Food photography

JumboBeef

JumboBeef

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We've been asked by a big hotel about food photography. They want nice shots of their food in situ in their restaurant.

:help: I have no idea! Has anyone ever done this before?
 
White plates, drizzled sauces, wide open nifty fifty. Lush
 
Oh I would love a go at that! Search around the net for images, type "Food photography" into google and click images. You should get a nice selection from their. Also have a look for david loftus he has some excellent work. I would personally use window light with a few reflectors and try and shoot the dish quick and have a good look from every angle don't just set up your tripod and think well thats me keep looking at every dish. You can also use a bit of olive oil to make anything look shiny. HTH :)
 
food photography can be very simple and produce very effective results. make sure you get the chefs not to give you any old presentation. make sure that there are some nice contrasting colours like a bit of garnish etc. use other items like cutlery glasses to fill the frame.

if you want an enviromental shot then couples enjoying a nice meal - set the mood for the shot etc..


thats just off the top of my head.
 
Food Photography

O’Reilly Digital Media
http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/digitalmedia/2004/09/15/food_photos.html

Silverace Photogenic Food Photography
http://www.silverace.com/photogenic/0204/foodphotography.html

Making Food Look Good
http://www.media-awareness.ca/engli...ising_marketing/food_ads.cfm?RenderForPrint=1

Professional Photography 101
http://www.professionalphotography101.com/photography/HowtoPhotographFood.html

Michael Ray – Food Photographer
http://www.foodportfolio.com/

Good luck and have a good time. Post some of your results. Remember though, some of the best images are shot of food which is inedible - such as using shaving cream in lieu of whipped cream and by painting steaks with brown liquid shoe polish to simulate the searing marks obtained when grilling. See "Making Food Look Good" above...
 
On another forum - yes, there are other forums :lol: - the following advice was passed on when I asked a similar question. It originates from Barry Day - who was the Worldwide Creative Director of McCann-Erickson Advertising Agency. He had the following tips on food photography:

1. Your sense of taste and smell are the things that stimulate the appetite most - but since photography (scratch and sniff was not invented then) does not deliver these things - then you have to allude to them in your pic.

2. Best way to do this is to make the food appear to move - thus it drips, runs, flows, steams etc.

3. Be generous with the food - show enough of it to be appetising - art shots of food may look good but you won't want to eat it.

4. Get right in there - food in real life is enjoyed close up - make it like you're just about to eat the stuff.

5. Perfect food is never appetising - it's like you don't want to spoil it. In real life ever noticed how people are reluctant to be the first to cut the cake or scoop out the trifle?

6. Take the food out of the packet/wrapping - take the top off the drink - get it one step closer to the viewer actually consuming it.
 
Heres one i toke not sure how good it is. but hey i tryed !!!


showphoto.php
 
use soft boxes on any lights, be careful of the reflection from your flashes, there is a thin line bewteen shinny and yummy, and greasy looking
 
Saw a programme with a photographer taking pictures of Jamie Olivers (i think) food. They suggested using tampax soaked in boiling water behind the food as it will steam longer than hot food.
Also a friend of mine had to do photos for an ice cream vans window, and used mashed potato on the cones instead of ice cream:lol:

Dean:)
 
One of my Mum's friend's job used to be making food for photoshoots as normal food isn't as easy to work with.

The other alternative is practice with your dinner! :lol:
 
Get some olive oil and brush the pies or anything dark to give a perfect shine, lighting has to be spot on. have a look at these

regards mercmanuk
 
I used to be a chef so i've been present at a few food shoots but never been the one taking the pics! If we were getting photos done for brochures or magazines all the stuff was plated up in advance ready for the photographer turning up! It looked great but none of it was edible!

We always used mashed potato with a bit of food colouring on dessert pics in place of ice cream. An overload of Gelatine was added to anything that could possibly melt,run or go sloppy after sitting on a plate for an hour. Vegetables were coated in a gel glaze usually used for desserts so they looked freshly cooked and glistening! Most of the Gelatined stuff was so well set if you dropped it you could pick it up in one piece or catch it as it bounced back!:lol:

I wasn't really interested in photography at the time but now i'd quite like to try some food shots!:D

Good luck with the shoot!
 
lukewoodford said:
Loads of great advice here, not sure what lens your using buy id not reccomend using it at its widest, stop it down one stop and you will generally get sharper results and good DOF if thats what your after.
Click to expand...

We have a 12-22, 17-40 L, 24-105 L, Nifty Fifty and a 75-300.

Would the 17-40 L be best?
 
Which lens you want to use really depends on the type of shoot you are doing and what the customer wants to use the photos for. However, being a Canon user, I love the letter L. :D

More important is getting the lighting right. I would think tethered shooting might be good for food shots as well. A small change of light direction can make a huge difference to the end result.
 
High end food photography can be one of the most challenging spheres we could encounter. :thinking:

When I researched this previously, for a job with a local restaurant (owner wanted 'arty' shots of dishes from his menu) I was amazed by the complexity and work necessary to produce the images we take for granted in some glossy magazines and books. Some companies go to the lengths of employing a food makeup artist :lol:

Imagine having the job of turning each Kernel of sweetcorn around so that the cut end faces away from the camera...... or piping steam from a specialised steam machine (no not a kettle :D) to spray over the food just seconds before taking the image..... or as mentioned previously, using mashed potato instead of ice cream :gag:

Thankfully I managed to produce reasonable shots (all relative of course :lol:)using a simple lighting set up (natural light through a large window and a reflector) One thing you should probably be prepared for is the amount of time it takes to get the shot just right ;)

If you can, I would humbly suggest that you practice, practice and practice :D

HTH Alan
 
JumboBeef said:
We have a 12-22, 17-40 L, 24-105 L, Nifty Fifty and a 75-300.

Would the 17-40 L be best?
Click to expand...
I can't see you having any need for the 12-22 or the 75-300 with food photography. I'd be inclined to say you'd get the most mileage out of the 50 and the 24-105.

How did you get the gig if you've never done this before? Just lucky or have you done some other work for them in the past?
 
Type "food stylist" into a search engine and see what pops up.

I used to art direct food shots for a fast food chain. We used to go through two hugh boxes of buns to get the perfect one for a shot. Burgers were "cooked" with a blow torch to get the perfect colour. You would not want to eat the food after you'd photographed it.

There's a lot more work that goes into it than you might think. Lighting, sure, but what kind of plate? What kind of silverware? We had a photographer and assistant, art director (to look out for the client's interests) the client, a food stylist and cooks.

Working with ice cream was very tricky. You used to be able to use mashed potato (it gives a good "tooth" when you scoop it) but "truth in advertising" laws stopped that. We had to have cold boxes to store the prepped dishes or cones. If they got too cold, they went frosty, too warm, they melted. The set ups were good for about two flashes before they began to drip. I gained a bit of weight shooting ice cream.

If you want to see how NOT to shoot food, look in the window of Chinese restaurants!

Good luck!
 
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