Need advice on what type of camera to purchase

SF25 · Feb 26, 2013

Hi! I am new here and was wondering if you could give me some advice

I am not a photographer at all but I am a cake decorator and would like to take decent pics of my cakes so that I can display them online. The camera I have right now is not a good one at all so I would like to upgrade but am not sure what to get. I do not know anything about cameras. I don't need it to be super top of the line because I will just be taking pictures of cakes nothing that is moving or anything. What is the best type of camera for this sort of photography? I am looking for one that is less than 500.00 I know that is pretty cheap but like I said I am not a photographer so I hate to invest too much in it since it really wont be making me tons of money... Thanks so much!
Sarah

ronlane · Feb 26, 2013

Hey Sarah, welcome. I'll get the obvious smart comment out of the way and say that I suggest one that takes pictures. lol.

You say that your current camera isn't good, what do you have? You are using it for product shots only. Is this something that you could contract out with a local photographer?

I'm not up to date on the currect point and shoot cameras or the bridge camera to be able to say that you need a certain type. For dSLR camera, you could get something like a Canon T2 or T3 used with a lens, say 50mm f1.8 for that price range. To do product shoots, you could set up a white box and get some lights for it. Again, I think this could be done within your budget.

I'm sure that others will give you their $0.02 as well.

Mully · Feb 26, 2013

For what you want to do you should look at the mid priced point and shoot.....you will have decent results without spending a lot of money.....technically it will be easier to learn. Look at Cannon and Nikon and find something in your price range. Five years ago I bought a Cannon SureShot 550 just for location hunting and was very surprised how good the images were.

TCampbell · Feb 26, 2013

I think of lots of sub-$500 cameras that will do the trick... BUT... BEFORE you buy a camera, you need to think about "light".

Your cakes have three dimensional texture... especially the detail in the icing work. If you take a photo of your cake using a flash which is built-in to the camera body then it's going to look bad. I don't care which camera you use or how much you paid for it. Flat lighting will look bad.

You want the cake to have a combination of both highlights and shadows. That'll cause the texture and icing work to take on a nice three-dimensional look that "pops" for you.

The light should be "softly" diffused. That means it appears to originate from a broad area. A pinpoint source of light creates a sharply defined separation between highlight and shadow... it looks harsh. Putting light through a screening material (frosted mylar, acetate, or a sheer fabric) will diffuse the light and create gentle transitions.

Reflections are often thought of as a bad thing, but in food photography, a little reflection -- well controlled of course -- creates an effect which makes food appear moist or juicy. It takes away the "dry" look which would look unappetizing.

Here's a video I came across on YouTube which shows what one food photographer might go through to take a photo of a cake: Food photography, photographing a cake. - YouTube (the audio is poor but you'll get the idea.)

Notice that he hardly mentions the camera (he does at the end). He spends almost the entire time fussing over the light... the source of the light, the strength of the light, the diffuse nature of the light, the color of the light, etc. etc. It's mostly all about the light.

If you want to control the level of blur in the background, then you'll want a camera with an APS-C or larger size sensor (any DSLR made by Canon or Nikon) and a prime lens that can handle f/2.8 or lower focal ratio. My preference would be for a macro lens BECAUSE you may also want to deal with some close-up detail shots. Lenses have minimum focusing distances. One of my favorites is the Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM lens. The problem is that the lens alone is about $400 (maybe a tiny bit less.)

Again... fuss over the lighting.

If you study that video, you'll realize that this *can* be done on a budget. Jim Talkington made a series of YouTube photography videos which mostly talk about product photography tips (although he does do other types of photography as well.) See: https://www.youtube.com/user/prophotolife

See episode 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zARqGgHjNc
And see episode 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_UcoCjAcik

You WILL need to fuss over the light (and I do mean "fuss") but you don't necessarily need to spend a ton of money on high-end lighting gear (you may ultimately want to, but you can certainly see how you can get started with some inexpensive items you can pick up at the hardware store and craft store.

12sndsgood · Feb 26, 2013

"so I hate to invest too much in it since it really wont be making me tons of money... "

Isn't the whole point of having the photos on your site to get people to like what they see and come in to your store, or to order from you? if that is the case then the photos (if done right) could generate a lot of income for you. Bad product photos could hurt your potential sales. Tcambell above pointed out things to think about. and somewhere to start.

SF25 · Feb 26, 2013

Thank you so much!! This has all been so helpful! and yes 12sndsgood it is true that it will eventually make me money so I can see your point. I am excited to watch the video on food photography too! Thanks everyone for your help!