My Food Photography Setup
articol scris de MonicaLazar blog Eat, love and be happy
I had a busy week and yesterday (Saturday) when it’s usually my day for baking and photographing, I felt a little tired for such an activity, so no treats for today. Ok, now the truth: I can never be too tired to bake something delicious! The reason that really stopped me was that there was a problem with some water pipes in my neighborhood so the water was shut off almost all day. So, I decided that this is a good moment to write some behind the scene informations about my photography.
It all started almost two years ago. My first camera was a Canon T3 (with a 50mm f/1.8 lens) and I used it until a month ago when I upgraded to a Canon 6D. Probably you expect me to say that a better camera means better photos, but no. For me, a better camera means just greater control and less post processing. I’m sure that you know what a huge difference is between a T3 and a 6D, however, I’m glad that this difference is not obvious when I look at my photos. Using a T3 help me so much to learn more. There were many times when I was upset because my photos weren’t as good as I wanted them to be (higher image quality) but this forced me to compensate through composition. I looked at hundreds of food and still life photos (and I still do it) analyzing what is that thing that makes me love them. Also, before I start shooting for a new post, I think about what emotion I want to put in those photos. So, if you really want to do something good, you will find out how doing it with just what you have.
Left-T3 / Right-6D
I started taking pictures in natural light but I gave up quickly because the apartment where I’m staying for now is not really a bright place and, beside that, I prefer to have complete control over what I’m doing. It’s so much easier to use artificial lighting when your work schedule or the place you live in doesn’t allow you to use natural light. I will definitely use it when it will be possible.
So, my artificial lighting equipment contains: 3 fluorescent bulbs (105W, 5500K), 3 light stands, a light diffuser, some foam board reflectors (not just white but also black; black boards create a beautiful effect in dark tone photography) a tripod and some wood boards that I use as background. It all costs about 250$ (I purchased everything from Romanian stores). I think it’s a small price for the results I had with this equipment.
I made a lighting diagram to help you visualize what am I talking about. This set up is the one I always use, the only difference is that sometimes I use just one or two bulbs, depending on what mood I want to capture. Also, there are times when I use a black reflector because it creates beautiful shadows and a beautiful chiaroscuro effect. I also adjust the height of the light stands and the direction of light. As you see, I prefer side lightning. Here you have a good article about light direction and what effect it has on your pictures.
As a background I use two wooden boards, often of the same color, one placed horizontally and one vertically. I bought these boards from a hardware store and painted them myself. Almost all my boards are dark colors and that is because I prefer dark tone photography.
I take pictures only in M mode and sometimes I shoot tethered (I would gladly use always this way of shooting if my laptop wouldn’t shut down after 10 minutes). For post processing I only use Photoshop. The adjustments I make in Photoshop are: Levels, applying Spot Healing Brush Tool if it is necessary, applying the Unsharp Mask for sharpening. When it’s necessary I also use Shadows/Highlights and Photo Filter. It would become a really long post if I would start to describe all this post processing steps so I promise that in a next post I will tell you everything I know about working with layers and brushes and all this post processing stuff.
I hope you find this post helpful. If it is something that you want to ask me, just leave it in a comment and I will try to give you the best answer I can. Have a wonderful week!
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