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Digging this thread as I really want to learn the art of food photography - kudos to OP. What kind of lighting do you guys use - I tried a bit in the schools studio yesterday, but the strobes mixed with a f/2.8 was obviously.. too bright.. Do you use mod-lights from the strobes or how does one go around this. Also - my cooking skills are fine, but I just cant seem to put out pretty food, so how do you get into food photography?
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Sep 23, 2010 09:20
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corkskroo posted:Chinese tea eggs Tried making some the other day, dropped one on the floor, ate one, and one got squashed on the way to school for a shoot. drat.. Anyhow mine weren't nearly as dark and lovely as yours - can you post how you made them?
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Sep 23, 2010 11:32
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mysticp posted:Finally everyone should check out this book and be humbled at how good the photography is. You are absolutely right - I just have to get out there and try to work with basic ingredients - thanks! Also, the photographs on modernist cuisine  aaamazing.
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Sep 25, 2010 10:21
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Long time since I been in here. Just ordered the Food Styling book by Dolores Custer, hoping to get some good tips there. I tried making the tea egg some time ago, and it didn't come out too well, but I'm posting it anyway along with some other recent stuff. Last week I had a interview with a photographer about an internship and it went really well. So soon I will go work alongside her for some time and see if we can stand out each others faces for 4 years, and hopefully we can. Here in Denmark you need an internship in order to get the education as photographer, and it's really hard to find one. So cross you goony fingers for me! Also se primarily does food.      
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Feb 28, 2011 19:13
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Thank you. The interview went really well and I have been out on a shoot with her. It was with a michelin chef called Paul Cunningham and it was so amazing - it just made me realize how much I want to be food photographer! So now I'm waiting for the photographer to call me back so we can discuss how she think it went. And offcourse more recent shots, all cooked by myself        
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Mar 19, 2011 19:13
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mysticp posted:More food Looks delicious! Maybe you should brighten up the background in the bottom of the picture, it draws my eyes away from the food. It might work better if you 90 degrees counter clock wise - just a thought!
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Mar 19, 2011 19:18
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mysticp posted:This is how the chef wanted it, I do prefer it 90 degrees rotated as well, so it will probably go in my portfolio like that. He also preferred the darker tone on the plate at the bottom, although in print and on my monitor in Photoshop it looks way brighter so I think it is just how a web browser shows the image. Weird he wants it that way, but I guess he decides. Yeah some of my pictures also get kind of weird when uploading small jpeg. AIIAZNSK8ER posted:You're work is great, but what is this last green thing? Seaweed? Spot in sir - its wakame seaweed. Shot with macro lens and a huge softbox behind - was a fun experiment!
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Mar 19, 2011 20:52
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brad industry posted:These look good, just to give you some things to think about your props here are just as big as the food in the frame. Give the food more importance proportionally. Also your lighting is pretty flat, and your flat napkin in this one really makes it obvious. Try to arrange the napkin so it's more interesting and catches the light in an interesting way and leads you into the food. Make cardboard "fingers" or stick some props/glasses/whatever outside the frame to filter the light coming in, anything to break it up a little and add some interest or bring the focus back to the food. Thank you, and I can only agree with you. This shot I was not completely happy about - so it's nice to get some pointers on what to do next time. What is cardboard "fingers"? Good tip with having stuff outside the frame to break up light! mysticp posted:So much I end up doing in NYC is like his food, white plates, clean plating, not sure what the garnishes are on the main protein (which many times is very mysterious). All the high end chefs are doing that or the 'Noma look' which is all over the place now. I assume you are in copenhagen if you worked with Paul Cunningham, so I bet that style is all over the place as well. I am doing a shoot for Union Square Cafe next week, their food will be a nice change to what I have been doing for the past few months. Can you elaborate on Noma look? I haven't had the chance, or money for that sake, to eat there yet. I would love to buy the cookbook/bio they put out some months ago. Yes I live in Copenhagen, and his style is all over the place - very rustic, dirty and all over. He and the photographer I hope to get a full time internship with did a fabulous cook book together called Paul Food - it is without a doubt my strongest source of inspiration at the moment. This is her website, and some of the pictures from that book is featured in her portfolio. http://www.lineklein.com/
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Mar 19, 2011 22:22
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mysticp posted:Fat Duck vs Noma Ah in that way. Why is camera equipment AND cookbooks so expensive! Right now I just want to order some cookbooks and dive into all the pictures. But thanks for explaining! Being from scandinavian, half dane half swede, I prefer the Noma style by far. I think it presents the food in a way more enjoyable way. That being said, precise clean pictures is probably way harder to do!
