autofocus Loc: North Central Connecticut

one little tidbit concerning composition, odd numbers work better in a composition than even numbers, so consider shooting 3 or 5 of something and not 2 or four.

cytafex Loc: Clarksburg MA

Back in my advertising days I shoot on grey plexiglass to get silo effect. As the light came from behind it didn't bounce light on the product.

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

This is a simple setup.

A monolight in a softbox is suspended over the subject coming in slightly from the back. This will wash down the background and proved dimension and texture to the subject.

The reflectors will pick up some light for the edge of the soft-box beam and provide the fill. You feather the light so as to make sure someof the light is striking the reflectors.

This will also place a small "drop shadow" in front of the subject which will help separation of the white plates from the white background.

You can buy or build a product table like the one in the attached picture. You cause what seamless paper or white Plexiglas. If you use paper, I recommend Savage Super White. If you use Plexiglass, order "Sign White"- it spread the light better even at a closer distance between the material and the light source. If you use the Plexiglas to can transilluminate the background with a second moonlight and the product will be "flat on white with no shadows. If you still have difficulty with separation, try using a slightly off-white plate- it will still look neat and clean.

All the images in the attached collage are done with the same setup. It works equally well on low and high-key images.

I hope this helps- Good luck with the job!

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

You are right! Somewhere in my files, I have that exact item. If I find it, I will post it and it will definitely mess up your diet!

For the same client, we shot 40 different bagel sandwiches, including that classic. After the shoot, the client informed us that we could eat all the food because once it was handled for the shoot, it could not be served to his customers. It was me and 2 assistants. We gobbled up pounds of lox, smoked whitefish, "chicken carp" etc. It was a 2-day shoot and we were hungry- we were also kinda pigs- so we pigged out!. Lots of Alka-Seltzer and Pepeo Bismal for desert!

Sadly, nowadays I am on a salt-restricted diet! All I can do is reminisce about that experience. By the way, the Best LOX comes for Nova Scotia up herein Canada! Yummy stuff!

autofocus Loc: North Central Connecticut

I will preface it by saying I am not a food photographer, but I see myself as a creative cook, and I enjoy taking photos of my meal creations. And, as a photographer it was natural to put the two creative interests together. As much as I hate to admit it, I often find that shooting with a good cell phone can produce some pretty nice results. Firstly, they are easier to handle and hover over the plate, and because of their wide angle lenses they inherently have deeper DOF which helps some with the focus issues. Shooting a bit over the subject, and less across the subject will also help some. All these below were shot with a cell phone. Could they used by a client for advertising? Maybe, maybe not, but they sure tasted good :))

Tonight's Bill o Fare by Vince Montalbano (autofocus), on Flickr

Stuffed Portobello Mushroom by Vince Montalbano (autofocus), on Flickr

Grilled Marinated Flank Steak with sautéed Mushrooms, Peppers, Onions, and Garlic by Vince Montalbano (autofocus), on Flickr

Cilantro Shrimp by Vince Montalbano (autofocus), on Flickr

DICK32

Toptrainer: I use light tables and light boxes that I built to put light all around the subject where it's needed. getting the light on the all sides should help you

B & H has led light panels that would probably throw the light on one side. Then put a couple of pieces of white cardboard taped together to form an L. you adjust the light to shine on the subject and the L to surround the subject with the light you want. Use a gray card to adjust the color in Lightroom. The white back round gives you the back round you need. I hope this helps.

PAR4DCR Loc: A Sunny Place

Try Utube videos and there is a foodie section in UHH that might be of some help to you.

Don

BArthur3

Speaking as someone who DOES NOT do food/product work, my first impression of your shot is I don't know where the focus is. A very narrow/limited depth of focus would make sense but in this case I don't see anything in real/detailed focus.

delder Loc: Maryland

Thank you for your very educational advice in this share.