Food Photography - Lenses, equipment recommendations?

dugmar

I know this will take a lot of research on my part, learning, reading, etc. but off the cuff, can anyone recommend lenses and any other equipment for food photography?

My wife is a professional baker so I need to take a lot of cake photos. I'd like to improve my work for her first off. But I would also like to expand this into a side business eventually as nobody in the area offers this service. Camera-wise I am all set, what I need to narrow in on is lenses, flash, lighting etc. Anyone have any experience here?

Thanks,

Doug

jsedlak

Well, depends usually one where you are going to be shooting and what kind of shots you want to take. The 50mm f/1.8 is a great all-around lens that shoots incredibly well in low-light situations. For food I would look for a lens that is sharp as a tac.

wxwax

Medium to long focal length lenses, so you don't get distortion and can control depth of field.

Can't help on lighting.

I've read many times that you never shoot food as is. Just doesn't look appetizing, in a photo, in its natural state. People make a living by dressing up food with all sorts of fakery, to make it look tasty in ads. You might want to research the topic.

DoctorIt

I'm pretty talking out of my rear, but here's some ideas:

lenses: waxy is right on, you want to be close and fairly wide, but you don't want distortion, I think a standard zoom will be the way to go. Can't get much better than the 24-70L. I would imagine that would be a no-brainer.

light: food should usually be smaller than people, so I'd guess you won't need too much light. I bet an umbrella and a single 580EX into it would probably give you a nice soft light, then maybe a snoot or whatever those things are called that will concentrate some soft light on your target - that's how I always imagine food, bathed in a warm light with all else around it little bit darker. I mention the 580EX cause I'm guessing studio lights might give you unwanted heat?

Oh, and if you need help sizing down your subjects, I'd be happy to volunteer :eat

spider-t

Everything you do to make people look better, do the opposite for food. You don't want to soften the light, you want small light sources. And try them really low. You are trying to make the food look as 3 dimensional as possible. Crags and shadows are good things on food.

If you have strobes, think of adding grids and snoots. And lots of little reflectors. I keep a box of tin foil in my studio to create little highlights.

Lots of good info on Michael Ray's site:
http://www.foodportfolio.com/blog/food_photography/bigger_not_better.html

-Trish

LiquidAir

If you shoot with the Canon system, you have some money to spend and you are prepared to do some learning, TS-E lesnes are the way to go. If you have an APS-C body the 24mm is probably the right choice. On a full frame body the 24mm is often going to be too wide and 45mm is proabably a better choice. A macro lens may also come in handy.

Lighting food can be quite challenging if you want to do it well. The best light really has to be tailor made for the subject. Soft boxes and sometimes even a light tent are key anytime you have something that is reflective. Hard light and spots are good for revealing texture.

This book is a good source for the techniques used in product photography:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0240802756?tag=giftfella-20&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=0240802756&adid=1ASGKD8ZWYBKDNXXFDWC&

Look here for tips on getting studio results with shoe mount flashes. If you look through the "On assignment" archives you will find some examples of lighting food.
http://www.strobist.blogspot.com/

wxwax

Great stuff!

ziggy53

Caveat:
http://www.dgrin.com/showpost.php?p=20959&postcount=7

General (follow the links in the post on the first two)
http://www.dgrin.com/showpost.php?p=20886&postcount=5
http://www.dgrin.com/showpost.php?p=20885&postcount=4

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-...?msg_id=009xtA (Brooks Short)
http://digitalmedia.oreilly.com/2004...od_photos.html
http://www.shutterbug.com/features/1204insider/
http://www.foodportfolio.com/blog/index.html (scroll down to the middle of the page)
http://www.silverace.com/photogenic/...otography.html

ziggy53

wxwax

Doug, Ziggy's link from shutterbug is excellent.

A food pro discusses his tricks. With piccies.

ziggy53

wxwax wrote:

Doug, Ziggy's link from shutterbug is excellent.

A food pro discusses his tricks. With piccies.

That and the link marked "Brooks Short" give an excellent introduction.

Also seach for "Product Photography" using Google, as food photography is but a form of product photography.

One hint from me if you are shooting smaller items, try "tenting" the subject to create relatively soft sources, and then move the actual lights closer and farther away from the tent to moderate the "size" of the source. Inside the tent, use reflectors and dark "flags" to create highlights, fill light and dark regions for depth.

Tents can be created from many different materials, but a favorite of mine for small stuff was drafting vellum. It's easy to cut, fairly cheap and stands pretty well by itself when formed into a cylinder.

Diffusion panels work well for larger items, if you don't have enough soft boxes.

ziggy53