Very first (paid) photo shoot!

welly

welly

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Alastair
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Well, I've got my first paid gig tomorrow! Pretty excited, little bit nervous. Any helpful hints and tips would be really appreciated! I suppose it's little more than going in and taking some good photos but anything that might make the task easier would help! This is for my food (and geisha) shoot, although the geishas will be at a later date. It's a few nice shots of the restaurant, and some nice shots of their food plus a couple of the chefs working it in the kitchen! I'll post a few tomorrow night :)
 
Mind if I enquire as to how this all came about? Did you approach them directly or did they approach you?

Looking forward to seeing the results too. Sounds like a great commission.
 
glitch said:
Mind if I enquire as to how this all came about? Did you approach them directly or did they approach you?

Looking forward to seeing the results too. Sounds like a great commission.
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I got the job through someone I've been developing web sites for years for. I'd mentioned I was studying photography and she saw my flickr gallery and apparently was very impressed so it came from that really. She may have some more work in the future, so could be the start of a rosy photography future :) Or just a bit of extra pocket money. Either way, I get to shoot photos.
 
Can't argue with that! Could be the start of a blossoming career - especially given the number of restaurants your average city or town has.

Hope it all goes well for you.
 
Here's a shot from today's shoot. was excellent fun! Panicked a little but mostly went very well. Got loads of editing to do now!

28hiqma.jpg


The plates have come out a little grey unfortunately so I'm going to work on them a bit but I wasn't too disappointed on how they came out. Will post more later!
 
They grey isn't the problem here. That's easily fixed in PP. What's concerning me is the plate appears to not only be heavily scratched but also extremely dirty. And there's a horrible looking stain on that leather it's sitting on.

No complaints about your photography though and I'm very much looking forward to seeing more. How long was the shoot in total? Have any amusing anecdotes to tell us?
 
Yeah, I see what you mean. They want me to go in again and do some more, so I might mention it and redo some of these on new plates if I can.

It was about 3 hours all in.. nothing out of the ordinary happened, apart from I was as good as force fed raw fish. I don't like fish at the best of times, never mind fish that isn't deep fried, battered and served with chips :)
 
Probably the only reason I've noticed what I have is that it's the first thing I was looking for. Take nothing away from what you've produced though. It's extremely striking and very eye-catching.

I guess most restaurants will only really have tableware that they use on a daily basis as it's not much good sat in a cardboard box when it could be out in front of the customer. And ultimately you can only work with the subject matter that's given to you. But definitely drop a subtle hint about using brand-new stuff where possible.

More please!

PS. Sorry to hear about the fish. I take it politely refusing wasn't an option?
 
most food photography is lit from above, i dont think this particular piece is very informative or particularly pleasing on the eye which is what you would expect from food photography

where are you studying? could you possible borrow a light from them and wack it underneath a glass table with a thin white cover on top? you would find your results were much more appitising

Fi
 
I'll admit that's a new one on me. Can you show us some examples of this style of food photography?
 
And are absolutely, 100% positive that all those were shot on some sort of light-box arrangement?
 
Hmmm, not necessarily a light box no, just some under lighting of some kind, i suppose with a couple of wel placed cross lights you could get the same effect without a lightbox, but you would need to remove the shadows in Photoshop afterwards

and, basically, i am not the most genius person with photoshop, i can just about get my head round some of it but i know it is a massive program with loads of potential, i can imagine with enough work and know-how, you could make all sorts of thing happen in it.

so i am not going to say for definate they are light box, i dont think i really even ever said that.

food photography is hard to get right! good luck with it!
 
Those shots aren't lit from below. How can you get a light to shine through a china plate?
You can see the light (flash or whatever) shining, onto the profiteroles especially, from the left-hand side.

Either way, i'm afraid that Sushi shot by the OP is really not good at all. As stated, the plate isn't clean, the lighting doesn't do anything for the subject and the composition is questionable. I've never shot any food, but before i saw the first posted picture i was expecting to see shots taken at a front 45 degree angle (like the ones posted by feeb) not directly above.

At least you can go back and take some more :thumbs:
 
@ robbie, you have a cross lighting effect, with a below light to prevent black shadows from appearing on the plate

i have just studied it at college and i know exactly how those shots were lit thanks very much

its pretty hard to explian in text speak but i know what i am on about!

ofcourse you dont JUST light from below, you would have shadows everywhere!

your right though, composition, lighting and set are all off in this picture
 
Fancy making a new thread where you can show us some of these light-table/light-box food shots of yours? Would really like to discuss this whole concept with you a bit further and not derail welly's thread any more than we already have.

