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Food photography advice
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Hi All,
I have a little personal food project on the way, and despite my creative passions in the kitchen and interest in shooting food images over the years, it’s not something I’ve really indulged in photographically.
For those of you who shoot food images, and especially anyone who does this professionally, I wonder what you utilise with regard to technique and kit, and what other elements you consider key.
I’ve enjoyed perusing the food image critique forum, and would love to see some of your food imagery.
Thanks in advance :)
Depends on what you/client is looking for really. For some of the stuff I’ve done, I’ve kept it really simple, and shot it all natural light in a conservatory in the restaurant, wide open mostly with an 85mm and 24-70.
http://markcapilitan.com/2010/11/08/food-photography/This guy has fab work – http://www.foodportfolio.com/ but again it’s simple & clean imagery.
I was once told that water is not used on food (fruit) for photography – some form of gelatin product is used.
That is the full extent of my knowledge of food photography – plus keep it away from the kids or they’ll eat your props!
Great site Mark, and like your own work too. I like the simple, natural light approach and it seems like a good place to start.
BM – yes, those damn food stylists! Hear they like to use mashed potato in place of ice cream too..
Sadolins on the roast chicken . . . clear polyurethane on everything else . . . . Plan your shots without the food, lights and everything in position, when the food’s ready shoot it quick before it cools/melts as the case may be – fresh herbs/salad can wilt before your eyes! Very shallow DOF is trendy – the paper case at the front of a cupcake and part of the frosting sharp, the rest blurred, that sort of thing. I’ve done a few food shots in kitchens I worked in as a chef. I’d advise keeping it simple and uncluttered. Make sure serving dishes, crockery and cutlery (if used) are spotlessly clean. Markcapilitan above has the right idea, photograph in a conservatory if possible for natural light.
Alex.
PS. Have a look at some of the food magazines in the newsagents and check out weekend supplements in newspapers like the Times and the Observer, some good stuff in those.Lol, good advice re: planning shots without the food, and then dropping everything into position when everything’s ready.
Must have a look in the shelf of cookery books I have, and do some research. I hear you re: trendy use of shallow depth of field :)
Lol, will do. Just wrapping up another project at the moment, so am just researching & beginning to read up a little before I have the time available to start the food shooting project. Any recommended sources for someone new’ish to food photography, just give a holler :)
Also heard that if you soak a tampon in water and nuke it in a microwave for a minute or two then place it behind a plate of what is supposed to be hot food you get a good illusion of steam coming of the plate
Hmm.. not sure the direction this thread has taken..
Seriously, before we go off the deep end, I’m not interested in the shenanigans that go on with food stylists, and am more interested in general advice for someone interested in shooting a personal food imagery project, and new to the area.
To date, I plan to shoot this with what I have. This will almost definitely be with a 35mm dslr, as the images will need to be colour images, and I will not have the the budget for film developing and scanning for this project.
Ultimately the images will be used to compile a food recipe book I plan to collaborate with someone else on, with a view to self-publishing via blurb, or one of the other online photo book printing websites.
The books themselves will serve a few purposes, namely exploring self-publishing, having a physical book to gift, as well as exploring food image making in the process. In addition to all of this, I also hope to have a body of images with which to form the basis of a food portfolio.
Photo kit-wise, as this will be shot with the small APS-dslr kit I am using at the moment, it will be shot with either the 16-85mm f3.5-5.6 VR or 35mm f2 prime lens I have for it. I’m not sure whether either of these are ideal, but am keen to try either or both, and see how they work out.
I hope to keep as a much as possible quite simple, and plan to use natural/ available for most of the shooting. Unfortunately I don’t have a conservatory available, and also want to explore options should I have to shoot in places where not so much natural light is available. If I go down the lighting route, I am keen to explore the area of continuous lighting first, and perhaps try out some of the new-fangled LED lights available.
Any feedback on the online photobook publishing websites out there is most welcome. Sites like blurb where you utilise site software to create the book, and the facility to have the book available online to allow friends to print copies should they desire, appeals to me, as well as obviously decent print quality and competitive pricing..
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