Food photos for C&C - There is BACON in some of them btw...

[Parker219]

I have a new technique where I set my shot up...camera on the tripod...framed...settings how I want them...then set the camera to release the shutter in 10 seconds.

Then during that 10 seconds I grab my light and move it exactly how I want it and PRESTO...the lighting looks good...to me anyway...that's why I want some feedback.

I haven't turned in these photos yet, so anything that you see that should be fixed, please let me know.

Thank You!


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[tirediron]

I think the lighting is very good in these, as is the food presentation. Two issues that bother me are OOF foregrounds and the 'bits' of glasses. I think your backgrounds and overall scenes need a little work, but aside from that, and greater DoF, good job!

 

[Braineack]

seems like an odd technique, but if it works for you.

I'm trying to figure what's stoping you from getting the lighting perfect BEFORE you click the trigger.

 

[Parker219]

seems like an odd technique, but if it works for you.

I'm trying to figure what's stoping you from getting the lighting perfect BEFORE you click the trigger.

Some of these restaurants have limited space, since there are customers at the other tables, and since I am shooting these on location, it isn't practical to bring in a convoy of lights on stands. So I have a light that sits ON the table that the food is on...however when I did that the light comes straight ACROSS the food, and left harsh shadows.

So I pick up the light and move it to where I want, plus the 10 second delay makes me stop and think about every shot AND of course makes sure the camera is perfectly still and doesn't get moved by me pressing the shutter.

 

[baturn]

What ever you did, it worked. I'm hungry now.

 

[Parker219]

I think the lighting is very good in these, as is the food presentation. Two issues that bother me are OOF foregrounds and the 'bits' of glasses. I think your backgrounds and overall scenes need a little work, but aside from that, and greater DoF, good job!

I guess its a preference thing on the DOF, because the magazine these go in likes the shallow DOF, so I have been shooting these around f/4 for the most part.

I feel the glasses were kinda...gimmicky, but they added some different colors, so I went with them. I see how they can be distracting though.

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[Parker219]

Also I just used continuous light with NO flash on these. I feel it gives the photos a much natural look and doesn't have bounce back from the flash.

 

[astroNikon]

I like it
BUt as the others have said, background.
For instance # 2 .. there's partial glasses there and some black squarish thing in the near background.
Just move them out of the way or maybe have a very small black backdrop to put behind the food to eliminate the BG (glasses, people, multicolored wall) - like a small black quare diffuser might work held upright by 2 glasses.

 

[Parker219]

^^ Fair enough, I feel I am learning something new on every shoot, but still have some work to do to make it perfect. I don't see a black square thing in photo 2, I think that is just the table?

 

[Scatterbrained]

Also I just used continuous light with NO flash on these. I feel it gives the photos a much natural look and doesn't have bounce back from the flash.

light is light. It's not the flash that makes it look like that, it's where you place it. The lighting here looks a bit flat to me. If you don't like the "harsh shadows" you get when the light is next to or behind the food, then add a bounce card on the other side for fill (this is generally how it's done). Quick, simple, and it gives soft light with nice directionality.

 

[astroNikon]

^^ Fair enough, I feel I am learning something new on every shoot, but still have some work to do to make it perfect. I don't see a black square thing in photo 2, I think that is just the table?

Ahh ... it's a weird shadow. Same thing in # 10 & 8

 

[Parker219]

^ I see what you mean, I don't think there is anything I can do now but for next time I will try to avoid that.

 

[JoeW]

What I'm going to say is probably more revealing of my biases with food photography then your work. So please take what I say with a grain of salt (no pun intended).

1. I prefer a softer light. I know you're shooting on-site, have lighting restrictions, etc. Too me, the lighting is still a little harsh.

2. Agree with the earlier comment about DoF. If I were shooting a portrait, no problem with the foreground out of focus. But for food, I think the foreground needs to be sharp. So I'd approach DoF a little differently. I did not take Tirediron's comment to mean you need a broad DoF, only that the foreground (especially if it's part of the plate or the food) needs to be in focus.

3. I agree with the earlier comments about the glasses/stemware. I think it's better to have background objects like that, that are NOT symmetrical but instead are varying sizes or offset so it looks more "natural". It's not that you can't have glasses or utensils in the background, it's that it looks too staged.

 

[Designer]

I have a new technique where I set my shot up...camera on the tripod...framed...settings how I want them...then set the camera to release the shutter in 10 seconds.

Then during that 10 seconds I grab my light and move it exactly how I want it and PRESTO...the lighting looks good...to me anyway...that's why I want some feedback.

I haven't turned in these photos yet, so anything that you see that should be fixed, please let me know.

The light is very flat. If this were my assignment, I would make sure the light is not so flat. Also the frame is not always optimal. Also, and I realize this is probably not your doing, but why do they garnish with rosemary?

 

[MichaelHenson]

I'm not a food photographer by any stretch but my first thought when looking at these was that the light looks flat. In a couple of the photos, the backgrounds and other secondary subjects seem to "pop" more than the food.