Making progress

PaulC · Joined: 23 Dec 2008 Posts: 2318

Here's my latest shot with the Micro-Nikkor 55/3.5 from the 60s or 70s. What a delight this lens is! I briefly switched to some $1,000+ AF lenses but the quality just doesn't compare.

And I think I've maybe finally cracked the problem that has plagued me for years over lighting for food...

Attila · Expire: 2025-11-18

Nice! I wish to eat! Laughing

Orio · Expire: 2012-12-04

Good shot!

Funny, here's what I just wrote in another thread! Laughing

http://forum.mflenses.com/my-problem-with-food-photos-is-t24397.html#213450

PaulC · Joined: 23 Dec 2008 Posts: 2318

Ha ha! Yes, it does get eaten. Eventually. But I really should be shooting it much faster than we can eat it.

My problem with food photography has always been the lighting. And my problem with my belly has been the photography!

At least the family gets a varied diet of fresh-cooked food.

cooltouch · Joined: 15 Jan 2009 Posts: 9097 Location: Houston, Texas

So Paul, what lighting did you use? A lot of folks build light boxes for even lighting of smaller subjects. I haven't tried it yet, but the results I've seen sure are pleasing.

Very appetizing looking photo by the way. It's lunch time here and my stomach is growling. Cool

I too am a big fan of the early Micro Nikkors. I have one that was built during the 60s, and it is just a fantastic lens for close-up work.

PaulC · Joined: 23 Dec 2008 Posts: 2318

Light table, one flash underneath, one to one side with a reflector on the other side.

heartcat · Joined: 31 Dec 2009 Posts: 371

What a delicious looking quiche and salad!

Oh, and great photo too... Wink

patrickh · Expire: 2011-11-18

Great shot with a legendary lens. That micro lens from nikkor has hardly been beaten even by today's monstrously expensive offerings. I see Nikon has added IS/VR to its latest micro offering ?

patrickh

dakoo · Joined: 08 Mar 2008 Posts: 603

Nice to see a thread on food photography..
I am myself trying a few shot of late to make my own photography blog, inspired from Alessandro.

But not too good results at all.
Would be great to get some advice from member on setup lights etc..
Lenses used Flek 35/2.4 (curry ofcourse Razz

) on first, Takumara 50/1.4 on other. The second one is meant to show a country side bread called Bhakri

cooltouch · Joined: 15 Jan 2009 Posts: 9097 Location: Houston, Texas

My wife is a chef and I like to cook, so we've collected MANY cookbooks over the years. Other than food photographers doing indecent things to food to get the shots they think look best, my next biggest complaint is a lack of depth of field. When you're taking a picture of your food, my advice is that the entire plate should be in focus.

I suppose some food photographers would argue that selective focus is a good thing. Yeah, maybe so, but I don't like it with food photography. I want to see everything on that plate in sharp focus. Just my two pfennig.

I haven't taken a lot of food photos, but here's one of them (barbecue brisket, Texas style):

PaulC · Joined: 23 Dec 2008 Posts: 2318

Dakoo - it's not easy at all, is it? The natural assumption about food photography is that you just slap the plate down and hit the button and you're done. In reality, I think it is one of the hardest kinds of photography to get right.

You get all sorts of different results depending on the direction you light it from, and the number of lights you use. I think the most important thing is how you handle the shadows (and reflections - the reflection really kills the soup shot). You need shadows to give texture to the food but you don't want them to cast big black smudges.

Soft tight from above kills shadows, both nasty ones and nice ones. A lot of people use that to get pictures that look flat. Hard light from the side gives hard shadows, but they can be softened with a second flash or a reflector. Soft light from the side gives softer-edged shadows, but you still need to lighten them in some way.

When focusing you need to remember that two thirds of the DoF falls behind the focus point, so focus more towards the front of the subject. However much you stop down, viewed at 100% your DoF is going to be minimal so you need to choose the right point.

The use of colours is critical, brown food is very hard to get looking appetising. And, of course, you also need to pay attention to the composition on the plate and to any props you may be using. That's food "styling".

Even when you know how to handle all these things, an awful lot depends on how critically you can assess what you see in your photos. At every stage in your development it is easy to be impressed with how much better today's shots are than those you made six months ago and to think you are doing really well, so you need to compare your own work against the very best glossy magazine food shots you can find (the Australian Women's Weekly cookery magazines usually - but not always - have exceptional photography).

Above all, keep trying things out and see how they turn out.

Cooltouch - I don't think you can be dogmatic about focus. I deliberately reduced the DoF on the one I posted in order to avoid the salad distracting too much from the quiche. In other shots I went for the maximum DoF because there was nothing to distract from the subject - as in this one:

As you can see, even at this size and shot around f16 or f22 the DoF doesn't carry right to the back, in fact at full size it only extends something like an inch. Sometimes the old-timers would have used a large format camera with tilt to get the whole subject in focus. As most people don't have T/S lenses for 35mm that generally isn't an option.

patrickh · Expire: 2011-11-18

Thanks for that brief course on food photography

patrickh

martinsmith99 · Expire: 2013-11-18

I keep wanting to take a bite out of the screen. Good shots! I must try some of the lighting techniques and invest in/make a light table.

dakoo · Joined: 08 Mar 2008 Posts: 603

Thanks a lot PaulC,
Since i am just starting with Food photography, this is very helpful indeed.
Already check the Australian Women weekly food photographs.

Shall keep posting my work here for critiques from you.