Food Photography is INTENSE

projectmayhem · Jul 28, 2007

I normally shoot photos for my personal use and enjoyment. hang them on my walls, etc. This is my first attempt at a more 'commercial' type of photography. The seafood restaurant i work for also owns an italian restaurant. they have a new chef and wanted to take some photos for the website and ads, etc. not wanting to pay an experienced pro, they asked me to take a shot at it first. after reading up on how difficult it was, i was extremely nervous, but i think i managed to get some good ones. point out what you like, dont like, etc. thanks all in advance! i know theres a lot to look at here.
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newrmdmike · Jul 28, 2007

the first four are not sharp or well lit. but they get progressivly better.

most of them are quite good, but in 16 i can see your reflection, and someone elses perhaps, just something to keep in mind.

good job overall!

projectmayhem · Jul 28, 2007

i do see a reflection, and it is probably of me, but i cant make it out. im really bad at those 3-d posters too. cant....unfocus.....my....eyes....I HATE THIS THING. thats how it usually goes.

yeah these are posted in the order that i took them, so it is kind of funny to see how they get a little better as i figured stuff out. thanks for the reply!

anyone else?

Corry · Jul 28, 2007

They make me very hungry....that food looks DELICIOUS! And well....since that should be what you are going for, THAT'S A GOOD THING!

I do think they progressively get better. I don't know what advice to give.

Freddeh · Jul 28, 2007

I don't like them... I'm on a diet...

Just kidding, they're really good. As said before the first four aren't really sharp. My guess is that somehow there's a bit of truble focussing since there's a lot of white in the image already, and a lot of white in the food as well. But hey, I'm a newbie when it comes to photography.

Still, I like these series. Somehow, for me the third one from the bottom really stands out.

Deadeye008 · Jul 29, 2007

You made me really hungry. Good job!

projectmayhem · Jul 31, 2007

does anyone have a favorite? why? mine are 7,10,13,15. (still cant see the reflection)

sayambhu · Jul 31, 2007

I think its the advertisement that matters more than attempts to find out the photographer !! forget about who can make out your reflection man its so foolish ! :cokespit:

at the resolution you provided, atleast I could not see any reflection - I guess your customers too wouldn't, and would be more interested in the delicious looking food !

I feel #10 & #13 are the choicest best of the lot, although others are nearly as good. these can go well for the main course; for desserts, #17 looks great, although I would crop down 4 cms from the top of the frame to remove the wine glass stem.

very well done, keep up the good work !

PS : they didn't pay you, but did you get to eat all these ? and is #12 rarely done ? its my dad's favorite !

The_Traveler · Jul 31, 2007

I'm in the process of doing the same for a bakery and having lots of lighting problems.

What did you use and what was your setup?

projectmayhem · Aug 1, 2007

sayambhu said:
I think its the advertisement that matters more than attempts to find out the photographer !! forget about who can make out your reflection man its so foolish ! at the resolution you provided, atleast I could not see any reflection - I guess your customers too wouldn't, and would be more interested in the delicious looking food !

I feel #10 & #13 are the choicest best of the lot, although others are nearly as good. these can go well for the main course; for desserts, #17 looks great, although I would crop down 4 cms from the top of the frame to remove the wine glass stem.

very well done, keep up the good work !

PS : they didn't pay you, but did you get to eat all these ? and is #12 rarely done ? its my dad's favorite !

actually, haha, kinda gross but the chops were barely cooked at all. since they are expensive they just browned them on the outside so they could be actually cooked and served later. they were cold on the plate, so i had to pick off pieces of congealed fat and grease. kinda takes the magic away.

projectmayhem · Aug 1, 2007

The_Traveler said:
I'm in the process of doing the same for a bakery and having lots of lighting problems.

What did you use and what was your setup?

i actually followed this little diy lighting tutorial. its rare that i do any commercial or studio type shooting, so i dont have any great lighting besides an external flash.

http://www.shuttertalk.com/articles/diylighting

ok, this looks very cheesy, but it worked out REALLY good. i had two 250 watt lights on the tripod (if you go to the tutorial, its the exact same one). instead of the sheet hanging from the wardrobe rack to diffuse, i used tracing paper and a makeshift frame. kind of ghetto, but i was extremely happy with the results. i also got a little freestanding light and bounced it off a wall and a reflector to reduce shadows on the opposite side from my mounted set of lights.

a couple tips :

1)put hot lights on a power strip or surge protector so you can switch them off between shots.
2)whatever you use for diffusing light, make sure they are at least 6 inches from the lights, they get HOT and starting a fire would be embarassing.
3)you can never have too much light. in retrospect, the bigger setup would have been a little better.
4)if you can control the white balance digitally through your camera or if you shoot in RAW then dont worry about getting the white lights.

[email protected] email me if you want to talk more about this. i found it very intimidating at first, and there isnt a TON of help online. some but not a lot.

skieur · Aug 1, 2007

Considering that food is one of the most difficult areas of photography, your shots are pretty good. To put that comment in context, one advanced amateur and talented portrait photographer on another site, tried food photography and the results were so bad that it was almost amusing. Certainly not the case with your work.

Your problem areas are typical. Lighting must show the texture of all areas of the food. Professionals make great use of reflectors and soft boxes to accomplish this as well as 3,000 watt always on lighting kits that are focusable.

Your framing is often too tight and you need to control your backgrounds more carefully so that they do not distract from the food. With wine, I would tend to shoot the glass, but not always the label on the bottle, and certainly not the same label in all shots. The label also indicates the sharpness of the shot, so I would tend to chose a label carefully and selectively sharpen it in postprocessing.

Depth of field is also extremely important so I would use as a wide an angle as possible without introducing distortion in the shot, combined of course with an fstop of f16 or higher. Angling the shot for greater focus range is also important.

skieur

projectmayhem · Aug 1, 2007

great tips! and in retrospect, all very true. yes, lighting is definitely the most important and challenging part of the process. i had to make due with my d.i.y. home depot kit. as far as the framing, yeah, it wasnt until the end that i started finding the right angles more frequently. definitely one of the hugest learning experiences in my "camera-life."

rprimeau95 · Sep 11, 2007

what lens did you use?

Peniole · Sep 11, 2007

2,4,5,9,14 are all well done and make you want to order the dish. Mission accomplished, nice work.

16, you shouldn't have cut off the endge of the plate, otherwie nice setup with the brandy.
17, not your fault but the colour dots ruin it, although cutting off the edge of the dessert may make it hard to use.