Prime lens for food photography- Advice please

[rpcrowe]

Warren...

The images look delicious (if something can "look" delicious). However, I do have a couple of comments...

1. Your images appear to be generally overexposed. IMO, bracketing exposure is one way to nail down the absolute best exposure. Some photographers look down their noses at exposure bracketing but, it is certainly a valid tool. Additionally, when you have shot using a tripod and adjusting the exposure with the shutter speed, it can sometimes be beneficial to do an HDR image...

2. The soyu botle in the upper right of #1 is distracting to me. I would like to see either more of it in view or eliminate it altogether...

3. I would suggest using a tripod (I suspect from your ISO and shutter speeds that you did not). Using a tripod will enable you to shoot at a smaller aperture, such as f/11, for a wider DOF and a lower ISO, such as 100, for better image quality. You can easily manage your exposure using the shutter speed since the images are non-moving...

4. I would also suggest selecting a table cloth of a slightly different color so that there would be more definiton between the edges of the plate and the table. Possibly, a choice of a different color plate might be a better choice than a different color table cloth. A small collection of serving dishes, plates, napkins, table mats, etc. of different designs and in different colors can be a great tool in setting up food for photography.

BTW: as a reply to Tonyjr's comment, "BUT remember that macro lenses are for close focusing and have very small DOF ." Macro lenses are certainly not needed in a case like this. I agree that when shooting at the close distances often required when doing macro work that the DOF can be razor thin. However, there is absolutely no difference between the DOF of a normal and a macro lens of the same focal lengths when they are shot at the same distance, same f/stop and same point of focus.

[tonyjr]

My point was - a macro probably would not help - You would be far enough away that a regular lens would be cheaper and just as good .
A tripod would be good , but in a kitchen things get busy when cooking . Maybe a monopod ?
You probably already noticed no one suggest a flash .
I have 2 macro lenses left [ the 50 macro fell in love with a concrete floor - still have the life size convertor ] Anyway , since I got the 70-200 - I don't use either one - the sigma 180 great lens [ but slow AF and wants a lot of light - also cheap if you can find one . ] Quantaray lens 70-300 macro .
My gear = Canon - efs 10-22 , 17-55 , ef 18-55 IS ,EF 28-90 , 28 @ 2.8 , 35 2 , 50 @1.8 , 50 1.4 , 28-135 IS
L's 35-350 , 70-200 MK II IS Quantaray lens 70-300 macro Sigma 135 - 400 , 180 MACRO . [ This is not bragging , it is to show what I have to choose from - each lens was bough for a reason at the time . Remember - post any question / reply you may have - You will probably never meet anyone on this site and any question remark might help some one else .
If I were doing it , I would use the 17-55 [ 2.8 - but set at 5.6 or 8 and IS ] the Sigma 180 if enough light - if not I might go as high as ISO 400 . If your kit lens has IS or some kind of image stabalasion - use it .
YOUR shots are good - but need improving . Keep silverware , glasses - non food items out of shot . Try not to have to many whites in shot - for example white table cloth , white plate , mashed potatoes / rice - at least one of them will look dirty .
Try to shoot raw and then change white balance - sunny , cloudy etc .

[Shadowman]

Hi Colin,

I've been shooting using natural light, which seems to make the food look better. I would like to be able to use the extra couple of stops for better DOF and low light shots. With my kit lens, I need to crank up the ISO or use a fill light (which I can't always do) to get the exposure settings I want. (I shoot full manual and sometimes can't use a tripod)
I've been intersted in the primes because, my understanding is, that they should be sharper than the zoom overall and much better in low light. Also, I've found that the majority of my food shots are right around 50mm +/- 10mm.

The various images will be used for full color printed menus, adverts, signage and web.

As someone with a bit of marketing experience forget about photos for the menus, it is basically a waste of space. You've lured the customers into your establishment, if the aromas coming from the kitchen don't do it, photographs aren't going to help. Stick to the signage and web angle and treat the dishes as products but with very good lighting. You can't replicate the aromas but you can add to the visuals. If the dish is a hot, replicate steam coming off the plate, if the dish is hotttttt, replicate spicy by including someone burning their tongue. In the end, word of mouth will be the best marketing scheme for your son's restaurant.

[Hazeb1]

Thanks all for your input. This dialog is VERY helpful!!!

I think the over exposure, for the most part, is due to me cranking up the brightness alot in post.
Images tend to look good on screen, but are sometimes a bit dark when printed or posted on the web. (monitor calibration?)

Based on the metering, each shot looked pretty good in camera and on screen. I agree that I definitely need get a better handle on lighting to keep the ISO down to optimal (I think Nikon is 200) and apeture values at f8 or above. (working on it)

On the tapioca shot, I used natural light and a tripod. On the others I used two 90w halogen spots, white cards for light modifiers, and shot hand held. Unfortunately the lighting was still uneven. I'm currently working with very limited space, so ATM hand holding needs to be an option. (at least until I complete this project)

By the way, gonna ditch the white table cloth

I'll reshoot the images, trying to incorporate all of your suggestions, and repost, hopefully they'll be better examples ;-)


Thanks again!