# setup for food photography



## geekpower (May 17, 2015)

Despite the fact I haven't really done this before, I've been asked to do some shots to appear in promo material for a food truck (hamburgers and such). 

I'm expecting the setting to be a picnic table in natural light. I'm thinking of using the 50L for relatively natural perspective and a polarizer to bring out the colour and cut glare. Will I need extension tubes, and if so, how long? There is a chance the photos could be blown up quite large, so I want to avoid cropping if possible.

Also, should I augment the natural light with flash?


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## leGreve (May 17, 2015)

I work at one of the best food photographers in Denmark, so I thought Id lend some advice.

- A longer lens would be preferrable. Most of the time we use teles to create a more dynamic depth of field and make the products stand out. A 100mm macro would be great.

- Dont use a polarizer.... We NEVER do. Just like with human skin, a polarizer destroys the subsurface shimmer that makes us and food look organic. Polarizers are for nature photography and controlling reflections in fx windows or glass.

- Dont augment the light unless the natural light is not enough which it should be. Unless you have a really large softbox or bounce card it wont look the same. When we use a 2400w light we almost always bounce it on an adjacent wall to get as large a source as possible.
Instead try to control the light you have.... Lifting with bounce cards or darkening with blacks.
In general food likes light that comes from the side and from behind the subject.... Never from the camera side.


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## geekpower (May 17, 2015)

thanks leGreve, very useful info


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## tcphoto (May 18, 2015)

I make a living shooting food and the 50L has been my go to lens for the past eighteen months, I love the perspective. I have an 85L on the way and am excited about using it. Check out my website and you'll see many images captured with the 50L. www.tonyclarkphoto.com


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## geekpower (May 18, 2015)

cool


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## bluemoon (May 18, 2015)

tcphoto said:


> I make a living shooting food and the 50L has been my go to lens for the past eighteen months, I love the perspective. I have an 85L on the way and am excited about using it. Check out my website and you'll see many images captured with the 50L. www.tonyclarkphoto.com



nice work!

pierre


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## leGreve (May 18, 2015)

tcphoto said:


> I make a living shooting food and the 50L has been my go to lens for the past eighteen months, I love the perspective. I have an 85L on the way and am excited about using it. Check out my website and you'll see many images captured with the 50L. www.tonyclarkphoto.com



Looks good Tony.... Has some (maybe not intended?) nordic inspiration over them...
How's the food business in the states? 

What some of the stuff looks like over here:
http://kam.dk/peterkam/m/gallery.php?id=2


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## meywd (May 18, 2015)

leGreve said:


> tcphoto said:
> 
> 
> > I make a living shooting food and the 50L has been my go to lens for the past eighteen months, I love the perspective. I have an 85L on the way and am excited about using it. Check out my website and you'll see many images captured with the 50L. www.tonyclarkphoto.com
> ...



It seem there is an issue with the site, only the first photo loads, tried it on Firefox, Chrome, and IE.


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## geekpower (Jun 21, 2015)

Hey guys, so today was the day. Shoot was under very difficult lighting conditions (near high noon). 

Any feedback on this? 

Personally, I think I probably could have stopped down a bit farther, but at the same time, I kindof like how the sharpness on the burger is accentuated by the softness surrounding it....

(shot through 2 stop filter at iso 100, f3.5, 1/1600th for ETTL -2/3, pushed +2/3 in post with highlights saved, shadows lifted)


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## tolusina (Jun 21, 2015)

I do think the burger looks plenty yummy, just the sort I wouldn't mind queuing for.
For a commercial presentation/promotional photograph, I think the burger needs some modeling/posing help.

First the bun:
Choose one with a much more uniform top half, one that doesn't look like it has been sat on.

The lettuce:
The fold on camera left is all wrong. If it is going to be folded because that's how the burger is prepared, rotate the lettuce so the fold is out of sight to the back side of the burger, present crisp leafy edges to the camera. 

The tomato:
Lovingly sliced for uniform thickness, posed to show both the skin and a bit of the deep red and succulent fruit flesh within, include some seeds is possible.

The sauce:
Ugh, the worst part of the photo. Get the sauce trail out of the shadows, into the light, a broader trail, I think probably a bit off center, or a lot off center as you see fit. A viewer of the photo should get a sense of the color(s), texture(s) and viscosity of the sauce. 

The burger:
What the heck is that dime sized dark spot on camera left? If it's a feature, show it well enough to define it, if it's a flaw, shoot a different burger.
If they are hand forming the patties, have them form one that is 'just so' with a mind to its visual presentation.
I see on your flickr that it's a stuffed bacon and cheese burger.
The cheese oozing out of the patty is clearly obvious in your photo, the bacon less so. 

The fries:
Of course fries will be served up in random positions. Your photo of the fries should appear random as well but in reality, each fry should be placed 'just so' for maximum visual benefit.
The fries look to be skin on, show the skin to best effect, a few should also be broken, perhaps steaming.

Camera to subject angle:
Camera appears to have been about at table level, I think that's all wrong. I think it would be an odd sight indeed for someone to have their chin on the table looking at their meal before eating.
Raise the camera for a more normal/natural perspective.


