Makig great food shots at home can be challenging, OR NOT! Not if you keep it simple and concentrate on the aesthetics.

I should preface this post by explaining that my lovely wife of 52 years, has always been my business partner as well. She runs the office at our studio and is very familiar with all the hardware involved in commercial photography. She is also a fastidious homemaker ad keeps HER kitchen as if it is is operating room- super clean and tidy! The last thing she wants to see all over our home is all kinds of cameras and lighting gear, especially when we are having family dinners and gatherings. I do, however, love to shoot some of our better or successful food creations (the stuff I manage not to burn, etc.)! So... I can shoot all I want as long as I confine myself to one camera (oftentimes my cellphone, and available light. I had to kinda McIver something.

Fortunately, there's a rather large Tiffiny style lamp over our dining room table, I substituted the old incandescent light bulb with a nice newfangled LED lamp with a slightly warmer colour temperature and simulated my favourite one-ligh system that I often employ at the studio. A sheet of aluminum foil, crushed, re-expanded and affixed to a piece of Foam-Cor board acts as a fill-in reflector.

Our last Passover celebration was pre-pandemic so I am glad that I shot the spread- we cooked for 15 family members and have yet to gather since. All of these shots were made with my cellphone camera. My Samsung phone has a "pro" setting so I could manually adjust the exposure and white balance was easy.

When I am eating at my favourite diner and come across a particular fun dish that I want to shoot, I can use the same one-light method or I'll ask for a window seat and use WINDOW LIGH from NORTH skylight if possible. All I carry with me is the cellphone and a small 8" collapsable disk reflector. The styling is kind of sloppy but this is fun food and it supposed to be sloppy! If I were working in the studio, I would clean the melted cheese off the inside of the dish, etc. Hey, I gotta scoff this stuff before it gets cold and go back to work. Ther reflection in the tabletop from the neon sign in the window was handy on the Mac & Cheeses image!

Businesswise, there's a method to my madness. When a new restaurant or coffee shop opens, I shoot some images, show them to the management, and pitch them for some real menu shots. The window light/cellphone shot of the eggrolls laned a big contract. The restaurant, famous for its Golden Palace Egg Rolls, became one of the official snack food offerings at Lansdown Part- our NHL Hockey venue. They needed shots for the Jumbotron display and other advertising. The cellphone mock-up sold them but I had to shoot the actual display shots in medium format.

Next time, I'll post more about the one-light trick!

Makig great food shots at home can be challenging, OR NOT! Not if you keep it simple and concentrate on the aesthetics.

I should preface this post by explaining that my lovely wife of 52 years, has always been my business partner as well. She runs the office at our studio and is very familiar with all the hardware involved in commercial photography. She is also a fastidious homemaker ad keeps HER kitchen as if it is is operating room- super clean and tidy! The last thing she wants to see all over our home is all kinds of cameras and lighting gear, especially when we are having family dinners and gatherings. I do, however, love to shoot some of our better or successful food creations (the stuff I manage not to burn, etc.)! So... I can shoot all I want as long as I confine myself to one camera (oftentimes my cellphone, and available light. I had to kinda McIver something.

Fortunately, there's a rather large Tiffiny style lamp over our dining room table, I substituted the old incandescent light bulb with a nice newfangled LED lamp with a slightly warmer colour temperature and simulated my favourite one-ligh system that I often employ at the studio. A sheet of aluminum foil, crushed, re-expanded and affixed to a piece of Foam-Cor board acts as a fill-in reflector.

Our last Passover celebration was pre-pandemic so I am glad that I shot the spread- we cooked for 15 family members and have yet to gather since. All of these shots were made with my cellphone camera. My Samsung phone has a "pro" setting so I could manually adjust the exposure and white balance was easy.

When I am eating at my favourite diner and come across a particular fun dish that I want to shoot, I can use the same one-light method or I'll ask for a window seat and use WINDOW LIGH from NORTH skylight if possible. All I carry with me is the cellphone and a small 8" collapsable disk reflector. The styling is kind of sloppy but this is fun food and it supposed to be sloppy! If I were working in the studio, I would clean the melted cheese off the inside of the dish, etc. Hey, I gotta scoff this stuff before it gets cold and go back to work. Ther reflection in the tabletop from the neon sign in the window was handy on the Mac & Cheeses image!

