Lighting unit for food photography

Mariana

Mariana

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Mariana
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Hello

I am a newbie and would like to please ask for suggestions for affordable lighting units for indoor food photography. Something that is not too harsh.
I have heard that the Lowel Ego lightbox is one of the best ones, however can't find it in the UK.

Many thanks!
 
Mariana said:
Hello

I am a newbie and would like to please ask for suggestions for affordable lighting units for indoor food photography. Something that is not too harsh.
I have heard that the Lowel Ego lightbox is one of the best ones, however can't find it in the UK.

Many thanks!
Click to expand...

That Lowel thing is effectively a combined constant light source and diffuser.
A conventional studio flash head, softbox & boom arm would be a better buy. It'll have a slightly steeper learning curve but would give better results and be a much more flexible tool.
 
Nothing wrong with continuous light for a static subject, the trick is getting something with a high CRI for accurate colour. You're ideally looking for bulbs with a CRI of 95, at a the minimum 90.

The Lowel Ego is a fairly basic design and it shouldn't be too hard to DIY something similar - e.g. http://thesuchef.com/2015/04/09/diy-lowel-ego-light-box/ (Google throws up many more DIY approaches to this light source).

I use a 90 CRI 45W LED lamp in a standard 24" softbox for this type of tabletop stuff, but I can see that if your space is very restricted the Ego style light could be more practical.

Dammit.. you've given me an idea and I don't need anymore DIY projects right now :D
 
Mariana said:
Hello

I am a newbie and would like to please ask for suggestions for affordable lighting units for indoor food photography. Something that is not too harsh.
I have heard that the Lowel Ego lightbox is one of the best ones, however can't find it in the UK.

Many thanks!
Click to expand...


As well as Simon's @juggler excellent advice, I don't mean to put you off by saying but food is, I think, one of the hardest subjects to photograph well. Most, if not all great food photography uses a stylist to get the food looking good (you probably wouldn't want to eat it though) and a deceptively simple lighting setup.

I'm not saying any of the above to put you off, but just to make you aware of the other things, besides the lighting and photography that go into getting a good food photo. I like this video from MacDonalds. Its pretty open

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSd0keSj2W8
 
Last edited:
boyfalldown said:
As well as Simon's @juggler excellent advice, I don't mean to put you off by saying but food is, I think, one of the hardest subjects to photograph well. Most, if not all great food photography uses a stylist to get the food looking good (you probably wouldn't want to eat it though) and a deceptively simple lighting setup.

I'm not saying any of the above to put you off, but just to make you aware of the other things, besides the lighting and photography that go into getting a good food photo. I like this video from MacDonalds. Its pretty open

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSd0keSj2W8
Click to expand...
Actually they're not being at all open about it. I've done shots for them in the past, and there's a lot more to it than they admit to - which isn't a reflection on that particular client, it is in fact a very specialised and demanding genre.
With food photography it's certainly true to say that the stylist takes the lead role, and the chef is vitally important too, but the photography is complex too, and professional standards can't be achieved with budget lighting.
 
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