So I've just had a first test shot at food photography - call it a trial run for a real shoot for a chef. Throwing up a quick setup, this is an example shot that i've grabbed with a 100mm f2.8 macro lens
Anyone have any food photography experience? I've got ideas of what i like and what I want to do better but I'd love to have some critique on this image.
OK, but I think I would want the whole thing in focus. If you can't do it with one image, then "focus stacking." I think the point of "food" is to see it clearly. And perhaps on a flat plate? The lip seems to hide a lot of what I would want to see. IMO.
I don't know much about food photography, but my first thought on this picture is that the DOF should be deeper so all the food is in focus. Other than that I like the composition.
I don't think I agree that deep depth of field is required. While I've done very little food photography, when I have done it I've asked the chef what he or she feels is the "star" of the dish - what is it the first thing they want the diner to smell, see, taste and experience. Whatever that is becomes the focal point of my image. Is it a particular ingredient, color, texture, etc? That information I use to determine depth of field, focal point and composition. I've also learned that leaning toward over-exposed is far better than underexposed when it comes to food. All chefs have told me you "eat with your eyes", so stepping up the vibrancy (but certainly not oversaturated) has always been well received. Awesome stuff, look forward to more food shots from you...now I'm hungry!!
To add a bit more information, the images will be for each of his dishes. This in particular is a rabbit dish which is why I specifically chose to do a quite shallow DoF as @dbj mentioned which is the star of the dish. Thats why I wanted to snap the attention to it straight away.
However, looking at the other images I shot at F4, I actually do think that these look better. However, I didn't have a nice background on these images so I didn't use it. I think the answer here is that I want a DoF shallow enough to snap attention to the star of the dish, but large enough to show off the other things on the dish.
@frankhymus Thanks for that about the lip of the dish, I noticed it myself. Flat plate didn't work as its more of a stew but that brings up another good point... I should have added more liquid to make it obvious that there was more liquid.
@petaqui thanks for that... Yep I saw Lee's video but more leaning towards Rob Grimm's way of doing things
@dbj Ive noticed that slightly overexposed works well too... however i'm finding that the background is getting blown too much and the food not enough. Its showing that my lighting is off and I need to pay more attention to it... i'm thinking about putting a separate speed light on a boom over the food to light it up a bit. Also, the reflector that i'm using camera right to add fill light doesn't really seem to be adding that much.
I agree with @dbj , overexposing is better, and the vibrance can go up a bit. That would give the meat a 'richer' colour. I can still recognise most of the ingredients, so I don't mind the shallow DOF. This could actually help you make the meat stand out more against the rest. Maybe mix up the colours of the veggies in the plate. I guess this is a stew? Some green in the front and some orange in the back would imply it was cooked together. Overall I like it a lot.
@laetitiapetrussa thanks for your input. I imagine vibrancy is going to be quite a fine tune job... Too much and it would all look plastic. Absolutely yes about the food placement thank you and yes it's a stew :)
@dbj@laetitiapetrussa I just realised what's annoying me specifically about this DoF and its that I've missed the focal point in this shot. I think the front of the piece of rabbit leg should be in focus and its not
@laetitiapetrussa bit more background... The green is part of a vegetable side dish that the chef snuck onto the plate :)
So it actually wasn't part of the dish and to be honest I think it's a bit stark against the rest... I should have taken it out
@toast Re the lighting, yes I wonder with a modified strobe in real tight maybe you can get good falloff to background? I haven't tried lighting food yet, my little experience was with ambient...I can see the challenge...it seems most intriguing. I'll be interested to follow your progress.
Also see the point about the rabbit, yes the bit up front...I did wonder if that was part of the protein. Yes maybe if that peice was next to the larger piece so as to have not confused it with a veggie. Now that you've mentioned it is rabbit, I've been sitting here scratching my head if there's any visual composition that might clearly indicate it is rabbit (or game) rather than say, chicken...but I'm at a loss on that one...probably there isn't.
@toast
just a quick reply as i'm at work!!
I'm no expert - but i know what i like!!
Dont listen to frank!! using DoF is great and so can cropping
I'd look at pintrest for ideas
i also really like this blog http://www.whatkatieate.com/
DOF is not too much of a problem as long as you are using your foreground to the advantage. In this particular case, the hazy foreground at the lip of the bowl is not accentuating the food, and the focus is a problem. So angle downward more from above. Bowls, plates, etc. can be all hard. I prefer shallow bowl with lips to them so I can get the food "in" without spilling everywhere, but then I don't have to hurdle over the depth of the bowl. Hope this helps. Lighting is the biggest thing in food photography in my opinion. The focus is next. (DOF will depend on what part of the food you want in focus--sometimes just imagining the one bite is a enough). Food photography is a real art!
Oh, and I really think that most problems arise from a lack of food styling. Here is an interesting link on how one dish takes different transformations because of the styling techniques: http://www.runningwithtweezers.com/indian-food-styling-post/
I know NOTHING about this subject but I followed the link that @darylo supplied and what I noticed were the distinct colours - not sure if rabbit, carrots/potatoes have enough contrast although the broccoli certainly has!
