Newbie on food photography. What to buy?

People are getting kind of snappy.

I think what people are responding to, me included, is the underestimation of what it will take to pull of food shots at an acceptable level of quality. I don't think people are saying "Don't do it.", they are saying "It's not easy and you should understand that." If I wanted to be a race car driver but created the impression that I didn't understand the amount of skill and experience it actually takes, I would get similar responses.

The budget is possible in my opinion, but it is stretching it very far: used entry level D-SLR with fast lens, plastic tripod, gimp software (free), foam core, diffusion paper, high wattage shop lights, clamps, cinefoil, chairs or something as c-stands to clamp things to. The thing about this set-up is that you really need to know what you are doing and isn't really the beginner route. It's more of a MacGuyver route for a knowledgeable shooter who is broke or trying to make a point.

And instead of people jumping on him saying that he needs a $1000 camera, $1200 lens, $400 triggers, $1000 in lights, they should actually let him know the important things that go into food photography (lighting, composition, styling) and that a used or older DSLR, cheaper lens, and some adequate lighting are enough to get started in learning how to take those shots that he wants.

/run-on sentence

You can buy budget speed lights, something like a D40 or 30D, and a 50mm and aside from accessories have everything you need to get started. That would at least get the person the equipment it takes to start learning and trying to apply that knowledge.
 
Hi guys!!

Thanks a lot for the usefull info, now I see examples on food photography and lots of valuable and specific info answering directly to my question. Thanks for taking the time to share with me your experience.
I think that I already thanked personally all of those that replied to me, and if I forgot somebody... Thanks a lot to you too!!

I see also material worthy of a talk show or a soap opera, and it wasn't my intention to start like this in a forum where I'm an absolute newbie with zero experience, looks like I kicked a bee hive and the post became an Oprah episode.

Again, if I was disrespectfull towards the profession, believe me that it wasn't mi intention. For those who helped me, one more time... my deepest apreciation, and for those that think that I was a jerk... You're entitled to have your opinion, and I respect that.;)

have a great day.
Luis
 
I didn't read past the second page of this post so forgive me if I missed anything important. I just wanted to say that I agree with Bitter. He gave him an opinion, although maybe blunt and too the point ( but thats his style ). Also, before even reading further past his post, I already new the main issue here ( because it jumped out to me as well ), that he is wanting to take work from a photographer and do it himself. This is the same reason everyone gets trashed when they bring up shooting a wedding for the first time. However, I say in this case it shouldn't be an issue, because it is HIS restaurant. Just like, I don't feel bad for shooting a wedding for a family member. Now if I was actively marketing myself as a professional wedding photographer ( when clearly I am not ) then this would be extremely troubling and offensive I would think.
 
What you are saying is fine, but I would like to add a few caveats. Even though a "client" might want to settle for someone, they think is good with a camera, to do their job for a small stipend or for free (e.g. a relative's wedding or food shots for a restaurant), do you really want that responsibility as an amateur? Going into the job knowing your potential sub par images are going to stick with the couple for life or are going to be featured in a restaurant's marketing material and possibly have a negative effect.

Another caveat is that beginners often over estimate the quality of their work. Everyone goes through this. People were often proud of images they took a years back, that they cannot stand to look at today, because in all honest they were crap, but were breakthroughs for them at the time. If you ever watch "American Idol" you can witness firsthand people's distorted perception of themselves. Terrible singers who do not look like pop stars who are delusional about their actual talent and look.

The people who are defending the OP the creative right to shoot his own images I feel are underestimating of what goes into a commercial quality image. Commercial photography isn't a commodity. You give ten photographers the same camera, gear and product, you will get ten distinct images of varying degrees of subjective quality. There is a reason good commercial photographer's work can amount to $2000+ a day; it is a refined skill set. (I'm not there yet, just starting, but I recognize what exactly goes into creating commerical images). There is a reason Peter Jackson didn't hire his Uncle Jim, who is good with a camera, to direct the photography of Lord of the Rings.

I didn't read past the second page of this post so forgive me if I missed anything important. I just wanted to say that I agree with Bitter. He gave him an opinion, although maybe blunt and too the point ( but thats his style ). Also, before even reading further past his post, I already new the main issue here ( because it jumped out to me as well ), that he is wanting to take work from a photographer and do it himself. This is the same reason everyone gets trashed when they bring up shooting a wedding for the first time. However, I say in this case it shouldn't be an issue, because it is HIS restaurant. Just like, I don't feel bad for shooting a wedding for a family member. Now if I was actively marketing myself as a professional wedding photographer ( when clearly I am not ) then this would be extremely troubling and offensive I would think.
 
I make pictures of food (fish) with Nikon D80 18-135 (I have only this camera and lans) and the result is good. Some pictures you can see in my blog (Photography...).
 
I didn't say he would be better than the professional. I am saying that in this economy, we shouldn't crush him for wanting save some money on his own business. If he started taking picture for all his buddies I think that would be more offensive because now he is sort of posing as a pro when he is hurting the business. For his own menus, if the pictures suck, he is only going to hurt his own revenue. So everyone should lighten up and offer some advice. ( Which Bitter did, albeit blunt and to the point:) )
 
I didn't say he would be better than the professional. I am saying that in this economy, we shouldn't crush him for wanting save some money on his own business. If he started taking picture for all his buddies I think that would be more offensive because now he is sort of posing as a pro when he is hurting the business. For his own menus, if the pictures suck, he is only going to hurt his own revenue. So everyone should lighten up and offer some advice. ( Which Bitter did, albeit blunt and to the point:) )

I didn't say he would be better than a professional either. I understand business, economic hardships and the fact cuts need to be made. But I think his business would benefit more if he tried to hire a student photographer or an emerging professional willing to work for trade.

How do you give proper advice to a beginner who want to shoot a specialized form of commercial photography? It's like someone who wants to learn a somewhat complicated piano piece, who is new to piano. There is a lot of foundational technical and creative skills that need to be amassed before attempting to shoot something that most semi-experienced photographers can't do well. He should take photography classes and/or go shoot tens of thousands of photos so he can start to wrap his head around the medium. Then pour over the considerable amount of technical considerations involved with shooting and post-production, which is now the reality in the digital photography age (no more labs, it's all on the photographer). Learn how light works. Work with a variety of lights and modifiers. Learn how to shoot glass and metal. Learn how to shoot with glass, metal and a matte surface in the same image. Learn how to light in a variety of styles. Learn composition. Learn color theory. Develop art direction muscles and realize things that look good in real life don't always translate well to still image. Study the food masters. Be able to look at a great food image and understand why it works on a variety of levels.

After that, telling him how to position the lights will make sense.

I'm not trying to be a nay-sayer. But, again, I think he needs to realize what he in embarking on, before he commits to the path. I personally don't feel offended by his question. But I think it is irresponsible for people to encourage the notion that it will be easy.
 

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