Food photography, please tell me everything you know??

Question

im up on terms and stuff, i know its a specialist field, so tell all please.....

- lighting
- markets
- et cetera

many thanks

whats the current style?
links?
where to place focal points?
current depth style?

i want it all. thanks

thanks lidy thanks more than me so awesome - kokla

correction: thats more than me

lidy extra virgin greek olive oil from kalimata (like the olives), or will any old oil do??

Answer 1

Forget the olive oil, it you really want to make the food glisten, try glycerin, it is what most food stylist use to make the food look fresh and juicy. In terms of the idea of switching food for fake food, there are advertising laws against this in the United States as well as in other countries. However this is not to say that plastic or wax foods cant be used in your set, it is just that the maindish has to be real. Also if you are photographing for non-advertising clients, such as cookbooks, it is legal to use fake food. In terms of cameras, most of the food photographers I know use view cameras, and it is what I was taught to use back in school, selective focus is critical in many food shoots. As for lighting, it only makes sense to use strobes. In terms of light modifiers I would suggest a set of grids, and a medium to large size softbox and lots of heay duty aluminum foil which you might be able to use to make snoots, or makeshift barn-doors if you dont have such things available. As for markets, the best way to break into this field is to start with cookbooks and start building your portfolio from there.

Answer 2

My sister did some food photography and the real difference between this and any other product work is that you also have to become a "food artist" as most people will just ask for an image of their product and it's up to you to make it look good. You know... A photo of a hamburger looks tall and lush and stuffed with lettuce and pickles and tomatoes but the one you buy in the store are smashed down so that all you can see is some junk in a bun. Unless you are dealing with a major agency who actually has a food artist at their disposal, you will have to take their burger and get some fresh leafy lettuce and a nice red tomato to slice so you can build a beautifully proportioned sandwich for the shoot.

She had to shoot some pretzels one time for a stockholders' report and she ended up asking for a "naked" pretzel and a cup of salt. She painted the pretzel with raw egg white and then stuck individually hand-selected uniform grains of salt in "almost" evenly spaced positions. The actual product just looked too random and not very attractive at all.

It is always better to take pictures of food before it has been eaten rather than after.

Oh yeah. Technical stuff. Hasselblad and lights all around. You know that stuff already.

Answer 3

About all I can tell you is that I am NOT good at it. I can make a decent composition and stll life, but NOTHING I have ever shot, in this subject is anywhere near the quality I get from my stock photo discs, and, what I purchase from online source like "foodpix.com"

I know there are a lot of tricks of the trade, and I hope you get a few, here. But it is, as you say, a specialized field, and much too technical for me to want to spend much time learning.

Good luck.

Answer 4

The only thing I know is that they sometimes use a spray bottle with oil to make the food look fresher, and they seem to use interesting accessories. Macro looks great with food too.

Answer 5

Lol, random. I love music, live concerts, travel, candy, lollipops, animals, the instruments I play, nature, walking, public transportation, money, learning new things, good hair days, craziness, time with friends, dark days, foggy days, taking the stairs, going places and doing things, not working, not sitting still, drawing, coloring, making people think twice about stuff, learning what makes people tick, thinking, being free to do what I want :)

Answer 6

Often they don't use food, replacing it with something that will retain its integrity. Ice cream cake, would need a quick shoot, under studio lights.

Answer 7

Well - given my choice, I like to do the food first and then the photography. :-)

teef_au