right? I'm assuming my K100D Super will cope with such a setup, as long as I get some sort of wireless transmitter. I saw there's studioflashes available with all sorts of watt-ages (and prices), what is the bare minimum beyond which such lights become uselessly powerless?

Any other advice to keep in mind?

09-13-2009, 08:15 AM   #2
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A trend I have noticed with food photography these days is that the light sources are often smaller and therefore more contrasty. Softboxes take up a lot of space and when you're doing food photography on location in a restaurant space can become somewhat hard to come by.
09-13-2009, 08:29 AM   #3
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If you already have an external flash, don't buy anything new just yet.

Go read Strobist. And Lighting 101 and 102 there.

Practice with a plate of food at home and move the flash around and see what works and what doesn't.

If you want to soften the light, you can place a sheet of paper between the flash and the plate to soften the light, or bounce the light off the ceiling, or a nearby wall.

You can also try this simple lightbox:

http://strobist.blogspot.com/2009/06/food-photography-made-easy-lunch-box.html
09-13-2009, 10:11 AM   #4
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Aye, don't eat the subject.

Also work as quickly as you can food starts to look tired very quickly.

09-13-2009, 11:19 AM   #5
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Try using as much natutal light as possible. The food will look so much better than with any artificial lighting. You may also want to try a reflector on the opposite side to lessen bu not totally eliminate shadows. Also try for a really shallow dof.
09-13-2009, 11:21 AM   #6
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That was tremendously helpful alohadave. I already have a Metz 48 AF-1, which apparently will do just fine. All I need is 2 adapters so I can wire up my camera with my flash (both lack the sockets needed). And there I was thinking I needed to buy myself a whole new strobe.

So pretty much all I need is a light stand, stuff to connect the camera to the flash, stuff to connect the flash to the stand, and an umbrella. This is exciting news.
09-13-2009, 06:30 PM   #7
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"and an umbrella"

- i'm waiting for benjikan's rebuttal to that remark...

though in all seriousness, a metz flash unit used wireless should do fine. though you may have some trouble filling in the shadow cast by the plate on the table..since reflectors never reflect more light than is cast on them you will have to be inventive with your lighting I would say buy an additional flash unit as a fill light and use another one as a highlight texture light.

09-14-2009, 01:46 PM   #8
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I think I'll just stick with one flash and make due with reflecting. I don't want to digg in too deep when I'm just starting with strobing.
09-14-2009, 09:29 PM   #9
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Kevin-

Sounds like you're on the right track, be sure to experiment a few different times to get the whole process worked into your brain so you don't forget anything.


Reflector should be just fine, especially if you use a mirror and have an assistant there to help you.
09-15-2009, 01:32 AM   #10
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I'm no food photography expert but I'll try to help: dishes prepared for eating often look less good when photographed - you can get much better shots with dishes that are only "half" cooked or combined "cooked/half cooked/raw" elements of the dish, because many diferent kinds of food look much better when raw - vegetables for example. Of course, the "photo meal" has to be realistic representation of "real meal" but some "freedom of interpretation" is allowed (especially if you succeed in "improving" the looks of the food).
There are also many tricks that food photographers use - glycerin on the fruits and vegetables for the glow, small glass bubles in the drinks acting as air bubbles on the surface, tea or water soluble colours instead of real drinks to get that backlight translucent effect, lighter fuel instead of the cognac in the flambee food because alcohol has very thin and pale flame, artificial ice etc. That food that looks so good on the photos is actually not edible at all!
Good luck, and report back! I'm very interested to see how it went.
09-15-2009, 04:57 AM   #11
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gamgee, in the US, if the dish is 'generic' you can prep the food like you are saying.

If the food is something that has a brand name or is trademarked, you have to use the same ingredients and it has to be edible. You can arrange the ingredients, but anything like steam has to be real.

It comes under truth in advertising laws.
09-15-2009, 05:53 AM   #12
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There's a whole load of tricks for food photography. I remember a show a few years back about food commercials. Thing was they said if a food was suppose to be hot it was cold if it was cold it was hot. Like a shot of carving a turkey. They would make the cut and hit it with a heat gun to brown that area so it would appear cooked. Then take the shot. They gave a bunch of examples but that's the one that stuck in my mind. Dishes that have colorful veggies like peppers and carrots look better when not fully cooked. And cooked separate from other ingredients so the color stays crisp. It's combined at plating time. The plate must always be wiped just before the shot. No gravy/sauce drippings around the edges.

Alohadave if there were truth in advertising 90% of the products couldn't be sold.

Gamgee is right on the effects that are used for food photography.

I still say you should try as much natural light on the plates as possible instead of bulbs and flashes. Use a collapsible reflector on the opposite side to bounce some of that natural light into the shadow area. the food will look that much better.
09-15-2009, 07:32 AM   #13
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QuoteOriginally posted by graphicgr8s Quote
Alohadave if there were truth in advertising 90% of the products couldn't be sold.

Gamgee is right on the effects that are used for food photography.
I didn't say that they don't style food. What I said was that for foods that are branded, like a Big Mag for example, you cannot modify the food to make it look more appealing, you have to prepare it the same way it would be prepared for sale and you cannot add anything to the food that it isn't included in the food. When it is cooked, you can arrange the food for maximum impact, but that is all you can do to the food.
09-15-2009, 07:45 AM   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by alohadave Quote
I didn't say that they don't style food. What I said was that for foods that are branded, like a Big Mag for example, you cannot modify the food to make it look more appealing, you have to prepare it the same way it would be prepared for sale and you cannot add anything to the food that it isn't included in the food. When it is cooked, you can arrange the food for maximum impact, but that is all you can do to the food.
True you can't add anything to the branded item.
But the lettuce will look nice and crisp and the tomato will be nice and red and will look perfect via food colorings and stuff. The bread will be fluffy. Now when you get that thing (I just can't call it food) the lettuce is usually wilted and the tomato is under ripe. The bread is usually squished down and mangled.
If you're shooting a pasta dish for example, the pasta will be barely cooked so you get the look, the sauce will generally be cold. A touch of oil will be added to make it glisten. The plate will be clean all around the food.
Shooting ribs? They probably aren't cooked. Just hit with a heat gun to get the browning. It's quicker.
In a photograph you get to appeal to only one of the senses. It just has to look perfect.

There's only one thing I like more than shooting food. Well, OK 2 things. And they just about run neck and neck.
09-16-2009, 12:22 AM   #15
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Graphicgr8s is right Alohadave - law or not, I guarantee you that big mac in the picture is NOT what you get when you order one.
Marketing today is art of deceiving and imposing artificial needs, so much, that it often feels like being raped.
Sad part is that it achieved its goal and made people numb and unaware of whats really going on.

hey graphicgr8s, what's the other thing?

Last edited by gamgee; 09-16-2009 at 12:28 AM.
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