Food Photography Part Six – Lighting

Lighting is the most important aspect of food photography. Too little light makes the food look dull, too harsh light spoils the image. Using the correct light that show the original color of the food is the skill that has to be learnt.

Took this picture of Macaroons in a restaurant in the afternnoon at 3pm The place was well lit, plus there was yellow light bulb just above our dining table..I moved the plate such that light was focussed just on one..hoping to get DOF

I clicked few pictures with light coming from side window and some pictures I clicked with the light coming directly on the food from opposite direction.

I realised that the best pictures I had got were when I clicked the picture from the side light.

However, when the light is coming directly from opposite side, it creates shadows. We can modify light with the use of reflectors, bouncers or blockers

We can use reflectors (can use white foam board) to change the direction of the light and reduce shadows.

We can use diffusers (white plastic bag) to soften the harsh light

We can use blockers (blinds)  to block the light falling on articles where u do not wish the light to fall

To capture the right tone, we can adjust the white balance. Bluish tone works better for cold subjects and yellowish tone works better for warmer tones.

I went to restaurant yesterday and was aware of all the lesson learnt so far, and did try many angles, paying attention to the light and frame...we were in the patio of the restaurant, evening time around 6;30pm. Clicked many shots of fish and chips, but this one I liked the best, 

With practice, one learns to understand the right tones in the food and how one can achieve it.

PS: Thanks to Neel for his guidance in his30-day food photography Workshop.

Food Photography; Part 2- Understanding Angles

While clicking the pictures of  food, it is important to consider the angle of the subject. If the subject has height, and depth, then it is better to click it at angle of 0-20 degrees to show the depth of the subject. But if it is flat dish like soup, clicking at 90 degres top-down can give better images.

Today I made Spanish egg omelet. Now Spanish omelet is stuffed with veggies and it looks like a cake. Removing this picture from top, did not give any idea of depth of this omelet.,

Later I cut out a small traingular piece and then focussed on different angles to show the depth. A cut piece of the omelet gave an idea of the depth of the subject and the light from the back of the camera,  we could see the texture of the omelet more clearly.

I clicked one more pictures from opposite direction and keeping the small triangular piece next to the the larger one

Which one looks better???

I took another set of photographs with different angles of a pair of red-and-green Capsicums. I took eighteen photographs from different angles and positions. After studying different angles and the light effect, I like this one.

I went on photoediting tool to adjust the light with filters and got this final picture.

What do you think?

Points to take home:

Notice the food structure to decide on the angle

To check for noisy or distracting background

To understand the direction of light

PS: My food photography guide Mr Neel