Third Attempt At Food Photography

Justin Aguirre

Justin Aguirre

Well-known member
It's been awhile. This is my third attempt at food photography and I am quite enjoying it the most out of all the photography I've done.

First Try:
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=134536&highlight=food

Second Try:
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=137276&highlight=food

I'm currently building a dedicated food photography portfolio and have a few more shoots planned out in the next few weeks.

Check it out :)

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Field Green Salad With A Raspberry Vinaigrette Dressing.

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Prosciutto And Mushroom Rice Pilaf.

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Cafe Au Lait Pudding with Homemade Whipped Cream.
 
I think this is your best try yet! Good job. I like these a lot. Your first try I enjoyed as well, but you can tell the improvement in terms of color, composition and setup.

What'd you shoot with?

Well done,

Kegan
 
Yes, that is true - real food does not appeal to the camera. The majority of food photography is fake.

Kegan
 
Thanks guys for the fast response!

Hunter007: Would you believe I'm still using my old Olympus OM-G with a 50mm f1.8 lens. The film was Kodak Ektar 100. I have an idea on what I want for my next shoot and I think I'll be using my Hasselblad for that with the same film.

Stanley: Haha I bookmarked your link. Yeah, for the salad shot the bottom of the bowel is stuffed with paper towels so we didn't have to use so much salad. I'm enjoying eating the food afterwards too much. :) But I really want to try out some of those techniques soon.
 
That was the first thing I Googled. Probably better info out there. The only thing I can remember off hand that I've heard of using Elmer's glue for milk in cereal bowls I think.
 
Still not super in love with the shallow DOF, but over all I gotta say that I'm hella impressed. The placement of the subjects, comp and lighting are friggin' fantastic. I say, 4 & 3/4 stars!
 
The shallow DOF looks awesome in the third image, however the first two kinda ask for more areas in foucs.

I thought the angles were a bit weird, not really leveld and kinda tilted.

Light is very nice!
 
I have nothing constructive to ad to this thread. But, I did google "Food Photography" and came across this guys portfolio. Some damn delicious looking stuff.
 
Nice link Rick. I would personally (fwiw) like to see what others have already said here; a bit more dof. Not a lot, but some.

Larry
 
Funny... I hadn't read one response before getting ready to type "a little more DOF"...

For food photography you should have most of the serving of food sharp... the DOF can start to fall off for the plate/serving as it goes off in the frame, but generally it is my opinion that the viewer should get a pretty clear shot of the actual food "they'll be getting"... meaning... that shallow DOF works in the third image because other servings may be soft... but I want a clear view of what I'M getting.

If you want to keep moving in this same direction... of selective focus, then try to do it with light, instead of DOF. You can light a focal point in a serving... with light falling off away from it... but I think the most appealing food photography will give the viewer a clear impression of what they perceive to be "their portion" in the photograph.
 
This is not bad. Like MattinSTL shallow DOF is great but you want to keep your main product sharp and crisp. I have specialized in food for years. My to main weapons are my Innovision Probe and a good servo controlled turntable, like the Revpod. You can check out shots on my website.
 
Another humble suggestion (just to try this on a future shot... for the hell of it):

If you have a small softbox... or can duvee out everything but a circle about 6-8" in diameter, try putting that directly over your primary subject in your food shot... and then use BG lighting for definition... either daylight to imply light from a window... or a fresnel/tungsten source to imply lighting from other parts of the same venue.

This will put focus on your primary food subject through light intensity falling off along with DOF... and you'll still get the isolation you want, but you'll be able to see the primary dish clearly... as both light and focus fall off in the BG together. Think "duplicating pendant OR candle-light of a fine restaurant"...

For fun dishes, like the chocolate pudding... I think that lighting is perfect, and part of the reason why that third shot works better then the other two. The light, and focus is all appropriate. I also like the 2nd shot... just not as much as the third, because of the 3D garnish on top, as the rest of the dish falls soft. I think that shot is a prime example to illustrate the layered lighting approach, while holding more DOF on the full serving of food, since the garnish says "higher-end" which usually means moodier lighting... and the other features of the BG don't offer any additional selling points on the dish... as say, a blurred out laughing couple, or some other BG selling tool might.
 
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