Food photography tips

Ivanhoe

Ivanhoe

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Name
Ivan
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Hi ladies and gents,

A friend of mine asked me to take some shots of the food for his online website and I said "sure" - lol. I explained him I'm not a pro and all, but he doesn't mind.

Now, I only have Nikon D90 and two lenses: 18-105mm Kit lens and 35mm/f1.8 prime. That's it. No external flash nor macro lens which I think it's needed here (nor I'm planning to rent or buy those - lol). I don't even have a tripod when I think of it - heh.

My question is, how would you guys shoot food with what I got when it comes to equipment?

D90, of course, has a "Macro" mode which I can use, but from what I can tell, Aperture priority mode I'm using all the time produces the same results with the same F#, plus I'm in control of the DoF with Aperture priority mode compared to whatever the camera sets in Macro mode (usually widest aperture).
When I shoot macro in Ap I usually set wide Aperture (lowest f-number) and am trying to get as close to subject as possible: 105mm, f5.6 (with the Kit lens) and adjusting the ISO as needed.
Is there something special (other than what I do) that in-camera Macro mode does that I'm not doing, please!?

Also, even though Kit lens's 105mm seems like a better choice for Macro photography, I find that my 35mm/f1.8 prime produces more pleasing results and allows me more creativity with DoF cause of it's f1.8. Not that I would scare away food if I come closer - heh. What do you guys think about this Nikkor 35mm/f1.8 lens used for food photography?

Here are some photos I've taken in my home, mostly with this 35/1.8 lens as some practice/experimenting:

http://localhostr.com/files/1f4ffa/Lunch2.jpg

http://localhostr.com/files/2cfeaf/Lunch7.jpg

http://localhostr.com/files/8a58c9/Plate1-0095.jpg

http://localhostr.com/files/8618b9/Plate2-0099.jpg

http://localhostr.com/files/788a5f/Lunch3.jpg

Staff Edit : Image(s) removed. (Link(s) left in place). Pictures must not exceed current forum limits as per the rules.
Please feel free to replace this with a fresh/resized image and remove this text

Are these photos acceptable? If they are not, what am I doing wrong, please? Am I missing something important?
Not talking about composition, arrangement of the food and table... but rather IQ, sharpness and similar.

Thank you.
 
My only thought is that the flash is rather harsh, might be better with a softer light such as a softbox?
 
I had a couple of thoughts which may help, bear in mind I'm not a product photographer though.

1) As Dave says - the light is to harsh, try a soft box instead. You need off camera lighting for this sort of shot to work properly.

2) Numbers 1 & 4. You need to not chop the edges off, part of the plate as in 2 is fine, looking like you missed a bit isn't

3) You need to remove the bright, flowery table cloth and replace it with a plain, neutral one that won't distract. On the same subject move the extra plate out of shot in 1, and in 4, the knife and fork needs to be either all in or all out of the photo and move the extra plate.

Cheers

Hugh
 
Your lighting has let you down on the shots. If you can't bounce the flash then try placing the food near a large window and use a reflector (or newspaper) to soften the light.

If it's a really sunny day and direct sunlight is coming through the window then tape newspaper to the window, it then acts like a big softbox.
 
It's all about light really. You want a large diffuse light source such as a window on an overcast day Large light sources like that give much more pleasing highlights and shadows. Have some white paper or card on hand too, you can position it as a reflector if the shadows are a bit heavy. Try to think about what angle of light will pick up the textures on the food.

You don't need a macro lens I wouldn't think. Looks to me like you can easily get close enough with what you've got. Wouldn't bother with macro mode. Aperture priority should be fine.
 
Thank you all for your kind comments and help.

I agree with you guys. I hate this on-camera flash cause it's always too harsh and rarely (if ever) gives good results. But sadly, I don't have a soft-box nor any other kind of external flash. D90 with two mentioned lenses are all I got.

Great advices to put the table near the window and use the natural light from outside! Could a curtain soften the light from the outside perhaps (instead of a newspaper)? Thanks.

I will try to practice some more with suggested white paper/card for the shadows too.

I have zero experience with controlling the light I'm afraid and it will be a challenge.

Thank you all.
 
The presentation of the food needs to be improved as well. It looks very tasty but your friend should take responsibility for this and if he has styled the plates you show there's work to be done.
 
phototuition, like I wrote in my first post, composition, food and table arrangement... presentation itself is irrelevant at this stage since the photos here are my dinner from the other day - lol. I didn't even try to bother with composing anything. Was concerned about the IQ and sharpness and stuff like that.
Was wondering whether my Nikkor 35mm/f1.8 lens is good enough for this kind of photography: macro, food photography.


p.s. Sorry ladies and gents from the staff for posting images that are too big. I'm too lazy to resize them now, so I'll just leave the links as they are if that's ok. Will know better next time. Thanks.
 
my tuppence worth... you have said you are no pro togger, you are doing a mate a (free) favour...

I reckon the pics are very good Ivan. Nice lighting and sharp pics... what more could they want for free?

got to agree about the tablecloth, the non background food pics are the better ones for me, but at the end of the day you are doing it as a favour, so not quite sure of the expectations?
 
dmcaloney said:
my tuppence worth... you have said you are no pro togger, you are doing a mate a (free) favour...

I reckon the pics are very good Ivan. Nice lighting and sharp pics... what more could they want for free?

got to agree about the tablecloth, the non background food pics are the better ones for me, but at the end of the day you are doing it as a favour, so not quite sure of the expectations?
Click to expand...

I'm sure they will be more than satisfy with the photos, considering their knowledge about photography. Their expectations are that the photos look better than what they would produce with some P&S compact camera, and I'm sure I can deliver at least that (although, those P&S camera's macro modes can produce some nifty results, especially for small, website photos - lol). It's just that I haven't done anything like this before and was looking for any kind of advice to improve my macro/food photography.

Whether I'm doing it for free or not is of no relevance - I want to do the best job I can with what I have since I said "yes". He's a friend and it's a matter of respect.

Thank you for your kind words, dmcaloney. Good point when it comes to tablecloth! What would you suggest to replace it, please? A completely white tablecloth? What about the background/around the table colors for not directly above the food shots?

Thank you for all the advices guys!
 
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