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Mar 19, 2011 23:27
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mysticp posted:Mm beer.. Nice pictures, like the feel of the two last especially. But whats up with the matcha drink, is than an egg on the side? Looks loving delicious though!
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Mar 27, 2011 21:31
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mysticp posted:http://www.schonnemann.dk/ Thanks, went to see him like six months ago, but he isn't busy enough to hire a student to work for him. But his stuff is really nice, it's stuff like his that really inspires me! Also, his studio is insanely nice, biiig windows (see the olive oil and spoon picture) - look like natural light on most yeah. But thanks for the heads up, it's appreciated! Try and check Chris Court, he also has an impressive portolio. http://chriscourt.com/
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Mar 28, 2011 17:36
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Maybe we should create a thread about food photography instead of just posting on in this 'help' thread. Just putting it out there.
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Mar 28, 2011 19:18
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Latest picture, lovely sour Key Lime Pie! Recipe adopted from Paul Food, an amazing cookbook from Paul Cunningham - full of his hearty love for food, travel and family. And offcourse amazing pictures, socalled food portraits as printed on the cover. Tomorrow and the week I'm starting a longer "test period" with photographer Line Klein, I am so pumped about getting at it. We will work mostly with food, so I hope to learn a lot and maybe getting that internship.
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Apr 4, 2011 19:14
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brad industry posted:Explaining cardboard fingers Have any of you ever used a kit like this? I can see why some nerdy high-end productions in super controlled envoirments would use them, but they just seem a bit overkill to me - or am I just a lazy rear end motherfucker? Great with a new title to the thread! Don't eat him, shoot him! 
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Apr 6, 2011 20:24
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Okay I see your point, but as you mention, then we are on pretty high-end shots, 3 shots a day makes for some pretty expensive shoots. But it's still a nice tool for those lovely highlights! So your dog are an entire raw fish? Guess you forgot to him not to eat the hero.
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Apr 6, 2011 20:43
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Great that you have gotten a set-up at home, and oh boy do I know how it is working in a small appartment - but is doable. Great pictures, some comments though. I think its a shame that the bread overlaps the bowls, you loose the shape of it as they melt together. Give the mayo a stir, so that it looks homemade and not that 'out-of-tube' look. And what is up with the cool Batfork! On the orange shot I would try to use a reflector to control the mirroring in the fork a bit. But I look forward to seeing some of your own productions! LAchristus fucked around with this message at 06:24 on Apr 7, 2011 |
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Apr 7, 2011 06:22
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Nice to see that you are putting your new home studio to good use! Practice practice practice is key. However the first 3 pictures seem a bit rushed, with some minor flaws - like the strawberry. But when you have to cook youself as well, it's way harder, or I think so. Generally I think you could brigthen the pictures midtones a bit, to me they seem a bit dark. I like it when food pictures really pops. For instance a white background needs to be white, and not some grey tone. The burger shot however is really nice - and very funny! How did you do it? For my own part, I got the internship with the photographer mentioned earlier! So after summer I will begin on my education to become a photographer! I'm super exited and can't wait to get started - getting paid to shoot and learn everyday - it's a dream come true! She just picked up some gigs with Noma and some other michelin restaurants, so that is going to be fun!
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Apr 11, 2011 09:23
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Here's my latest picture. It's again inspired from the book Paul Food - his smoked chantrelle chanterelle dish served in a patent glass (this however is a failed tea egg turned into something new). I used daylight, cloned a lot and stacked another picture in for more smoke. 
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Apr 18, 2011 15:53
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Chappy posted:Okay, I'm going to be straight up. For you as a memory of a trip its spot on, but looking more professionally on it there are numerous things that is hard to overlook. The most important thing is the temperature of the picture, it's way to warm, the chocolate looks orange, and not brown as it should. The temp of the picture is very important, the food needs to look real and inviting. Also the direct flash you used, is very rarely a good idea when photographing food. that again brings up the temp of the picture - the ambient lighting is one and the flash is another so they won't blend that well and can throw of your white balance. The last think shows that its just a snap shot is the counter that covers the base. Hope I wasn't to hard! For as a snapshot I like it, and I love big chocolate fountains like this - lucky guy!
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Apr 18, 2011 20:46
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Just got a hold of Bills Basics by aussie Bill Granger. Its a really lovely basic cookbook and it features some amazing pictures taken by danish born Mikkel Vang. I just love the feel and tone of the pictures! It gives you inspiration and a new usefull cookbook all in one! ...Also its cheap.  