This looks like the sort of meal served in a basket. If so, and if a wicker type basket is used, the meal could be presented in the basket, again, just so, or the basket could be used as a framing element behind or to one side.
If one of those common red plastic baskets is used, use one maybe as an out of focus background stop.

Whatever that out of focus background is, don't be lazy and just throw a large aperture at it, crop it out in the finder during composition, raising the camera for a downward view may be all that's needed, might just happen naturally if you follow the camera to subject angle suggestion above.
Lighting:
The light looks to be coming mostly from the right at your three o'clock. I think maybe stepping to your right to where the light is closer to 12:45 ~ 1:30 might show the burger better while still retaining some shadow drama.
Others more experienced than I have already posted some lighting suggestions above, whatever you do, take control. Available light does not have to be totally restrictive. You have the option of moving both the subject and the camera's viewpoint relative to the light source.

Does the Grateful Grill serve beverages? Perhaps there's a drink in a photogenic bottle that can be included as an element?
Anything attractive about their napkins? If paper, probably not. If cloth, even plain cloth, an artfully folded napkin, even a partial view, could be another desirable element.
- - -
Here's a couple years old youtube from McDonald's Canada.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSd0keSj2W8
While I certainly feel they've compromised whatever corporate moral integrity they might have displayed in falsely presenting a pig's ear as a gilt lined silk purse, several of their composition and presentation techniques could be applied with honesty and integrity.


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## geekpower (Jun 22, 2015)

thanks tolusina for the very detailed suggestions!

i guess the overall takeaway is "take control of everything, not just the exposure". i'll be more assertive next time.


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## tolusina (Jun 23, 2015)

geekpower said:


> ..... "take control of everything, not just the exposure"......


But only as far as you can ethically, you do not want to misrepresent the content of the product.
---
Frankly, I think the builders of those burgers (I figure burgers like that are _Built_) could stand to spend an extra second or two assembling them with an eye to presentation detail, can't hurt, might help sales.
Don't know how others feel, I'm always a bit disappointed when a meal is served that appears to have been just thrown together as quickly as possible. I never voice that disapproval, pretty much expect sloppy work from big cheap chains with marginally paid staff. I quite sympathize with that staff who are under incredible pressure from management to keep the registers chiming as fast as possible.
Conversely, isn't it a delight when one eats up market and obvious effort is made to get every little detail just perfect?
--- 
I've long felt that the two common but apparently conflicting statements regarding details are true.
Genius in the details occurs when every detail is spot on, results will be perfect no matter if it's a house, cabinet, burger, garment, engine or moon shot. Ignore the details to your peril.
The Devil about details is figuring out just what they are, often by trial and error.


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## wsmith96 (Jun 23, 2015)

geekpower said:


> Hey guys, so today was the day. Shoot was under very difficult lighting conditions (near high noon).
> 
> Any feedback on this?
> 
> ...




I haven't read any of the other feedback after your burger picture, so I apologize if I may repeat something that has already been said.

A couple of things - first, I think the picture looks a little flat from the angle shot. The thing that I notice first of course is the burger, followed by the large blurred french fry in the front. After that, I'm still drawn back the french fry each time I look at the photo. Perhaps changing the shooting angle to have the camera more above the burger angled down. I don't mean directly overhead. When doing this, you may want to move the burger towards the front of the plate/tray closer to the camera and arrange the fries along the back of the burger. The primary subject should be the burger right? Here's an example from the web http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/hamburger-french-fries-28161018.jpg

Second, the left side of the burger is a bit dark. Using natural light is the best, so I would invest in some foam board sheets you can get from walmart, or any office supply or hobby store, for under $2. They work great as reflectors and if something happens to it, you just throw it away. If you have a cable release, you could hold the board yourself after you set the focus.

I'm hoping this advice will help.


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## arthurbikemad (Jul 20, 2015)

Great info in here!

And some amazing food photos!

Very impressive.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Jul 20, 2015)

leGreve said:


> I work at one of the best food photographers in Denmark, so I thought Id lend some advice.
> 
> - A longer lens would be preferrable. Most of the time we use teles to create a more dynamic depth of field and make the products stand out. A 100mm macro would be great.
> 
> ...



Good information. 

I liked my TS-E 90 for that type of shot. Natural light can be difficult, so some reflectors are almost mandatory. Getting food to pop takes some careful attention to lighting, the direction, and shadows. A TS-E can control the depth of field so the entire subject is in focus, but if you have a 100-mm lens, you can stop down to get more depth of field. If you have a 70-200mm zoom that may work as well. Getting back a ways from the food helps with depth of field, so a longer focal length can help.

A experienced photographer has learned to take it all in and setup by instinct. Doing it for a first time might require some practice first. Go ahead and experiment before you do the job. Get the lighting and depth of field the way you like it.


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## lion rock (Nov 12, 2015)

Made a hazelnut dacquoise last night.
This is it.
-r


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## meywd (Nov 12, 2015)

A friend asked me to shoot some photos for his restaurant's menu, its a first time for me, and I know that its not easy, but he just wanted shots of the items as is, so no fake components or makeup, the items were cooked as usual, here are some of the results.


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