Suggestions For Product Portfolio

[Village Idiot]

No, I'm not mad; it's just that you're giving bad advice again,as you are prone to do sometimes. 100 photos viewed and only ONE photo even remotely looked like it was a professional food photo...that means that 99 percent of the stuff there looks amateurish, or worse. I've been around photography longer than you have even been ALIVE, Village Idiot,and I can diagnose most lighting schemes merely by looking at the images.I actually know, and can SEE the difference between professional photography, and wanna-be crap. What I am trying to say is this: today, the Strobist movement, and Flickr, and the "foodie" movement,all of which you are a part, is busy snapping pictures of food with umbrellas ( a LOUSY choice, which YOU suggested), and speedlights (also a LOUSY choice, which you suggested). The issue here is not food, but lighting, reflection control, lenswork, and knowlege of how to do food photography professionally. You yourself obviously don't understand much about lighting, or reflection control, or you would NEVER suggest using a single umbrella and a speedlight for food photography!!!

First off, almost all professional food photographers will tell you: speedlights SUCK. They have no modeling lamps. Umbrellas suck--they have curved surfaces, and the radius of the umbrella means there is not ONE single axis to contend with, but many,many,many degrees worth of reflection control to screw up shots. Village Idiot, your own suggestions to another newbie tell me you don;t know the first thing about profession al studio or tabletop work,and how to light it. I'm not "mad" at you because of your poor behavior yesterday, but I am merely stepping in to offer good advice in place of misguided 'advice' from a 20-something newbie...

Subscuck--take your lessons from true PROFESSIONALS in the field of food PHOTOGRAPHY. SKip the amateur hour on Flickr. Look in to making some scrims for your lighting. 99 percent, or more, of the stuff on the professional-looking food photography group on Flickr is out and out CRAP. You'd do far better to go to the library and look through ten years' worth of Gourmet and Bon Apetite magazine, or even Sunset magazine. If you wish to learn about how to do professional food photography, learn from the PROFESSIONALS in the field--not 20-year-olds on Flickr, making horrible images, 99 percent of which or more are decidedly sub-par.

You never post bad advice? And recommend this guy some nic softboxes and everything else he needs for what you consider to be professional level photography for under $150. He has two speedlights. Why don't you get him a nice light kit with two monolights and everything else. Or, did you not even read that he was working on a budget? That's not exactly good advice working outside of a person's stated budget...

All I'm saying is that there's some major nutswinging going on there and you like to try and jump my **** most every chance you get.

 

[tirediron]

OK, I have a question about strobes vs constant. A lot of what I will be photographing will use buttercream and chocolate, neither of which will hold up to constant lighting. Wouldn't strobe be a better choice for this?

I don't pretend to be a food photographer, but, if I were shooting that sort of stuff, I would go for "cold" hotlights, that is CFL bulbs rather than regular incandescent. They're still warm, but not nearly as hot as a traditional bulb, and since most food doesn't move (I hope), unless you're after things like steam curling off of a hot dish, relatively long shutter speeds shouldn't matter.

 

[tirediron]

100 100 photos viewed and only ONE photo even remotely looked like it was a professional food photo...that means that 99 percent of the stuff there looks amateurish, or worse.

NO! It means that 99% of the images you looked at, according you are amateur-ish. 100 images out 112,000 is NOT enough of a sample-size to form any sort of accurate statistical analysis.

I've been around photography longer than you have even been ALIVE....

DERREL!! UN-BUNCH YOUR FRIGGIN' PANTIES!!!! Seriously, I almost always agree with your advice, if not your way of doing, but you're wayyyy off base here. The OP wants to build a personal portfolio on a limited budget. If he could afford the top-of-the-line gear I'm sure he wouldn't be considering putting Tupperware on his speedlights. It might not be the best solution, but it is A solution.

 

[subscuck]

Take a look at the difference between the skill of first guy listed, and the skill of the last guy listed; the first fellow is what I would consider a "beginning professional" in food photography, and the last fellow is a Beginning Master-level shooter. The people on Flick are not even close to the Beginning Professional, or the two Journeymen I've listed.