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Apr 28, 2011 12:46
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Studebaker Hawk posted:It was food.. Yum, I love beet root. I would probably brighten up the background, so it's closer to white - its sort of grey on my screen. Here is my days dinner. The jpeg conversion had made them a bit flat and slightly darker though.  
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May 3, 2011 14:24
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So apparently I'm into saffron these days. So here are some swirls with saffron, butter and honey. I need to start collecting cool backgrounds, but where to find interesting ones?   
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May 12, 2011 19:24
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Greybone posted:This is just a natural light snapshot of my dinner, but I'm wondering if there's anything I can do to improve the processing: I would give it a good contrast boost - maybe play around with some blend modes like soft light or overlay. The picture simply needs more punch, it's just grey to me. Also as mentioned, a reflector to put some more light on the spinach for instance. Try taking pictures with the light coming from behind also, and then a reflector in front of. Lastly, the picture is very centered, remember the rule of thirds. AtomicManiac posted:Very nice and dramatic lighting, works very well with the dish and the night club feel. I think your second picture is the best - good focus and composition! But the glass/crystal thingy needs to be seperated from the dish, it looks like they are blending together. Also it is very centered and dominant in pic. 2 and 3, it steals to much attention - move it back and more to the side. Food photography is ALL about the hero of the dish - so be carefull that there isn't to much else going on. Also I would brighten the food on the last picture a touch. But I really like the pictures, and for a first timer you pretty much nailed it! Keep it up.
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May 29, 2011 22:10
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Cookbook wise my favorite is Paul Food by Paul Cunningham, other than that I like Jamie Olivers magazine, but that is really expensive - so I flick through it at work where we keep it. Blogs can also be a very good way to keep you inspired. I follow these among others: http://whatkatieate.blogspot.com/ http://cannelle-vanille.blogspot.com/ http://sweetpaul.typepad.com/my_weblog/ http://souvlakiforthesoul.com/ For newcomers a good site to check out is http://www.learnfoodphotography.com. It has a lot of interviews, how-to and guides.
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Jun 15, 2011 08:59
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mysticp posted:I have a ton more shots, they just got picked up by Food and Wine for an article that is being written about the whole thing. I covered an event by some local chefs not too long ago, they focus mainly on in-season on local produce - like everybody should  Obviously there is stuff I am not super happy about, but given circumstances and low lighting I think I managed quite okay. Also, I want a camera with better ISO performance (:read 5D)       
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Aug 3, 2011 13:58
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Thank you! Yes event are ludicrous, luckily the apartment was in 2 levels, so I had a pretty quit place to take the pictures. They are all done with natural lighting except the last, which is a diffused speedlight. Also, I would kill for a camera with better ISO performance than my Canon 40D. That limited me quite a bit.
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Aug 4, 2011 11:53
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BioTech posted:
Welcome! The styling of the food in my eyes doesn't really work, it seems like the dish is separated, with the meat at the back and some veg at the front. I would try and center the meat more in the middle, so it comes of as one single dish. Does it makes sense? The angles also seems a bit "hey I wanna snap a picture of my meal". I always go either from the top, or get waay down - that way it comes of a lot more interesting in my eyes. Oh and also, if you don't have any decent background or props, try and zoom in on the food and leave all the non-important stuff hidden. Also, try and zoom more in, so the picture doesn't get barrel distortion, the plate seems to bend and seems "out of shape". As you are pretty green, try and check out this blog https://www.learnfoodphotography.com
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Aug 6, 2011 10:21
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By the way. If you aren't sure if your screen shows of colors properly, you can use the info palette in photoshop. There you get the RGB reading of a specific area, so if you hover over a part/plate that is supposed to be white the RGB values should be pretty much equal. I downloaded your picture and gave it a try, and like I supposed your values where around R:200 G:170 B:160 give or take - so if the picture actually is white on your screen you are in bad need of a calibration. Otherwise you can try and correct you pictures with curves or of course in the RAW converter.
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Aug 6, 2011 14:18
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Curries can look really delicious, if presented correct - work with the chef and help each other a bit. Good idea with side dishes, just make sure they do not steal focus from the hero. And remember the rule of thirds! Good luck, looking forward to see the results.
