scootersurfs Loc: Buckeye, Az

I know you like food shots. This was shot with my overhead kitchen lights @ ISO 200, 1/100sec, F/4 with a 50mm 1.4 Sigma Prime lens. Adjusted white balance to Tungsten, sharpening, etc. One of these days I will use proper lighting, and not be in a hurry to eat my food, ha!!

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rpavich Loc: West Virginia

Lol....good job!

Nice that you shot it with enough depth of field too.

The color and WB look good though the shadows/light are a bit harsh...meaning that the edges of the shadows aren't gradual.

That's the one big thing that I see here...you need to get a BIG light on this...nice and soft light. And also the light MUST come from the side...light from above means "flat" light.

This is why we love sunrise and sunset..because the light rakes across things and gives them texture.

See below for the cheap "no-speedlight" set up; just near a large window and a few white reflectors.

Shoot with the light at the 10:00 position from the camera (the camera is the 6 oclock position)

You don't need lighting gear in fact window light is very flattering to this sort of thing.

Good job!

PS: the eggs look great...I love them like that.

scootersurfs Loc: Buckeye, Az

Awesome info Bob....really appreciate it. Is there a trick to making the food, shooting it, then eating it before it gets cold? Appreciate your input/advice and will try it soon.

rpavich Loc: West Virginia

Lol...no. For the most part I usually get everything ready before I cook. I have the lights set up, tripod, camera, etc.

I even set the exposure on a "stand in" food.

I do everything as much as possible so that when the real food is there all I have to do is drop it in the right spot, hit the shutter a few times and I'm done.
I try to balance pictures with eating...I usually don't just photograph food for the sake of the photo, my food is there to eat so it might not look as good as it could, but it's a bit of a compromise.

A great book that really helped me is from http://pinchofyum.com/tasty-food-photography


the site is a good site too...you'll get a lot out of it.

rpavich Loc: West Virginia

Here is a recent shot of some chili that I did.

The chili was for eating so I had an empty bowl as a stand in and that's the shot you see, and then the final image.

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scootersurfs Loc: Buckeye, Az

Great idea for the stand in plate/bowl etc. Wow, that chili looks amazing....is it bison or elk? I too, have never shot food that I wasn't going to eat. My problem is that I don't plan ahead for the shots I take. I usually plate up and say to myself, maybe I should take a few quick pics. That's gotta change. Thanks for the link and the advice. Good stuff, Steve

rpavich Loc: West Virginia

Nothing fancy...just a roast cubed up.

I also do that quick shots but generally nobody sees them :)