Businesswise, there's a method to my madness. When a new restaurant or coffee shop opens, I shoot some images, show them to the management, and pitch them for some real menu shots. The window light/cellphone shot of the eggrolls laned a big contract. The restaurant, famous for its Golden Palace Egg Rolls, became one of the official snack food offerings at Lansdown Part- our NHL Hockey venue. They needed shots for the Jumbotron display and other advertising. The cellphone mock-up sold them but I had to shoot the actual display shots in medium format.

Next time, I'll post more about the one-light trick!

Makig great food shots at home can be challenging, OR NOT! Not if you keep it simple and concentrate on the aesthetics.

I should preface this post by explaining that my lovely wife of 52 years, has always been my business partner as well. She runs the office at our studio and is very familiar with all the hardware involved in commercial photography. She is also a fastidious homemaker ad keeps HER kitchen as if it is is operating room- super clean and tidy! The last thing she wants to see all over our home is all kinds of cameras and lighting gear, especially when we are having family dinners and gatherings. I do, however, love to shoot some of our better or successful food creations (the stuff I manage not to burn, etc.)! So... I can shoot all I want as long as I confine myself to one camera (oftentimes my cellphone, and available light. I had to kinda McIver something.

Fortunately, there's a rather large Tiffiny style lamp over our dining room table, I substituted the old incandescent light bulb with a nice newfangled LED lamp with a slightly warmer colour temperature and simulated my favourite one-ligh system that I often employ at the studio. A sheet of aluminum foil, crushed, re-expanded and affixed to a piece of Foam-Cor board acts as a fill-in reflector.

Our last Passover celebration was pre-pandemic so I am glad that I shot the spread- we cooked for 15 family members and have yet to gather since. All of these shots were made with my cellphone camera. My Samsung phone has a "pro" setting so I could manually adjust the exposure and white balance was easy.

When I am eating at my favourite diner and come across a particular fun dish that I want to shoot, I can use the same one-light method or I'll ask for a window seat and use WINDOW LIGH from NORTH skylight if possible. All I carry with me is the cellphone and a small 8" collapsable disk reflector. The styling is kind of sloppy but this is fun food and it supposed to be sloppy! If I were working in the studio, I would clean the melted cheese off the inside of the dish, etc. Hey, I gotta scoff this stuff before it gets cold and go back to work. Ther reflection in the tabletop from the neon sign in the window was handy on the Mac & Cheeses image!

Businesswise, there's a method to my madness. When a new restaurant or coffee shop opens, I shoot some images, show them to the management, and pitch them for some real menu shots. The window light/cellphone shot of the eggrolls laned a big contract. The restaurant, famous for its Golden Palace Egg Rolls, became one of the official snack food offerings at Lansdown Part- our NHL Hockey venue. They needed shots for the Jumbotron display and other advertising. The cellphone mock-up sold them but I had to shoot the actual display shots in medium format.

Next time, I'll post more about the one-light trick!

You don't need to be in the business to make great food shots.

I look at it this way. Why do I or may fols COOK up fancy or at least well-prepared meals? My wife is a picky and healthy eater, She claims that I can live on a diet of rusty nails, "C" or "K" rations and manage to survive. Basically, I don't live to eat, but eat to live. Yet, we bot lie to make great looking and tasting meal to share with friends and family. Luckily, we are not social drinkers but social eaters.

Perhas I have the same attitude toward my photography. True enough, I have to satisfy my client's but I also enjoy pleasing and sharing my personal images with others.

I start my professional career in portraiture and wedding photography. I soon learn that folks are pleas when you show them at the best- not necessarily faked or retouched beyond recognition, but feature their best attributes and flattery never hurts. I practice dI y grandparents and elderly great aunts and go into their good books. All I need to do to please my customers was to simply treat them like family. It's not entirely motivated by money- if you do good work, the money will come along withte satisfaction.