Michael Ray was one of the other guys I took a look at.

 

[subscuck]

OK, this made me LOL, but it hits the nail pretty square on the head. So everyone is clear, and we can all hopefully be friends, or at least civil, here's where I'm at.

I know nothing about studio lighting or food photography. I need a place to start. I'm not expecting professional food photographer results at the beginning, but my goal is to be there at the end.

Thus far, you have all provided useful info that will be used to the extent budget allows. As I can slowly afford more and better suited gear, some info will go by the wayside, and other info will come into play.

Right now I need to learn the fundamentals of studio lighting, be it strobe or constant.

Since I already own one strobe, and can borrow another whenever needed, this is the best place for me to start as it allows my meager budget to be used purchasing other gear that I can use now and forever.

My portfolio will be an on going project for some time to come. As I improve, and my gear improves, I will re shoot earlier work. Hell, I could potentially even turn food photography into a paying side gig if I get good enough at it.

So quit laying 'em out on the table and measuring 'em. Seriously. Derrel, I'm sure you look at your earliest work and find it good, but lacking compared to the work you do now. You learned, you grew, you incorporated over time what you learned, but you started somewhere. That's where I'm at; I need to start somewhere. I've learned the hardway many times that you can't jump to middle or end of the learning curve. The fundamentals lie at the beginning of it, and that's where you need to start.

Again, many thanks to all of you. It's all been excellent advice for someone starting out in a new area of photography.

Now put 'em away. They're ugly and I'm tired of lookin' at 'em!

 

[Derrel]

You need to learn the fundamentals of studio lighting?

GET A BOOK on studio lighting!

Learn how to use scrims. FLAT, single-plane lights. Scrims are also known as panels, diffusion panels,etc. You can build them yourself for $7 each with PVC pipe from Home Depot or Lowe's. You can build a HUGE panel that you can suspend from heavy-gauge twine,and create a large source of light. if you want to learn how to do table-top work, then buy a BOOK written by a true professional and learn how professional photographers have shot food and beverages for over 100 years. Skip the amateur hour on the web. Bypass the wanna-be chefs who also own a speedlight or two. Seek out knowledge and advice from professionals in the field--people who understand why umbrellas are absolutely the WRONG approach. I'd rather have two 500 watt flood lights and a roll of tracing paper than a speedlight setup.

If you want to learn--learn from somebody who knows what he is talking about...not people finding their way,blindly.

Start here: Diffusion Panels

Learn what a panel is,and why you need them, and why you do NOT want umbrellas. Learn why a panel is the single most-versatile, most-adaptable light modifier ever invented. Seriously.

 

[Christie Photo]

Since I already own one strobe, and can borrow another whenever needed, this is the best place for me to start as it allows my meager budget to be used purchasing other gear that I can use now and forever.

When you say you own "one strobe," do you mean a speedlight... hot-shoe mount sort of thing?

If so, you'll want something else for this project.

First of all, it's essential that you can see where the light will fall. Without a modeling lamp, this is virtually impossible.

Also, for shots when you want everything sharp (front to back), you likely will not have enough light. For this sort of work, you won't be using the light straight-on with no modifier. By time you bounce one these through a soft box, you'll be lucky to get f8 @ ISO 100.

But more importantly, you have to see what the light is doing before you trip the shutter.

Hot lights are cheaper that strobes and allow you to shoot at any stop.

Good luck!

-Pete

 

[c.cloudwalker]

Learning photography to be able to do what you are talking about is going to take you as long as it did to learn your chosen profession. So, let me just say, pretty much bad advice all around.

Hire a pro. If you are short on funds, find a pro who has just started and is hungry. They are around and they need you as much as you need them. And because of that they will work with you on the price. But, from watching a food photographer in action (a photog I assisted shared his studio with a food guy,) there is no way you can be cooking and shooting at the same time.

Mind you I have heard that a lot of the food being shot today is plastic. it wasn't in my time. Except for the ice and water spills.

