How to Soften My Light for Food PHotography?

well, I checked back to this thread out of curiousity and it gave me a good laugh. It sure went off in a strange direction - poor Darrell......

anyway, my shoot went off great. I ended up using the large umbrellas that came with the diffusion - and some bounce boards and it worked great. Gave the client just what he needed and I'm going back for another two weeks plus.

thanks for anyone who gave me constructive criticism - which leaves out Darrell

and, Darrell, since you do not like positive, pollyanna, comments - how about this - I took a look at your gallery back when you were giving me **** - and it is far from compelling. No food shots - just average model shots. who the hell are you tring to kid anyway?
Wow! Looks and sounds like something an insecure high school student would write, trying to get back at someone. :lmao:


suck on this! :thumbdown:
 
Negative energy, mud slinging and rudeness aside....While u may be a pro u definitely haven't done a lot of food or commercial stuff if you don't know how to get a white background.... Thanks okay! I feel like I need to learn something every day too. So let's address the question. If you are using a backdrop like white paper or vinyl you will need to light it separately from the food. You can use strobes or continuous source light just be aware of the color temperature. There are as many different ways to do that as there are people :) the background light is going to need to be fairly strong and even to register as pure white. On paper or vinyl I usually light it from both right and left sides to get an even fall off . You can use a light table if you have one but mine is 4x8 and I never take it on location....
If you haven't shot food before you may want to plan on it taking a lot longer!!! A full 8 hr day with food for me usually gets about 6 to 12 dishes and that's only if I have an excellent stylist on board.
I hope this helped! I wish you luck. Food photography can be very fun.
 
Food photography is only as good as the styling.

As for gear I worked in a professional food studio here in Chicago for almost ten years... 90% of the time we used one soft box for the main light and grid spots for everything else. The biggest secret is blue goo, you know the stuff you use to hang posters up, get a ton of it. Next you'll need a socket set and some silver card. Now make yourself a hand full of tiny little fill cards and use the sockets to stand them on. Now tweak till your little hearts content.
 
Your negative energy is such a joy - its a shame your leaving.
Apart from the misused possessives, that is the funniest line I've heard here.
 
jbench said:
And there are lots of photogs who use umbrellas to light food>SNIP

Yeah...they're on Flickr with their speedlights and $13 shoot-through Chinese umbrellas. DEFINITELY buy a book to help teach you what you have not learned in 25 years as a "pro". I thought you were a beginner because you've come in here with some of the MOST-BASIC questions, indicating that you have little experience in table-top or food photography, and very little understanding of lighting technique or equipment. If you cannot figure out how to deliver a simple, clean,white background for your client,OR how to light a plate of food, most people are going to think you're a beginner based on your facile questions. My "negative energy" is reserved for people who claim to be professionals and take on jobs they are totally unqualified for, and who then come on forums asking how to light a simple set, and who then ***** about the advice given to them. Ask a beginner-level question about BASIC technique and equipment, and you'll get an answer designed for a beginner. Forgive me if I'm not impressed by people who use umbrellas to light food. Pardon me for having worked in a studio where food was shot every week.

...Snort!

Good luck on your shoot.
Come to think of it, I have never used an umbrella for food photography either. Except the time when it was outdoors and raining...but I wasn't using it to light the food.
 
Oh , boy I just couldn't stop jumping here and ask how I did here with my attempts
Bread.jpg
 
Oh , boy I just couldn't stop jumping here and ask how I did here with my attempts
Bread.jpg


You'll be better off starting your own thread instead of getting into this mess that folks read before getting to your image.
 
jbench said:
And there are lots of photogs who use umbrellas to light food>SNIP

Yeah...they're on Flickr with their speedlights and $13 shoot-through Chinese umbrellas. DEFINITELY buy a book to help teach you what you have not learned in 25 years as a "pro". I thought you were a beginner because you've come in here with some of the MOST-BASIC questions, indicating that you have little experience in table-top or food photography, and very little understanding of lighting technique or equipment. If you cannot figure out how to deliver a simple, clean,white background for your client,OR how to light a plate of food, most people are going to think you're a beginner based on your facile questions. My "negative energy" is reserved for people who claim to be professionals and take on jobs they are totally unqualified for, and who then come on forums asking how to light a simple set, and who then ***** about the advice given to them. Ask a beginner-level question about BASIC technique and equipment, and you'll get an answer designed for a beginner. Forgive me if I'm not impressed by people who use umbrellas to light food. Pardon me for having worked in a studio where food was shot every week.

...Snort!

Good luck on your shoot.

There may be a few on here that fits the description too
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