----- Original Message -----
From: "Michael Good" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Wednesday, March 01, 2006 3:09 AM
On Behalf Of Tom Christiansen
Sent: Wednesday, 1 March 2006 2:00 PM
Folks,
I have an opportunity to shoot some food shots from a friend. The style
is pretty much up to me, but I refuse to do the Food Court Mug Shots
that you see everywhere. Do you have any suggestions for how to approach
food photography?
I'm not looking for a list of possible lens/body combinations. More
advice on the composition and use of light(s), props, please.
Thanks,
Tom
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My advice would be the same as any scenario wether it's food, fashion,
weddings or sport. Buy some of the top class magazines in your area and
have a look at the compositions they've used. Try and and understand
how the lighting has worked. Is it harsh (strong shadows and contrast),
then probably bare bulb... Is it soft with soft shadows or very few
shadows and lower contrast, then probably using soft boxes. You'd
probably need at least 3 lights to light it really well - ie commercial
quality. Take a look at www.shootsmarter.com as I think they may have a
tutorial on there for something like this. Adding a human element can
sometimes help as well.. Maybe just a fork or glass out of focus to
complete the setting... And out of focus waiter blurred walking in the
background add some life too. Use of shallow depth of field means you
can probably do the shot on any table / kitchen bench and not worry too
much about the background elements. Using one of Canon's tilt shift
lenses would have to be ideal. A commercial shooting friend of mine
often using his tilt shift lenses for similar work. The important thing
is to work the scene... Shoot from different angles, different lighting
ratios... Go crazy and you'll learn.
Now there's some food for thought :-) I'm hungry now.
Michael.
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Tom,
Plenty of good advice above, so sorry if this sounds flippant:
IME, the most important element in any food shoot is the food.
Depending on what it is, it may be good for only a minute or two, so "The
important thing
is to work the scene... Shoot from different angles, different lighting
ratios... Go crazy and you'll learn." whilst excellent advice,
theoretically, may not be practical.
HTH
CraigZ
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