No doubt robbie would also like to get in on the act.
 
nope dont have the time i am really sorry, it would involve lots of taking photos at college and at the moment we are doing a black and white printing project which has pretty much just eaten my life right up!

i dont generally do food photography, but we studied it a wee bit a month or so ago when we were learning all the different lighting setups and studios around college

and (once again) i havent said ANYTHING about light boxes. i have just said they were lit from below
 
A glass surface with a light underneath it would be a form of large light-box in my eyes. Or you could call it a light-table. A solid surface that allows light to pass through from a source underneath. Whatever you call it it's ultimately the same difference.

And after all this study you've got no practical examples to show us? What were you doing? Were you just looking at various examples of food photography, as you showed us above, and discussing the lighting effects used?
 
you can light things from below the subject by having the light source lower than the subject (simple really) you then have a cross light which prevents any shadows landing strangly on the table or whatever you are using

its basically how food photography is done, either with low-down lighting and cross lighting, or with a light box. either one means you can get funky angles, without worrying about weird shadows

i posted a load of my work up in the general photo crit bit, i am sorry you missed it

i dont, however, specialise in food photography, i specialise in fine art/social photography at the moment, but we do a little bit of everything and as i said in my last post (which again you dont seem to have read properly) we looked at different lighting setups whilst they were explaining all the lights to us, and how to use them

we did a few mock shots on the college cameras to test the lights, but have not done any projects with food photography as of yet

'after all this studying' i have been doing it full time for three months, i have alot to learn which is why i am going to be studying it for the next three years.

this however, is very basic to understand so i have managed to get my head round it. i apologise that you are having so much trouble
 
I'm not having trouble understanding the concept. What I'm having trouble with is why you keep suggesting it.

Food photography is very rarely shot with lighting from below the subject. The only possible application would be used for shooting translucent foods and liquids where you need light shining through them to show off the delicate nature of the subject matter. Like this:

kiwilj9.jpg


But even that wasn't shot on a light-table, light-box or whatever you want to call this system you've come up with for shooting food.

Ask yourself why you would even use a system of lighting from below your subject matter. Most food photographs are taken on a solid surface covered in some form of material and the food is usually presented on a plate or some other suitable object. As robbie has already said; how do you get light to shine through a plate? The answer is you don't. Because there's simply no need to.

All the best food photography is shot using a key light and a fill light, positioned above the level of the surface you are shooting on. Most photographers will want to use natural light where possible and simply use a large light source such as a window as their key and bounce back the light for their fill using a variety of reflectors. Should artificial lighting be employed the basic premise is the same, albeit you have the choice of lighting sources to pick from. And with both natural and artificial light you've got to think about the size of the light source, the direction and the intensity.

In a lot of situations you'll need to add a soft light source from above. Unless you're fortunate enough to have a skylight directly above your studio you're going to need to use an artificial light source and some sort of diffusion or bounce light from the ceiling. Whatever you do the effect is the same - soft, even, controlled lighting from above. Not every shot calls for it but it's very useful to have the option.

The single most important thing in food photography is to get a two-dimensional medium looking as three dimensional as possible. Your theory of 'lighting from below' and using 'cross lighting' to ensure the absence of shadows would be the perfect way of ensuring that never happened.
 
well we have obviously been taught different methods, which am completely comfortable with, we experiemented with our lighting equipment in order to get the best result, the result that is used in a professional medium throughout the industry
 
I don't think any of them can be hers or she'd have known how they were taken and what lighting techniques were used.

I've sent her a PM about the hotlinking but never heard back.
 
Oh, that's strange. I do apologise.

It was just to say that hotlinking might not be the best idea. Some people don't mind the extra exposure but some do mind the increased bandwidth usage and may choose deter hotlinking by replacing the picture with something unsavoury.
 
never had a problem with it before, its an option on the forum for adding photographs so i use it

i suggest you ask the forum admin to make this clear on the little button that says hotlinking

as far as i am aware, its a common concept (seem to be alot of them that you are unfamilar with)
 
Look, you're just getting to be ridiculous now. Your idea of common concepts is way off the mark.

