Setup: The flash is pointed to the right and bounced off a 40 x 60 white panel that’s attached to a stand.
f/6.3, ISO 800, 24-70mmL
This photo was shot using a setup like the one shown above.
f/3.5, ISO 400, 23-70mm L
In the photo on the left (bottom), the bounce is positioned close to the subject, so there is a good amount of light falling on the front right side. Let’s see if we can further improve on this.
Yep, we can! By adding an extra bounce to the setup, this shot improved a lot. The second bounce further increased the amount of light hitting the trifles on the left side. And this helped to create a more pleasing depth of field. The subjects in the foreground are sharp and the rest of the scene is somewhat out of focus. Try this for your photos. It only takes an extra two minutes to set up a second reflector, such as a white board, and it really makes all the difference in the world. For more examples of the benefits of bouncing light, take another look at the Reflectors section in Chapter 3.
Setup: The flash is pointed to the right and bounced off a 40 x 60 white panel that was attached to its stand. A small white board is positioned as a second bounce.
f/6.3, ISO 800, 24-70mm L
The photo of trifles was shot using a setup like the one shown here. The effect of two bounces is softer light that flatters all the elements in the scene.
f/3.5, ISO 400, 24-70mm L
So, we’ve seen that a separate flash unit provides added flexibility for your photography—even if it stays anchored to your camera. Some other flash accessories to consider for your artificial light projects are additional speedlights, radio triggers, sync cords and optical controls. These accessories are covered next.
Radio Waves
Once you start playing with speedlights to improve your artificial light photography, you might want to go a step further. That is, take them off your camera and operate them remotely. One of the most popular—and most reliable—ways to do this is with wireless radio triggers.
If you want to go the wireless route, consider optical control (infrared or communication devices) or radio signals. Most speedlights have a Slave mode that allows you to control them wirelessly. Just set one in Master mode and the rest in Slave mode.
To learn more about the adjustments used to output light from your specific brand and model of speedlights, consult your manual. Also, take a look at some of the books I recommend in the appendices to learn more about working with speedlights and artificial lighting accessories.
Radio Triggers
Radio triggers are very popular with photographers who want to either take their flash off the camera body or add more than one speedlight to a studio setup. With radio triggers, the photographer can place his or her speedlight anywhere in the room but remain close to the camera while remotely triggering the flash. It lets the speedlight function as a dominant light source—from anywhere near the scene.
But why would you ever be away from your speedlight, you may ask. Well, you might find yourself in a situation where you need to diffuse your artificial light with a large scrim. The light source needs to be behind that scrim while you and your camera need to be in front of the food to capture it at the right angle. Or maybe you need to use a large bounce, and the flash head, if it stays on your camera, would be in an awkward position for the shot. Radio triggers offer a great deal of freedom to move. And this gadget is so popular because it’s easy and reliable.
Radio waves are omni-directional, so you don’t have to worry about aiming the trigger straight at your flashes to fire them. And they are accurate when it comes to firing multiple flash units at the same time.
Wireless triggers, such as Radio Poppers and types of Pocket Wizards, convert the light data contained in the master unit into a radio signal that is then sent to a receiver unit, which translates that information into a light signal. The speedlight reads that light signal and fires.
These tools are not cheap and prices vary depending on the brand and model; so please, read reviews and shop around to find out how different options work with your camera. It’s pretty much a matter of budget and personal preference … and compatibility with the gear you have. But no matter what brand you choose, be sure to add a few extra battery packs in your cart, because they do consume a lot of power.
Filler Flash
If you’re interested in challenging yourself to go one step further. Experiment with using your flash with natural light. Set on TTL, your flash might be useful as a light filler. It can help you avoid too high contrast in scenes with harsh shadows, and it can help brighten dark areas in, for example, a scene that’s backlit.
Radio triggers are especially helpful for setups in which your only light is your speedlight. Treat the speedlight as you would a studio light with an umbrella. A radio trigger will make it easier to use scrims and reflectors than trying to attach an umbrella to your speedlight. Just take the speedlight off your camera, position it behind the scrim and go anywhere you want. Set radio triggers to remotely fire your speedlight when you’re ready.
To use a radio trigger to fire your flash(es), try mounting the trigger on the shot shoe and connect the receiver to the flash. This setup enables you to be at any distance desired from the camera and the subject ... and still trigger the flash.
In this setup, the radio trigger transmitter is mounted on the hot shoe while the receiver is connected to the flash with a cord. This allows you to remotely fire the flash.
f/2.8, ISO 800, 50mm
Of course, studio lights and flashes, either mounted on the camera or operated wirelessly by radio triggers, are far from the only artificial light sources out there. The number of lighting options you have—even on a tight budget—is proportional to your imagination … and the time you’re willing to spend making them work.
