Tracy B. Loc: Indiana

Yes and I really appreciate all the UHH people for their advice and kind words and support.

Jim Peters Loc: Pittsburgh

It's Alway The Best To Be Prepared. However Many Times i Truly Amazed My Self When I Was Unprepared And Not Properly Equipped And Still Turned Out Some Of The Best Work That I Ever Did . When I Was In The Army They Handed Me A Pratica With One Lens 33mm Wide Angle, No Light Meter Or Flash And Said "You Are Now A News Photographer" I Never Never Wanted To Be A News Photographer. I Amazed Myself. I Had Images In The New York News Papers As Well As Military Publications.I Was Borrowed By Some Of The Other Military Branches And Attended Officers Parties And Helicopter Tours. After A Year They Finally Equipped Me Properly. But I Learned That Working Within Limitations Can Be A Plus.

Tracy B. Loc: Indiana

Wow! I can only hope they like what I did, and maybe not figure out that I wasn't prepared to shot food.

canon Lee

Hi Tracy. after reading the many responses which were very helpful and encouraging, as is always may I add, I would add this piece of advice, Bring lighting equipment. It is all about knowing lighting and exposure. Lighting opens up a whole new world of photography for you. Get the light OFF camera.

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

From my experience, here's the skinny on real vs fake food.
When I was assisting on food shoots, we never used fake food.
For shots showing items on the menu it is unethical to use the fake stuff.
You are trying to illustrate and sell an actual menu item.
Using fake would be false advertising.
If the food items are secondary to the shoot, like illustrating a table setting or decorating a dining scene, fake is ok and probably preferable.
Though we always used the real thing, even cookbooks can use fake food, because you are selling the recipe, not the item itself.

I didn't like assisting on food shoots unless we had interns to delegate the clean-up. I still remember one week-long shoot in particular for a national fried chicken chain. The deep fryers were set up in a room next the shooting studio and I was the intern then (I got to clean-up) . The studio reeked for weeks.

Tracy, part of the blame of your bad experience rests on the restaurant.
They assumed you knew how to shoot food based on your unrelated photography experience. There is a reason food photography is a specialty.

Tracy B. Loc: Indiana

Thank you for your advice. I did have my Canon 430exii and my flash bender. It did help save me from a total disaster.

Tracy B. Loc: Indiana

I didn't know food was so complicated at the time of the shoot. Had I known I probably would have walked away. I think they turned out adequate. However, I want to be better than that.

Racin17 Loc: Western Pa

Darrel waltrip calls in sperience....

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

You would be amazed at the lighting we used back then.
We usually shot 4x5 transparency film (and I think I remember even 8x10) used several high-powered studio flashes, sometimes requiring multiple pops of the flash for one exposure.

As with anything when you're starting out, you don't know what you don't know.
With the internet, it's so much easier to get info.
Sometimes it's even right!

One quick search turned up this article on food photography tips.
It looks pretty accurate, as far as it goes.
Good lighting, as always, is crucial.
Doesn't mean you need a ton, just use it wisely.

Tracy B. Loc: Indiana

:-)

Tracy B. Loc: Indiana

Hey, those pictures in that article looked just like mine. (Just kidding).

guy03

I usually don't use this function but I shot a pizza in food scene mode. They came out great. I was curious about the setting and it seems that Nikon (d5000) uses more exposure to highlight the food. If you have this particular scene mode on your camera, by all means use it.

Tracy B. Loc: Indiana

Omg! I wish I did.

busmaster2 Loc: College Point NY

Granted I've never shot food as I'm usually too busy eating it.
When I was in the second grade we were all told to boil and then color an egg for easter. Not really understanding the significance of the assignment I used my oil painting kit complete with lead based paints to paint something on my egg which was to be presented at an assembly. However, before I could be called I got hungry so that when I did get called all I had was a shell which I eagerly presented. Nobody was amused except me since my appetite had been satisfied.

Tracy B. Loc: Indiana

Lol!