kitchen lighting

[Deleted member 11790]

Hi

i am a catering manager and sometimes need some food shots for cutomers or future reference.

my problem is the lighting in the kitchens which is flouresent and not that great. do try backgrounds etc. but the reflection on plates etc always seems to be an issue along with poor colours etc

do try and move things into better light etc but not always able to

any suggestions as dont want tp resign myself to doing alot of photoshop work when a tip or trick could help

 

[glitch]

I would be very interested to know the same! I'll be keeping an eye on this one for sure.

Off the top of my head I can think of two people that might be able to help. You've got lukewoodford who's recently done something similar and Edtog who sort of does this for a living, although I'm not sure if it's what he might call his speciality.

 

[tiler65]

White balance is probably the main issue.

Also if you are using flash, sometimes the cameras flash meter gets confused by the reflected light and therefore underexposes the shot.

Try and experiment with evalutive & average metering systems with flash (if you have this option) and definately change the WB settings.

If you don't use flash buy some reflectors to bring in more light which will help you no end.

Hope this helps.

 

[Garry Edwards]

I'm not completely sure what you're asking here...

If they are general shots of the kitchen then by far the best bet, if at all possible, is to turn the fluorescent lights off and use natural daylight from windows combined with flash to fill in unlit areas where necessary. An alternative to flash is to use reflectors - you can buy excellent 'spring open' reflectors very cheaply but TBH a better bet is large sheets of white polystyrene - it's what the trade uses The fluorescent lights need to go because the light has a discontinuous spectrum (it doesn't contain magenta) and no amount of fiddling on computer can put in something that isn't there in the first place. And anyway, if there is any other kind of light source also present, e.g. flash or daylight you'll never be able to get it anywhere near right unless you filter the other light sources to match the fluorescent light.

If you need to photograph the actual food it gets a bit more complicated. You'll need studio flash lighting, large softboxes to get diffused specular highlights on the food and on the plates (taking care of the problem you mentioned), small, hard light shaping tools such as honeycombs and fresnel spotlights to bring the food to life, a good food stylist, undercooked food and a real understanding of light.

Hope this helps

 

[Ally]

White balance will be your main problem. Even just using window light and reflectors will make the situation 100% better. I know that when everyone thinks of food photography they think softboxes, flash heads etc but David Loftus who has done all of Jamie Olivers photographs just uses window light and reflectors. He has a excellent understanding of light and takes great care in his images, it shows you don't need to spend hundreds of pounds to get great shots. Just simple things done well. To me his food photos are the best their is.

http://www.davidloftus.com/