Free Standing Light & Soft Boxes
When shooting space, your photography budget and setup/ breakdown limits are an issue, it’s helpful to have a set of free-standing lights, bulbs and/ or soft boxes. For instance, I have a couple of friends who love to record their cooking prowess, but they must do it at night. They simply can’t have their children running around their photography equipment and possibly stumbling on tripods, breaking stands. During the winter months especially, when sunlight is less available, many photographers appreciate being able to rely on easy-to-use light supplements.
Free Standing Lights & Bulbs
One extremely popular free standing light system is the Lowel Ego Light. It looks like a simple rectangular flat box with a light bulb inside. From what I’ve seen, this product can get really close to mimicking natural light … if you use the appropriate camera modes and settings and make full use of bouncing white cards, if necessary. One light retails for around $90; and a two-light system, which usually comes with a set of differently colored backgrounds, runs about $200.
A Lowel Ego Light System
©Lowel Light Inc.
I know people who’ve opted out of the full system and settled instead on a couple of Lowel Ego fluorescent bulbs. They affixed these bulbs to a small lamp with a plain white lampshade and are really happy with the results. Note that the thickness and material of the lampshade will affect how much light is diffused and thereby change the quality of the available light.
No matter what, in no circumstance whatsoever, never place a piece of paper over a light bulb! Paper will catch on fire quickly; and, left unattended … even for a short while, it can literally burn your house down. No. Paper. Diffuser!
Soft Boxes
Another popular artificial lighting option is a simple soft box. Purchase a soft box or make one for yourself. But keep in mind that there are two kinds of soft boxes. One is used in a tabletop setting (described later) and one is used directly on your camera.
On-Camera Soft Boxes
Soft boxes that operate on a camera are usually a plastic cover (shown in the image on the right) or a funnel-type piece with a flat front. Both varieties attach to yo
ur flash. The diffusing strength of the plastic cover is not as good as the funnel-shaped model, but it’s a bit easier to operate. Both have pros and cons, so read reviews before deciding which—if either—you’ll use.
A soft diffusing box is mounted to a speedlight.
f/4.5, ISO 200, 50mm
The plastic cover option is a small soft box attachment that covers the actual light unit. This device diffuses and softens the light much like a soft pop-up diffuser (covered earlier in this chapter). It attaches directly to your flash unit and does a great job at diffusing your flash light output. It also softens the light and reduces glare. But yes, that means you need a speedlight. This device does not fit on a pop-up flash. It retails for around $10.
Some people find that the size of this on-camera soft box is too small to make a big impact. So they use a larger model or create their own. A small pop-up soft box like the one described above measures 3.5 x 5, but I’ve seen studio setups with ones as big as 20 x 28 (around $40) and larger. Some DIY flash-mounted soft boxes can take on crazy dimensions and will require you to set your flash on a heavy duty light stand. Go crazy! Go wild! But remember to pick equipment that is appropriate for you—in terms of budget, difficulty of use, ease of set up and break down, your available time and space, etc.
Tabletop Soft Boxes
The other popular and efficient soft box option sits on a table or other flat surface. It looks like a three-panel tent most of the time. Because of this, it’s also known as a light tent. It’s made of nylon fabric and opens toward the front. Just set your food inside the box and position lights (preferably fluorescent or halogen bulbs) on the outside. These soft boxes range from $40 to $100 and beyond, depending on the size and brand you choose.
These units are so easy to create that some people have taken it upon themselves to make their own … for as low as $10. This might be something to consider. It’s inexpensive; you can complete it over a weekend; and it actually works! It’s not perfect, but it does a fair enough job at diffusing harsh light to produce quality images.
You can create a tabletop soft box out of a recycled card box. Use cloth to cover the sides and place a white poster board in the back to serve as a reflector. You can also use a black poster board or other color to add variety to your backgrounds. In any case, this type of soft box is perfect for close-up shots of your food or small single items. It is not made for large table setups and complicated compositions.
DIY
There are several sites online with DIY instructions, but I think the most downloaded and comprehensive post about how to make your own soft box comes from the famous Strobist website. Find it at DIY $10 Macro Photo Studio: http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/07/how-to-diy-10-macro-photo-studio.html.
Whether or not you decide to use these accessories and DIY ideas, remember the fundamentals of light management: diffuse and bounce. Whether the light you’re using is natural or artificial—or both, these qualities stand true:
• Light comes from different directions.
• Light varies in quality and quantity.
• You have to manage light properly to achieve the photo results you want.
I often joke that my studio is a giant soft box, since there are opaque sheets in front of each window … but it’s the truth! Artificial light will give you light … even decent light, but it’s different. And you need to remember to diffuse and reflect it to properly manage it … just as you do with natural light. Large artificial light sources, such as big strobes and studio lights will help, but an investment in this equipment is only worthwhile if you’re very serious about your photography work and frequently need to rely on artificial light.