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Aug 24, 2011 23:11
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Last friday I went to an eat-at-home event, where 3 chefs cooked for about 8 people. The food was delicious and the wines even more so. Here is what I got out of it. I wasn't completely on top of my game that night, but the chefs were pleased with the outcome, guess that's the most important thing. And a link to my mother loving blog http://christonnesen.blogspot.com/         
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Sep 19, 2011 16:14
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poopinmymouth posted:Just checked out your blog - and no doubt about you being an awesome baker, bookmarked the hell out of it. But picture-wise you could be doing a bit better - if your really into food photography? It is pretty easy to make a lot out of food, and desserts sure do look amazing! Most importantly, add some more contrast! It needs to look more 'crisp'! I learned a whole lot from reading Pixel to plate and it's just a great read for photographic newcomers. The photographer I study with, just shot an award winning cookbook with her friend as chef. It rocks both pictures and recipes. Check it out! http://lineklein.blogspot.com/2011/12/sdt-sadan-er-nr-1.html
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Jan 6, 2012 22:49
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Reignman posted:I have a food blog which I'd like to get some advice on. It's a food blog based on what I've eaten at restaurants and as I don't have a flash (nor would I want to disturb other people with it), I have to luck out on the ambient light. But my main issue is I feel my shots are becoming formulaic but any advice you guys can give would be useful. Good pictures, nice and clean, brigth and crisp! I just need to tell you have jealous I am of all the food you are having.
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Jan 7, 2012 12:02
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As a set together, it would have been better if the wood grain was the same in all I too prefer the vertical grain. The white balance is off. The first is slightly too warm and the last two are too cold. It should be more as the first, but I would make it a tad colder as well. If you can't get bowl to look white, just desaturate it masking out the rest. The same could apply for the background, to get it the right color (or lack of) Lastly, I normally give food pics a hell'u'va lot of contrast, to make it look more crisp, fresh and clear. What I do is double the background layer, set blending to soft light. Then create a black and white layer, and change blending to soft ligth as well. Then I adjust the opacity of the layers until it feels right. Don't be scared to give it a good punch! If the extremes get either too bright or dark - just mask them out with a brush, starting at around 15%-20% opacity. Sometimes it needs to be almost masked out entirely! EDIT: Also that big, is it parsley or coriander, leaf - to me it is just distracting, as I can't see it anywhere else in the dish. LAchristus fucked around with this message at 21:13 on Jan 17, 2012 |
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Jan 17, 2012 19:09
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poopinmymouth posted:Thanks for the recommendations, I'll check them out. I'm not "really into" food photography, but anything I can do to make the food look better, is going to benefit my business. As long as it isn't food doctoring, I'm game. :-) Pixel to plate is not a food doctor book. It's more a "basics" photography book, where the subject is food. Also it's just very nicely written - making it so easy to read, understand and benefit from. I've had those "food styling" books and they suck! You don't need to spray and color the poo poo out of food to make it look delicate!  If you are making a book at one point - I've always wanted to see iceland! 
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Jan 18, 2012 08:30
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Bobx66 posted:My wife is getting more comfortable with her new 5D and 50MM Macro: Like torgeaux said, maybe a broader depth of field would be better. I usually don't go lower than 3.5'ish. And try and place the focus point at the front of the dish instead when using a large aperture.
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Jan 18, 2012 17:31
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Bobx66 posted:Can anyone show me some food shots where a thin DOF benefits the shot?  Here is works, because you don't need to see the ones in the back as much. It would only distract. Mostly in food pics we talk about one main focus, and that one object needs to sharp, to tell what it is. The others are there to create a composition. God I'm blabbering. I will go to bed now!
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Jan 19, 2012 22:57
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Latest batch of pictures from a pop-up restaurant I work with.      
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Jan 24, 2012 20:15
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Bobx66 posted:Beautiful. Is the wood top from the restaurant or is it your prop? If its your's how did you get it to look like that? Well thank you. My lighting technique isn't spot on, usually work with natural light, so this flash set-up didn't tickle my buttons completely. That is something I gotta learn in 2012! It is a top/prob that I brought with me. It is a designer here in Copenhagen who makes them and it is actually cardboard that has been painted/printed/whatever and then with a thin coating on. My mentor (the photographer that I am studying under) and I are going shopping for new ones soon - I am all  about it. I'm a loving nerd that way..
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Jan 24, 2012 20:58
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Bobx66 posted:drat, do you have a brand or any more details? I would buy every single one that I could get my hands on. Her "company" is called Ezenz, but her webpage doesn't tell much at all. https://www.ezenz.dk. Not to be a tease, here is a few more pictures taken on Ezenz backgrounds. Photoes taken by my mentor; Line Klein. Maybe you can find something similar where you are.    
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Jan 24, 2012 22:30
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mysticp posted:pictures Any reason why you use such an obvious vignette? Kinda feels like it is distracting, especially the one where the hands are all dark. Other that that, good pictures and good colors!
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Feb 8, 2012 17:26
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