@brigette thankyou for the link and the comments. I have alot of respect for Frank and anyone taking the time to give critique.. i mean i asked for it after all and i'm not afraid to try things out. But, I need to see how I like it and whether it works with my style - maybe it does maybe it doesnt but I do try to learn from what ppl say :)
@darylo awesome thanks for that too.. I think i read some of her posts a long time ago but just forgot. Agree about the styling.. it really makes the shot. Coming into this, I knew that styling wasnt something that I could touch... The chef had literally just dropped off the food and my wife and little one were eating and i was on a timer. This was mostly a test for lighting and my new lens. 100% agree with the plate.. this was also not of my choosing and we've previously discussed what sort of look and feel we wanted for the shoot (covering table, plate, background etc) but this was what i had on hand. We knew this plate wasnt going to cut it but wanted to just flick it in and see... but the takeaway here is that absolutely.. deep plates bring extra worries with it! :)
very interesting thing with the rice. While i think that something like this would be great with the image, I cant put it in there as it might mislead buyers as to what theyr'e going to get when they order... btu garnish... YES!
@alinz yes absolutely... contrast is required. The brocolli is a side dish and an addition. I personally dont feel that brocolli deserves to be on this plate as its not "part" of the dish and thats what he's selling. However... parsley, chives corriander definitely.
@dbj oh I think youre talkign about that separate chunk of meat at the front of the dish? Personally, I think that I should have taken that out as it just feels like its getting in the way. Actually i was talkign about the front of the leg piece with the small bits of garnish - the front of that leg is out of focus and I think it needs to be in focus.. i think the attention is just slipping towards the back of the image which isnt right
For food photography, styling is a big part of the game. The meat does not look appetizing here, it looks a bit mangled. Shoot at a slightly higher angle.
Google Donna Hay for awesome food photography. Martha Steward is not a bad source as well.
Ok all, so the chef and I have finally managed to schedule a day that we could both make it. We ended up shooting for 4 hours and got through quite a few dishes...
I spent a bit more time checking out a few different posts from various food bloggers / photographers and mainly Rob Grimm
These are really pleasing to my eyes! Looks like a great shoot - well done! My favourites are the carrots, the creme caramel and the chocolate pudding!!!!!
@toast these work really well! I love teHe use of negative space in most of them, except in the first one. I feel that the salad and quiche should fil most of the frame, because now two corners are empty and it makes me think 'that's it?' Maybe it looks like too little because there's space for more food. But this is extremely subjective. Probably most people will like it.
All the other shots are spot on for me!
@alinz@darylo
Thanks for the feedback - I hope that means you think its a vast improvement from my first trial? :)
@laetitiapetrussa
I totally understand what you're saying. This was actually the first thing we shot and looking back at it, I can see the learning that we did even on the day. I did try a zoomed in image but it just looked a bit strange. I Think if i had the time again, I would try plating it up on a narrower plate :)
I did try sprinkling crumbs around it but just found it too distracting and detracted from the clean look
@toast it's fantastic. All if the elements are in place and there is some uniformity with the plates I like. From the photos alone, I'd want to cook or order the items. I hope your client is very pleased. And I love those carrots and rice too!
@darylo thank you again :)
yes, both he and his wife love the images... even seeing them as we shot they were like... wow, these are so much better than I thought we would get
@toast Outstanding! Thanks for posting and tagging! Lighting looks possible natural from a very large window? Or is it softbox slightly backlit? I appreciate all the images, my two favorite happen to be the panna cotta and the mousse.
P.S. Got an Eye-Fi as recommended...works like a charm...no more tethered for me!!! :)
@dbj full points on both comments. Im shooting in a small apartment with a window camera left (albeit covered by a large TV) and a window straight on. I picked this configuration so that i'd have light mainly back and side lit. I've also got a single YN568 EXII diagnally back right with a scrim in front of it and a home made V flat
I went through a whole bunch of setups including pure natural light, a westcott orb and then finally setted on mix of natural and scrim as I wanted it to be nice and soft but still have some directional quality
@dbj the EyeFi works for you as I said? The downside to the iPad is when it comes time to delete the images from the camera roll... I havent figured how to select a bunch of images, so i have to tap each image separatly to select them and then delete
@toast Oh definitely! A few pluses were the fact I only had a 10-foot (or thereabouts) tether and cant count the number of times I pulled my laptop to the floor; that doesn't happen anymore. Second, I had already been shooting RAW+JPG with the JPG to my second slot but when shooting tethered, both the RAW and JPG come in to LR so I had to keep flipping through the "duplicates" so-to-speak which really got confusing particularly if I reviewed any of them with the client. Agreed on the deleting; but so far it's been quite worth it!