Even when I shoot food for fun, I wanna make people's mouths water. I want them to imagine experiencing the texture and flavour in their imagination.

As for food stylization and presentation- I know all the tricks and shenanigans but there are many simple and healthy food preparational techniques that are natural and photogenic. Ligh steaming of various green and colourful vegetables will enhance ther colour and texture and won't kill all their nutritional value. Simpl brazing and caramelization methods will add crispness and enhance the appearance of many foodstuffs, Professional food stylists are masters of their art but I know some great short-order cooks in the so-called local diners and greasy spoon that really know how to "make a plate" look plentiful and great.

As for lighting- whether you have thousands of dollars worth of sophisticated studio gear at your disposal or only a table lamp, or a candle the secret is in the angle of incidence theory. If you can understand and master how that concept goes to rendering textures, adding dimension, and give you control over colour saturation and fine detail- you got it made.

As we say in Canada, bonne photographie et bon appétit. Good luck with this new section!

Makig great food shots at home can be challenging, OR NOT! Not if you keep it simple and concentrate on the aesthetics.

I should preface this post by explaining that my lovely wife of 52 years, has always been my business partner as well. She runs the office at our studio and is very familiar with all the hardware involved in commercial photography. She is also a fastidious homemaker ad keeps HER kitchen as if it is is operating room- super clean and tidy! The last thing she wants to see all over our home is all kinds of cameras and lighting gear, especially when we are having family dinners and gatherings. I do, however, love to shoot some of our better or successful food creations (the stuff I manage not to burn, etc.)! So... I can shoot all I want as long as I confine myself to one camera (oftentimes my cellphone, and available light. I had to kinda McIver something.

Fortunately, there's a rather large Tiffiny style lamp over our dining room table, I substituted the old incandescent light bulb with a nice newfangled LED lamp with a slightly warmer colour temperature and simulated my favourite one-ligh system that I often employ at the studio. A sheet of aluminum foil, crushed, re-expanded and affixed to a piece of Foam-Cor board acts as a fill-in reflector.

Our last Passover celebration was pre-pandemic so I am glad that I shot the spread- we cooked for 15 family members and have yet to gather since. All of these shots were made with my cellphone camera. My Samsung phone has a "pro" setting so I could manually adjust the exposure and white balance was easy.

When I am eating at my favourite diner and come across a particular fun dish that I want to shoot, I can use the same one-light method or I'll ask for a window seat and use WINDOW LIGH from NORTH skylight if possible. All I carry with me is the cellphone and a small 8" collapsable disk reflector. The styling is kind of sloppy but this is fun food and it supposed to be sloppy! If I were working in the studio, I would clean the melted cheese off the inside of the dish, etc. Hey, I gotta scoff this stuff before it gets cold and go back to work. Ther reflection in the tabletop from the neon sign in the window was handy on the Mac & Cheeses image!

Businesswise, there's a method to my madness. When a new restaurant or coffee shop opens, I shoot some images, show them to the management, and pitch them for some real menu shots. The window light/cellphone shot of the eggrolls laned a big contract. The restaurant, famous for its Golden Palace Egg Rolls, became one of the official snack food offerings at Lansdown Part- our NHL Hockey venue. They needed shots for the Jumbotron display and other advertising. The cellphone mock-up sold them but I had to shoot the actual display shots in medium format.

Next time, I'll post more about the one-light trick!

Makig great food shots at home can be challenging, OR NOT! Not if you keep it simple and concentrate on the aesthetics.

I should preface this post by explaining that my lovely wife of 52 years, has always been my business partner as well. She runs the office at our studio and is very familiar with all the hardware involved in commercial photography. She is also a fastidious homemaker ad keeps HER kitchen as if it is is operating room- super clean and tidy! The last thing she wants to see all over our home is all kinds of cameras and lighting gear, especially when we are having family dinners and gatherings. I do, however, love to shoot some of our better or successful food creations (the stuff I manage not to burn, etc.)! So... I can shoot all I want as long as I confine myself to one camera (oftentimes my cellphone, and available light. I had to kinda McIver something.