Stealing someone's photography to post on an internet forum is one thing. Leaving it uncredited is another. Stealing it, leaving it uncredited and leeching from their website is totally unacceptable.

It's called common courtesy - I suggest you research it.
 
I've just caught up with this discussion and wish i hadn't tbh.

Glitch - Don't get dragged in, i fear Feeb is just trying to bait you.

Feeb - I really hope you are an internet troll as your attitude towards other people and their work is appalling. Both myself and others have made reasonable questions about your supposed processes and you have become bitey and rude. As a photographer (working on the basis my first suggestion is wrong) you're degrading the art by just using other peoples work without permission or even credit.
 
wow i certainly didnt mean to upset anyones work, i am a firm believer that you need to credit anyone whose work you use for any professional purpose

however, this is an internet forum, not Vogue ffs, no one is going to mind you doing a google image search and suggesting the methods used for the photos

the only reason i am uppity on this forum is because of the nature of the people on here! i have posted a number of times and been shouted down, insulted and made to feel crap by the 'regulars' who are so clique and OTT thats its very hard to keep your head above the water

Glitch has been rude and accusatory to me, suggesting i didnt respond to a PM that he didnt even send, and belittling my suggestions

i am a photographer, i am studying for my degree in it and for one have been amazed at the level of pretensiousness i have come accross here, from a bunch of very much amateur photographers

your way off the mark mate, i never use peoples work, its not my style

your being pedantic and i suspect you know that

my opinion is valid, as is everyone elses, i do NOT expect to be treated like it isnt and i will respond bluntly when put in that posistion

lead by example guys, or STFU!
 
feeb said:
my opinion is valid, as is everyone elses, i do NOT expect to be treated like it isnt and i will respond bluntly when put in that posistion
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Do you not see the irony there?

You were questioned very reasonably on your methods and chose to jump down the throats of the people asking. Your opinion is valid as is everyone elses...
 
no i was questioned time and time again about lightboxes when i had never mentioned anything of the sort and then ridiculed because my point of view was different

and most of this from a guy who honestly thought the original composistion was 'fine' and 'not to change it' i am sorry if i come across as blunt but at least i am honest!

i know about food photography what i have learnt about it at college, if its misinformed then (as i have suggested) i am happy to accept that there are different methods and different methods of teaching

rather than pick apart the suggestions of others, why dont we all just try and have our own suggestions? would be alot easier to deal with.

also i do not expect to be brought up on the use of google image search on a forum, its just pedantic and silly

this is a forum for photographers, not for people to make others feel bad.
 
feeb said:
no i was questioned time and time again about lightboxes when i had never mentioned anything of the sort and then ridiculed because my point of view was different
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I'm not getting into the subject of lightboxes as i wasn't involved in that debate.

feeb said:
i know about food photography what i have learnt about it at college, if its misinformed then (as i have suggested) i am happy to accept that there are different methods and different methods of teaching

rather than pick apart the suggestions of others, why dont we all just try and have our own suggestions? would be alot easier to deal with.
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I haven't questioned your methods, i don't claim to even have any of my own methods. My intial question was regarding the under-lighting, you don't need a degree to know that light won't shine through a china plate so i asked for clarification.

feeb said:
also i do not expect to be brought up on the use of google image search on a forum, its just pedantic and silly

this is a forum for photographers, not for people to make others feel bad.
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I will continue to disagree on this so we might as well agree as such, if it were my business i'd want people to know that i took those nice pictures that's all.
No-one is trying to make you feel bad, not having the same point of view as another person is what makes us individual :)
 
feeb said:
nope dont have the time i am really sorry, it would involve lots of taking photos at college and at the moment we are doing a black and white printing project which has pretty much just eaten my life right up!

i dont generally do food photography, but we studied it a wee bit a month or so ago when we were learning all the different lighting setups and studios around college

and (once again) i havent said ANYTHING about light boxes. i have just said they were lit from below
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Feeb after giving negative crit to the OP then posting some examples of food photography that have not even been taken by you or attributed to the original photographer is not really the done thing and is misleading to everyone reading this thread, the quote above misleads people into thinking you are too busy to respond and not that you did not take the photos. If your going to give negative crit then be prepared to give explanations on how to do something as other members like me find the information very useful and negative crit is no use without that information.
 
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