@toast great pix - but on the negative my eye went straight to the odd shadows to the left of the quiche and the chicken and the creme brulee looks like it's going to fall off the plate ... I'm NO pro with these images but these are the niggly things that stood out immediately.
@sidecar thanks for the feedback... are you talking about how there's a bright portion on the bottom left corner of the quiche and the duck? I was wondering if anyone would notice that and its a hang up of using rectangular plates with the direction of light coming from behind and the right.
Agree with the creme brulee.. my camera was actually at an angle here and i only realised after
@toast not on the food but on the plate ... just an oddness to the regularity of the roundness of the plate. BTW I LOVE Mr Grimm's work ... have you watch him on creative live? if not think about it.
Tweets ahoy!
Join the Group
Pin With Me
Thanks for all your input guys.
To add a bit more information, the images will be for each of his dishes. This in particular is a rabbit dish which is why I specifically chose to do a quite shallow DoF as @dbj mentioned which is the star of the dish. Thats why I wanted to snap the attention to it straight away.
However, looking at the other images I shot at F4, I actually do think that these look better. However, I didn't have a nice background on these images so I didn't use it. I think the answer here is that I want a DoF shallow enough to snap attention to the star of the dish, but large enough to show off the other things on the dish.
@frankhymus Thanks for that about the lip of the dish, I noticed it myself. Flat plate didn't work as its more of a stew but that brings up another good point... I should have added more liquid to make it obvious that there was more liquid.
@petaqui thanks for that... Yep I saw Lee's video but more leaning towards Rob Grimm's way of doing things
@dbj @laetitiapetrussa I just realised what's annoying me specifically about this DoF and its that I've missed the focal point in this shot. I think the front of the piece of rabbit leg should be in focus and its not
So it actually wasn't part of the dish and to be honest I think it's a bit stark against the rest... I should have taken it out
Also see the point about the rabbit, yes the bit up front...I did wonder if that was part of the protein. Yes maybe if that peice was next to the larger piece so as to have not confused it with a veggie. Now that you've mentioned it is rabbit, I've been sitting here scratching my head if there's any visual composition that might clearly indicate it is rabbit (or game) rather than say, chicken...but I'm at a loss on that one...probably there isn't.
just a quick reply as i'm at work!!
I'm no expert - but i know what i like!!
Dont listen to frank!! using DoF is great and so can cropping
I'd look at pintrest for ideas
i also really like this blog http://www.whatkatieate.com/
GOOD LUCK!
@darylo awesome thanks for that too.. I think i read some of her posts a long time ago but just forgot. Agree about the styling.. it really makes the shot. Coming into this, I knew that styling wasnt something that I could touch... The chef had literally just dropped off the food and my wife and little one were eating and i was on a timer. This was mostly a test for lighting and my new lens. 100% agree with the plate.. this was also not of my choosing and we've previously discussed what sort of look and feel we wanted for the shoot (covering table, plate, background etc) but this was what i had on hand. We knew this plate wasnt going to cut it but wanted to just flick it in and see... but the takeaway here is that absolutely.. deep plates bring extra worries with it! :)
very interesting thing with the rice. While i think that something like this would be great with the image, I cant put it in there as it might mislead buyers as to what theyr'e going to get when they order... btu garnish... YES!
@alinz yes absolutely... contrast is required. The brocolli is a side dish and an addition. I personally dont feel that brocolli deserves to be on this plate as its not "part" of the dish and thats what he's selling. However... parsley, chives corriander definitely.
Google Donna Hay for awesome food photography. Martha Steward is not a bad source as well.
Personally i'm more impressed with Rob Grimm's work
Frank has an amazing depth of knowledge on photography - probably more than anyone i know!! :)
Watch our for any upcoming free watch live classes ... but I concur it's about the styling, colours, lighting and 'happiness' in the food image.
So hopefully I'll have images to share this weekend!
Ok all, so the chef and I have finally managed to schedule a day that we could both make it. We ended up shooting for 4 hours and got through quite a few dishes...
I spent a bit more time checking out a few different posts from various food bloggers / photographers and mainly Rob Grimm
Here's a selection below :
All the other shots are spot on for me!
Thanks for the feedback - I hope that means you think its a vast improvement from my first trial? :)
@laetitiapetrussa
I totally understand what you're saying. This was actually the first thing we shot and looking back at it, I can see the learning that we did even on the day. I did try a zoomed in image but it just looked a bit strange. I Think if i had the time again, I would try plating it up on a narrower plate :)
I did try sprinkling crumbs around it but just found it too distracting and detracted from the clean look
yes, both he and his wife love the images... even seeing them as we shot they were like... wow, these are so much better than I thought we would get
P.S. Got an Eye-Fi as recommended...works like a charm...no more tethered for me!!! :)
I went through a whole bunch of setups including pure natural light, a westcott orb and then finally setted on mix of natural and scrim as I wanted it to be nice and soft but still have some directional quality
Agree with the creme brulee.. my camera was actually at an angle here and i only realised after