Shooting a pasta sauce promo - advice needed

TubEfingers

TubEfingers

Well-known member
Hey,

We need to shoot an "about us" video for a company that produces pesto sauces, so I'll need to get some nice looking shots of the pesto:
1.On its own
2.mixed with pasta

shooting with:
Panasonic AF100, Olympus 12-40, 40-150/Voigtlander 25mm/Canon FD 50, 85.
2 x Photon Beard LED 80w redheads, 6 x F&V HDV-Z96 toplights
also have a small light tent/soft box kit, a slider, and we're looking to get a rotating product table.

anything I'm missing/should add?

love to get any advice you can offer on shooting food, cheers
 
TubEfingers said:
Hey,

We need to shoot an "about us" video for a company that produces pesto sauces, so I'll need to get some nice looking shots of the pesto:
1.On its own
2.mixed with pasta

shooting with:
Panasonic AF100, Olympus 12-40, 40-150/Voigtlander 25mm/Canon FD 50, 85.
2 x Photon Beard LED 80w redheads, 6 x F&V HDV-Z96 toplights
also have a small light tent/soft box kit, a slider, and we're looking to get a rotating product table.

anything I'm missing/should add?

love to get any advice you can offer on shooting food, cheers
Click to expand...


If it were my product, I might want some nice lifestyle shots, but I guess that really depends on the story you are telling along with budget.

All the best!

Dave
 
- swingshift lens (equlivent to 35 or 50mm on an Alexa), or on a budget a lensbaby
- jibarm and underslung head
- food stylist
- kitchen nearby
 
What's the CRI on those LED lights? I might be tempted to use good old halogen lights or an HMI so you have a real continuous spectrum. Reds are the hard colors to get.
 
Got the kitchen, have to forego the stylist as budget is low, but we're lacking product videos so want to make something nice for ourselves as well as the client
if i had to choose one essential piece of kit to improve the production what would it be?
 
Cheap, but essential for me: White bounce cards/foam boards. Try hitting your food subject with soft, indirect light.

(OK not *that* cheap if mounted on a c-stand)
 
I shoot a lot of food and style when there isn't a budget so here is my food kit I bring on every shoot.
Foam core (black and white) of a variety of sizes and a knife/scissors to cut it into any shape as needed.
Ice Cream Scope
Tweazers/chop sticks
Cotton Gloves (for touching plates and looking like the king of pop)
Sticky putty
Multiple spritz bottles I have gathered all with different types of spray distribution
Water and glycerin mixture
variety of paintbrushes
string
A level
wire
wire cutters
kitchen boutique (use to mix with water to make whisky/tea, or use to paint onto meat)
variety of different gold and silver scraping booking paper cut to different sizes
and not show but tampons (soak them in water than heat them up in a microwave to get steam and hide it in your food)

IMG_3185.jpg
 
don't forget the small details: ie. a folded handkerchief next to the bowl, maybe some utensils, a couple raw pasta noodles in the background, a clove of garlic, a salt & pepper shaker, etc.. just not too much of it all together at once.

frames from video
19872824049_7a75c6dbeb.jpg


20033214846_82da23217c.jpg
 
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If you're not able in foodstyling, be sure to get a foodstylist.... and no... a cook / chef is not a food stylist.

Of course there are several different ways to shoot food, both in terms of lighting and what different parts of the world finds delicious, but I think more often than not, people are triggered when the shots come off as natural rather than "setup", that the food lives in its own universe rather then appearing to have been placed within a set piece for us to observed.
You have to be able to taste it and smell it. You need to get the idea in your head that you would like to sit where that plate is...

I don't see rotating dishes fitting anywhere into that by the way. :)

This is some of my bosses still work... we do food commercials as well.

Screen Shot 2016-04-30 at 07.27.30.jpgScreen Shot 2016-04-30 at 07.27.39.jpgScreen Shot 2016-04-30 at 07.27.53.jpgScreen Shot 2016-04-30 at 07.28.11.jpg
 
Yea legreve's advice for taking stills of food is absolutely spot on. It's possible I hide behind the epicness of slow motion for cooking videos as slow motion flames, sizzles, seasonings, pan flips, steaming, etc always does look great when not over used. Given its a pasta spot I figured a lazy susan would do well for an easy sauce pour with some visual flare when framed correctly as such the susan isn't seen.

Another fun thing about shooting foods or alcohol is that you can do whatever you want with it and take as many takes as possible. Within your time frame as there as few actors needed. B roll is worth its wait in gold when a client mentions they liked your vision but were looking for something more along the lines of xyz.

Ive only shot 5or6 food spots tho so i still have much to learn. Everytime i shot one i brought my dslr with me to take pictures of the setups as a bonus for a clients social media / the portfolio. It also doubled as a general refference for the fact I feel stills cam can highlight mistakes easier for you to spot than from an evf/monitor.
 
Shot in the dark, but does anyone have a good recommendation for a lazy Susan? (sounds so dumb) I totally want to pick one up. They are super-useful on food/beverage shoots.
 
Can't remember what mine is called as I've painted over the wood with a matte black type color. They are pretty cool when used right. Instead of panning through ingredients I once had them revolve into and out of the frame with graphics popping up on the opposite side of the frame. Can't find the clip to reupload and show but it wss sweet.

Hope someone has a good recommendation. Might be worth a post in the support gear section for some DIY mods as well scott.
 
Yes, I went to Target or whatever (can't remember) and bought a very cheap, lightweight lazy susan a few years ago. Garbage. But we did have some fun on a pizza TV spot spinning the pies!

I can see what I need in my mind. Something with some weight. Thanks for your post and OP....you better post some results when the time comes!
 
Mines some heavy wood with diesel ball bearings. The disk sits an inch off the ground so i drilled 8 small screws into the bottom with 1 having a string connected to it so I could get smooth pulls / weighted drops like it was automated. One of my few thought up diy successes.

Just some food for thought if you get one.
 
Scott F said:
Shot in the dark, but does anyone have a good recommendation for a lazy Susan? (sounds so dumb) I totally want to pick one up. They are super-useful on food/beverage shoots.
Click to expand...

You can buy just the roller-bearing mechanism and add your own top. One more option.
 
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