What that means is that you can't shoot your own food because you are going to be too darn busy cooking the same darn thing over and over to also be able to shoot it. Food tends to fade real fast...

 

[subscuck]

What that means is that you can't shoot your own food because you are going to be too darn busy cooking the same darn thing over and over to also be able to shoot it. Food tends to fade real fast...

I'm a Pastry chef, so that's not completely true in my case. There are a few things, like souffles, that have a limited life, but mostly my product can stand at room temp for hours. Besides, I really want to learn how to do this. If it takes time, that's fine, I've plenty of it! This isn't something I have a time line for, I'm expecting it to be an ongoing project for some time. J'ai plus de temps que l'argent!

 

[c.cloudwalker]

I'm a Pastry chef, so that's not completely true in my case. There are a few things, like souffles, that have a limited life, but mostly my product can stand at room temp for hours. Besides, I really want to learn how to do this. If it takes time, that's fine, I've plenty of it! This isn't something I have a time line for, I'm expecting it to be an ongoing project for some time. J'ai plus de temps que l'argent!

J'ai plus de temps que d'argent.

OK. I'll trust you on the pastry being easier. I have no idea. And if you want to enjoy both, why not?

My advice then is to get yourself some strobes (another thread right here for what brand...) and start practicing lighting with whatever objects you want. I would suggest trying to light glass and other highly reflective surfaces because, in my mother's pastry, there are a lot of reflective surfaces.

 

[subscuck]

I'm a Pastry chef, so that's not completely true in my case. There are a few things, like souffles, that have a limited life, but mostly my product can stand at room temp for hours. Besides, I really want to learn how to do this. If it takes time, that's fine, I've plenty of it! This isn't something I have a time line for, I'm expecting it to be an ongoing project for some time. J'ai plus de temps que l'argent!

J'ai plus de temps que d'argent.

OK. I'll trust you on the pastry being easier. I have no idea. And if you want to enjoy both, why not?

My advice then is to get yourself some strobes (another thread right here for what brand...) and start practicing lighting with whatever objects you want. I would suggest trying to light glass and other highly reflective surfaces because, in my mother's pastry, there are a lot of reflective surfaces.

Yeah, my French is a little rough n rusty, LOL.

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll look into it.

 

[c.cloudwalker]

Yeah, my French is a little rough n rusty, LOL.

So is mine... I'm re-learning it

But I can't forget my mom's pastry. I grew up with it and it drove me nuts. Very good but highly reflective :lmao:

 

[subscuck]

Yeah, apricot glaze features heavily in French pastry.

 

[c.cloudwalker]

Yeah, apricot glaze features heavily in French pastry.

 

[Village Idiot]

I'm a Pastry chef, so that's not completely true in my case. There are a few things, like souffles, that have a limited life, but mostly my product can stand at room temp for hours. Besides, I really want to learn how to do this. If it takes time, that's fine, I've plenty of it! This isn't something I have a time line for, I'm expecting it to be an ongoing project for some time. J'ai plus de temps que l'argent!

J'ai plus de temps que d'argent.

OK. I'll trust you on the pastry being easier. I have no idea. And if you want to enjoy both, why not?

My advice then is to get yourself some strobes (another thread right here for what brand...) and start practicing lighting with whatever objects you want. I would suggest trying to light glass and other highly reflective surfaces because, in my mother's pastry, there are a lot of reflective surfaces.

He already has two speedlights. I know they're not the greatest, but make due with what you have until you can afford something else. The stick Darrel has up his ass is about how using speedlights to light food is the anti-christ and how it's going to bring about the end of the world and no one should use them. I agree that if you don't have modeling lights, it's going to be harder, but it's not like the guy is shooting film and take 20 test shots if he doesn't want to.

With just a little bit of cash, he can get a setup with everything he needs rather than spending more than the $150 budget on a set of monolights (or $129 o a diffusion panel at that) or using a pair of worklights. I did that back when I first started and the heat I had on the static objects was just...bad? Imagine using them on chocolate or some other substance that likes to melt when it starts getting warm.