If this isn’t your situation, know that you can get good light for your photographs by combining strobes, a large diffuser and a soft box. This studio setup will require more “studying” on your part, and I recommend reading books dedicated to artificial lighting when you are ready to go in that direction. (See the appendices for suggestions.)
No matter what, always consider how you are going to diffuse the light source—by directing it away from your food. Explore different ways to bounce the light to reduce shadows, and see how much or how little you want that effect in your shot. Discover techniques of your own to manage the light around you. Never stop exploring!
Steamy Kitchen Blog
A good friend of mine, Jaden Hair, writes the popular blog Steamy Kitchen. He wrote a detailed post on how to use the Lowel Ego Light System and what to expect from it. I have to say, I was impressed with the quality of this light and the ease of setting it up and putting it away. Read Hair’s article at http://steamykitchen.com/266-lowel-ego-lights-for-food-photography.html.
Chapter Five: Composition
Composing a photograph of food is so much more than setting your dish and props on a work area, holding your camera and taking pictures. I don’t mean it’s much more difficult or more daunting; it’s actually much more exciting!
Once you realize how many different ideas and decisions can come into play to compose your shot, you’ll literally feel like a kid at a candy store. Your imagination will fill with possibilities for creating various moods, for establishing the right atmosphere to translate your vision and tell a story through your photographs of food. This abundant world of creativity is truly your oyster.
This chapter covers the basic guidelines of composition. Keep in mind that these are guidelines—not rules. You may decide to try them all (hopefully not at once!), or you may focus on one technique and then move to another. Just be sure that you understand the fundamentals of photography (exposure and light) before diving into composition and styling.
Tomatoes positioned in the center of the frame
f/3.5, ISO 400, 50mm
Subject Placement
The process of composition begins as you are cooking your dish (if you are both the cook and photographer) or as you read through your call sheet (if you aren’t the one preparing the food). Before you physically set up your shot, think about where you’ll shoot, what props and linens you’ll use, the direction of the light you’ll be working with, the shadows and other considerations for the scene. You’ll need to decide how you’ll convey the sensory appeal and emotion of your subject.
To get started, think about where you want to place the dish in your frame. Do you want your subject off center or centered in the final image?
Off-Center
Imagine the following situation: You are about to photograph a nice salad. You have all your camera settings and modes adjusted, and you’re happy with the way you’ve lit the shot. You’re wondering if you’ll get a nice photograph if you place the salad right in the center of your frame and start pressing the shutter button.
Tomatoes positioned off center
f/3.5, ISO 400, 50mm
I say, “Yes! Sure!” But don’t stop there. Try moving the salad around the frame to see if there’s a better angle, a more interesting view or more striking point of interest.
Sometimes placing a subject off center or shooting it from a different angle allows you to convey more artistic expression and creativity. It also helps to change sight lines to one your audience doesn’t see every day. This gives your photographs more visual weight and staying power than every other pasta shot, so to speak.
You don’t need to come up with crazy setups and lots of propping and arranging to add interest to your photos. Many times, an off-center subject can do the trick. In the two pictures on this spread, the use of props and colors is minimal. To add interest to the cluster of tomatoes, I simply moved the plate and bowl to the right side of the frame. This provided a sense of movement without adding another element to the frame.
If you compose your photographs with a lot of the same dishes or the same colors and textures, then shooting off center may help to break the monotony of things. Another bonus of off-center placement is that it can be a great “hiding” technique. This is helpful for shoots that involve an item with a
portion that doesn’t look very good or situations in which you don’t have enough subject to fill the frame nicely. Placing a flawed subject off center can naturally crop it in the frame to hide flaws or scarcity.
The kumquats are positioned off center and toward the top right of the frame to enhance their presence in the bowl.
f/3.5, ISO 320, 100mm, Macro L
In the picture of kumquats, I didn’t have enough of the fruit to fill the bowl in a nice manner. My solution was to push most of the kumquats toward the front of the bowl and position it off center. This naturally cropped the area that was empty and less attractive.
Three ramekins of mousse are positioned off center in the frame to create visual interest and movement in the image.
f/3.5, ISO 800, 100mm, Macro L
The picture of mousse shows how to add movement to your image by placing the subject(s) off center. Depending on your composition, you don’t need to crop your main subject to make it work off center. Just take a step back from your initial setup if things appear too stiff, and start moving things around to create visual interest in the composition.
I placed the donuts off center to attract viewers to the front view of the subjects, particularly the top one. I did not like the look of the frosting on the other two. I played with the off-center position to slightly obscure the view of the subjects and minimize all the little things I did not like about them.
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