Excellent information. Thank you ,

Fortunately, there's a rather large Tiffiny style lamp over our dining room table, I substituted the old incandescent light bulb with a nice newfangled LED lamp with a slightly warmer colour temperature and simulated my favourite one-ligh system that I often employ at the studio. A sheet of aluminum foil, crushed, re-expanded and affixed to a piece of Foam-Cor board acts as a fill-in reflector.

Our last Passover celebration was pre-pandemic so I am glad that I shot the spread- we cooked for 15 family members and have yet to gather since. All of these shots were made with my cellphone camera. My Samsung phone has a "pro" setting so I could manually adjust the exposure and white balance was easy.

When I am eating at my favourite diner and come across a particular fun dish that I want to shoot, I can use the same one-light method or I'll ask for a window seat and use WINDOW LIGH from NORTH skylight if possible. All I carry with me is the cellphone and a small 8" collapsable disk reflector. The styling is kind of sloppy but this is fun food and it supposed to be sloppy! If I were working in the studio, I would clean the melted cheese off the inside of the dish, etc. Hey, I gotta scoff this stuff before it gets cold and go back to work. Ther reflection in the tabletop from the neon sign in the window was handy on the Mac & Cheeses image!

Businesswise, there's a method to my madness. When a new restaurant or coffee shop opens, I shoot some images, show them to the management, and pitch them for some real menu shots. The window light/cellphone shot of the eggrolls laned a big contract. The restaurant, famous for its Golden Palace Egg Rolls, became one of the official snack food offerings at Lansdown Part- our NHL Hockey venue. They needed shots for the Jumbotron display and other advertising. The cellphone mock-up sold them but I had to shoot the actual display shots in medium format.

Next time, I'll post more about the one-light trick!

Makig great food shots at home can be challenging, OR NOT! Not if you keep it simple and concentrate on the aesthetics.

I should preface this post by explaining that my lovely wife of 52 years, has always been my business partner as well. She runs the office at our studio and is very familiar with all the hardware involved in commercial photography. She is also a fastidious homemaker ad keeps HER kitchen as if it is is operating room- super clean and tidy! The last thing she wants to see all over our home is all kinds of cameras and lighting gear, especially when we are having family dinners and gatherings. I do, however, love to shoot some of our better or successful food creations (the stuff I manage not to burn, etc.)! So... I can shoot all I want as long as I confine myself to one camera (oftentimes my cellphone, and available light. I had to kinda McIver something.

Excellent information. Thank you!
Fortunately, there's a rather large Tiffiny style lamp over our dining room table, I substituted the old incandescent light bulb with a nice newfangled LED lamp with a slightly warmer colour temperature and simulated my favourite one-ligh system that I often employ at the studio. A sheet of aluminum foil, crushed, re-expanded and affixed to a piece of Foam-Cor board acts as a fill-in reflector.

Our last Passover celebration was pre-pandemic so I am glad that I shot the spread- we cooked for 15 family members and have yet to gather since. All of these shots were made with my cellphone camera. My Samsung phone has a "pro" setting so I could manually adjust the exposure and white balance was easy.

When I am eating at my favourite diner and come across a particular fun dish that I want to shoot, I can use the same one-light method or I'll ask for a window seat and use WINDOW LIGH from NORTH skylight if possible. All I carry with me is the cellphone and a small 8" collapsable disk reflector. The styling is kind of sloppy but this is fun food and it supposed to be sloppy! If I were working in the studio, I would clean the melted cheese off the inside of the dish, etc. Hey, I gotta scoff this stuff before it gets cold and go back to work. Ther reflection in the tabletop from the neon sign in the window was handy on the Mac & Cheeses image!

Businesswise, there's a method to my madness. When a new restaurant or coffee shop opens, I shoot some images, show them to the management, and pitch them for some real menu shots. The window light/cellphone shot of the eggrolls laned a big contract. The restaurant, famous for its Golden Palace Egg Rolls, became one of the official snack food offerings at Lansdown Part- our NHL Hockey venue. They needed shots for the Jumbotron display and other advertising. The cellphone mock-up sold them but I had to shoot the actual display shots in medium format.

Next time, I'll post more about the one-light trick!