Food Photography Advice

EspressoJunkie

EspressoJunkie

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Greg
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In an effort to push myself outside my comfort zone, I've just offered to do some food photography for a local burrito bar.

I'm doing it for free, so there's less pressure than if I was being paid, but I still want to do as good a job as I can, because if I can impress this time then then hopefully they'll maybe use me again or recommend me to others (or at least give me a free burrito :D)!

I've done the usual googling for tips, but I'd value opinions from here as well.

My kit consists of a D700, 50mm 1.4, Tamron 28-75mm 2.8, Nissin flash, stand and white shoot through brolly. I've no triggers, but I can use the pop up flash to trigger the external one.

So any advice or tips would be very welcome!
 
Natural light from a window with a net curtain (for diffusion) is as good as anything, using flash to add fill.

Get an mini atomiser with some water and glycerine (mixed 50/50) and this can be sprayed onto the food as its cooling to keep it looking fresh and moist. Food, as it cools, soon loses that appetising sheen that makes it look eatable.

Make some bounce cards - one plain white/cream and one with foil wrapped over it - to at as reflectors. The silver will be a slightly colder, harder light while the white board will add a tad more warmth.

It's also worth playing around with WB to allow you to 'warm' the shot in post by increasing the WB.

Afternoon light through windows is also warmer, so this could help :)

As for equipment, some people go for extremely shallow DoF, others prefer to show the food more in its entirety. Shallow DoF can help highlight a specific aspect of the food and draw the eye to a certain point.
 
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There was a Guardian Photography Club article on food photography a couple of weeks ago. There's also the McDonalds burger photograph story from the last few weeks.

There seems to be two approaches to food photography - set up the studio area, food fresh, photograph within 30 seconds.. or take the approach of dressing the food to look good for the photograph. Food that looks good to the eye and tastes good, doesn't always photograph well.

I know Strobist has some posts and assignments on food photography.
 
Sometimes too much is made of setups for shots, lunch for my wife and myself earlier this week on a day out, just shot as is. Natural light from window to the right Av.

IMG_G9874.jpg


IMG_G9875.jpg
 
If you don't mind Ken.. but in the last shot the matte surface of the meat looks dry and insipid, it doesn't look appetising. By contrast the potato has a nice gloss from the butter. That's where food photographers dress the subject to compensate for the senses that aren't recorded, e.g. smell.
 
Ahhh Mexican!
Lovely stuff but what comes to my mind doesn't really make me think it would create great images, not all the food "jumps" off the plate or sings, usually this stuff tastes the best though!
Tex mex is a little more vibrant than regional (real) Mexican with the likes of said burritos, tacos and the usual suspects.
But giving aesthetic life to the likes of mole, tamales and the hearty stews would be a challenge if anything, props and vibrant crockery would be a consideration.
 
I'm thinking the contrast between the golden tortillas and the meat will work well, providing the meat isn't grey.... plenty of sauce will be good. Salad, especially greens like Rocket will work nicely, even if it's OOF, and tomatoes will add colour too.

I'm making myself feel hungry now :lol:
 
Simon photo said:
Ahhh Mexican!
Lovely stuff but what comes to my mind doesn't really make me think it would create great images, not all the food "jumps" off the plate or sings, usually this stuff tastes the best though!
Tex mex is a little more vibrant than regional (real) Mexican with the likes of said burritos, tacos and the usual suspects.
But giving aesthetic life to the likes of mole, tamales and the hearty stews would be a challenge if anything, props and vibrant crockery would be a consideration.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure it is burritos, tacos and the like. They want to emphasis the fresh ingredients they use, so I was thinking about having some ingredients beside some of the finished items. Like a few sliced chillies beside a taco and that sort of thing.
 
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