Food photography

Making food look appetizing



Ever been asked to photograph food? Restaurants that offer foods that might not be as familiar to Americans can be more appetizing as a photo than a list. If you have walked into a restaurant that offers dishes that you can't pronounce you can probably relate. We all like to try something different but what is it? Taking photos of the different entrees for the customer to see is crucial and breaks the barrier that the foreign words create. I was asked by the owner of The Spice Cafe in the Dr. Phillips area of Orlando to photograph some of the dishes he serves in his restaurant. Many of which I have eaten but still do not know the names. The good thing is I can easily point to the picture.
So, how do you take photos of food? In two words, close-up. You want to see the food close up as if you are holding it close enough to take a bite. This is how you make someones mouth water when looking at it.
If you have a macro lens your life is a little easier or put on the close-up filter like I did. The close-up filter on the 70 to 200mm zoom lens. For these photos I used my Novatron portable light kit. I bought this 4 light kit 27 years ago for about $1,100.00. It has payed for itself a couple of hundred times or more. The photos were taken at the restaurant and not my studio. The flashes were set at low power and I shot at f/8 at 1/60th of a second. Although I like the outcome, next time I will shoot some at f/22 to get a greater Depth of Field. I used a lot of Diagonal Composition to make the food more exciting.
One major word of advice when photographing food. Make sure you eat well before you start your session. Yes this sounds like silly advice but but smelling the the food on on empty stomach will cause you to think of only one thing. "When will this end so I can get something to eat?" Sorry to end this article abruptly but I am going to get something to eat.

Studio Backdrop

Studio Scenic Backdrops are synonymous with professional photography!

Nothing says "professional" to your client like a studio backdrop. It just has this classical look that can't be gotten any other way. Add the studio lights for absolute control and accuracy of light patterns and it spells professional.

I love the realism of the outdoor on location portrait. If I want columns in the photo I go somewhere where there are real columns in my background.
So what is it about those painted fake backdrops that I like?

The fantasy! They are not real and are undefined so they are more dreamy and full of fantasy. Very idealistic. In these photos the only thing that is real is the bride. Someone real surrounded by fantasy.
Change the photo into a black and white and you have the ultimate idealistic image.

This reminds me of photos taken in the 1920's and 1930's. Where people went to a professional photographer and took the photos in the studio.

Back then taking the huge and cumbersome view camera outdoor was a nightmare. So the photographer created the fantasy of the outdoor with the painted backdrop.

There was no color so to warm up the skin tones there was Sepia. Not only did sepia add warmth to the skin tones it also now gives a feeling of nostalgia.

So here is how I took these photos;

I used three Novatron portable studio lights. The camera was set at ISO 100. The shutter speed was 100 and the f/stop was 5.6.

The main light was to the left as you look at the photo (slightly behind the models shoulder or 90 degrees). There was a second main light to the left of the camera ( about a stop and a half weaker than the first main light). Lastly there was an overall fill light to the right of the camera. The fill was about a stop weaker than the second main. The light was directional and was wrapped around the subject. Lighting straight out of the Renaissance.

I thought I would take a break from the Orlando workshop photos and share this with you. Next blog will focus on another photographer that attended the 2 day workshop. So who will it be? Hmmm, there are 2 more plus, Tammie, Missy, and Paula who finished there second day in Tampa.

Photography by Joyce in Orlando

Two Day Orlando Photography Master Class. Photos by Joyce

They say bigger is better. I don't know if that is true but Joyce came with the mother of all lenses. The canon 100mm to 400mm L lens. As you go to the higher mm the background turns into blobs of color. Especially in the close up photography and wider f/stops. Later in this article you'll see examples of this.

Let's start with the studio photography. This photo was done using the Novatron portable studio lights. Notice the 90 degree lighting and detail in the eyes. This is not easy when your subject is wearing a hat. Keeping the shadow caused by the hat out of the eyes takes a little work. A really excellent portrait study. If the red bothers you it might look better in black and white. Keep in mind that the monitor you are viewing this on is contrasty and the shadows aren't as deep as they appear. Although the light ratio is high there is detail in the highlights and shadows. Which is the definition of a "perfect exposure".

This next studio portrait was done without the lights. It was taken on the porch of the apartment we stayed at using available light. Again bringing home the point that it is not the equipment but the expertise of the photographer that produces professional results. Although we used people for models this technique can be used for product and still life photography as well as pet photography. The subject does not matter.

Most of the time Joyce nailed the exposure to the point where it did not need any correction what so ever. The close up on the top left is an example. Even the color is right on. The more you get it right in the photography the less time on the computer fixing it. This leaves more time to take more photos.

And now for the 400mm mother of all lenses. The previous photos the lens was set at less than 400. The photo on the right the lens was set at 400mm and at its' widest aperture. I think f/4. Look at the background. No trees or bushes just blobs of color. It looks like a painted studio backdrop. The subject is tack sharp. This why I tell everyone not to worry about the depth of field. Just make sure your subject is in focus.

Lastly, we took some photos at night. Keep in mind that it was freezing. Look at the exposure of the background. It's right on the money. Most photographers will overexpose the background at night. Using flash to light the subject and ambient for the background makes for interesting photography. This is another shot that required no exposure or color adjustment. Straight out of the camera. I usually like color more than black and white but this shot looks really good in black and white. If I were either of these models would I pay for this photography? The better question is does Joyce accept credit cards?

Really terrific!