Product photography : Food & Drink

mattyg

mattyg

mattyg

Soldato
Joined
17 Jun 2007
Posts
9,413
Hiya guys

I recently bought 2 restaurants and we have been busy designing the new menu, and the websites are getting there.

Its time I took some product shots of our dishes and some cocktails.

HELP!!

So i seem to have most of the gear and no idea.

I've a D810 with the holy trinity and a nifty 50 1.8 I also have a 105 2.8 macro. I've bought a light cube from Lencarta which is quite big and has LED lights. I've also an sb900 and some cheap flash heads.

I'm into Landscape photography so this is really out of my comfort zone.

Any hints and tips

These were done on the bar and the Pass with my phone which is NOT what I'm after

20190323_143202

20190323_150814

And with a change in white balance POP
20190323_152905
 
@StoutMeister not facetious at all mate and that would be the plan.

Edit: Looked into a local product photographer and to be honest the prices dont seem too bad

£50 per hour shoot £15 per hour Post


Anyone know how many products they may be able to get done per hour. (back of a fag package calculation)

I suppose even 1 per hour would make the shot £65 each which isn't too bad at all.
 
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Once they're set up Mattie, they'll go through them faster than you can produce them. :)

Make sure to check examples of their work beforehand (esp in your case - food photography,) if that's their specialisation all the better.

Are you in Glasgow perchance?
 
There are 2 aspects of it you need to pay attention to.

1 - the lighting, you want to be able to control it so you will need off camera flash and a soft box. You can do it next to a big window but the light will change and you need to adjust to suit.

2 - surrounding and background

You can go a few directions, you can go high key with a white background or you can go lifestyle with a set table or you can go a bit in between like a lot of cookbooks with a simple wood top table.

You basically set up the space, whichever way you go and then that space is controlled and then put each dish on it for the shot. Ideally you would want to keep the size and angle the same for all so don’t put down a plate and then go for a cocktail next and then back down to a plate. That’s very annoying to shoot and you will need to move the camera and won’t be the exact same angle as before.

White balance is also important, restaurant lights are almost always very high K and that looks bad for colours, which means turning on the light in the space might be counter productive and fighting with the flash’s white balance. Think about turning off all the light near the table and light it by just natural or flash.
 
I don't mean to steal this thread but it's very relevant to what someone just asked me to do for them, photograph their menu shots as they are in a fairly dire financial state and are unable to afford the £750 they've been quoted.

I've assisted other photographers before doing exactly this but don't have the same gear as them. Canon 5DS R and Nikon D750, we're what these photographers used.

Now, I currently have a Panasonic GX80 16MP, and was thinking since they are printing their menu in newspaper quality, yes their menu is a newspaper and they'll publish online to a website/social media that 16mp is enough.

The shots from the past seem to be shot between f11 to f16 on FF cameras such as Nikon D750 and Canon EOS 5DS R.

Looking for some guidence here as to whether I help them or turn away, and what kind of lightning equipment I may need should I agree to take on the task.

I'll be getting paid in food and booze which I am happy with.
 
StoutMeister said:
Once they're set up Mattie, they'll go through them faster than you can produce them. :)

Make sure to check examples of their work beforehand (esp in your case - food photography,) if that's their specialisation all the better.

Are you in Glasgow perchance?
Click to expand...


I'm only a road away from Glasgow.....But that road is the M6

I wont add a link but Pack-Photo is local to me
 
Raymond Lin said:
There are 2 aspects of it you need to pay attention to.

1 - the lighting, you want to be able to control it so you will need off camera flash and a soft box. You can do it next to a big window but the light will change and you need to adjust to suit.

2 - surrounding and background

You can go a few directions, you can go high key with a white background or you can go lifestyle with a set table or you can go a bit in between like a lot of cookbooks with a simple wood top table.

You basically set up the space, whichever way you go and then that space is controlled and then put each dish on it for the shot. Ideally you would want to keep the size and angle the same for all so don’t put down a plate and then go for a cocktail next and then back down to a plate. That’s very annoying to shoot and you will need to move the camera and won’t be the exact same angle as before.

White balance is also important, restaurant lights are almost always very high K and that looks bad for colours, which means turning on the light in the space might be counter productive and fighting with the flash’s white balance. Think about turning off all the light near the table and light it by just natural or flash.
Click to expand...

Cheers Raymond

I Think I'll try at home with some Coffee and beans on toast first.

I dont mind paying Its just after sinking the best part of 100k into this. and using our contingency its getting a bit tight.

Stupid £8k Espresso machine.............
 
mattyg said:
Cheers Raymond

I Think I'll try at home with some Coffee and beans on toast first.

I dont mind paying Its just after sinking the best part of 100k into this. and using our contingency its getting a bit tight.

Stupid £8k Espresso machine.............
Click to expand...

Try to light from the side or the back as opposed to the direction of where you are, you will get more contrast that way, and IMO a better image.
 
mattyg said:
Would you recommend the light box. Its got a pretty bright LED ring at the top....I suppose its suck it and see.
Click to expand...

It depends how close it is to the subject and how big a space you have.

A cheap way is to just hang a big white cloth with a light behind it..
 
EGuitarStar said:
I don't mean to steal this thread but it's very relevant to what someone just asked me to do for them, photograph their menu shots as they are in a fairly dire financial state and are unable to afford the £750 they've been quoted.
Click to expand...

Sorry EGuitarStar, I'm sure they weren't in such a dire financial state when paying for the rest of the equipment / goods / rent - Yadda, Yadda, Yaah!

Good luck with it, it's your choice. Maybe you'll decide to do it for extra experience? If not, you'll soon harden-up and drop these BS gigs as they deserve.

Best,
SM :)
 
EGuitarStar said:
I don't mean to steal this thread but it's very relevant to what someone just asked me to do for them, photograph their menu shots as they are in a fairly dire financial state and are unable to afford the £750 they've been quoted.

I've assisted other photographers before doing exactly this but don't have the same gear as them. Canon 5DS R and Nikon D750, we're what these photographers used.

Now, I currently have a Panasonic GX80 16MP, and was thinking since they are printing their menu in newspaper quality, yes their menu is a newspaper and they'll publish online to a website/social media that 16mp is enough.

The shots from the past seem to be shot between f11 to f16 on FF cameras such as Nikon D750 and Canon EOS 5DS R.

Looking for some guidence here as to whether I help them or turn away, and what kind of lightning equipment I may need should I agree to take on the task.

I'll be getting paid in food and booze which I am happy with.
Click to expand...


It depends really.

It depends on where you are in your career, what you are trying to achieve. Is the shoot something you want to do. Will the shoot cost you money in gear. Is it something you want to do but never done before in which case you want it for your portfolio. Is it for a friend as a favour. Many things.

The least you should do is cost you money. You shouldn’t go into debt for a job, especially when something where the photos won’t get you future work or not an area you want to specialise in. That would be both a waste of money and time.

In terms of money, that is up to you, once you start charging a penny, legally you are as liable if you were to charge £1 or £1000 so you put in your best no matter what. People will expect a £1000 product no matter what.

What I think is acceptable may not be for you. I’ve done some side projects that are not wedding related which isn’t on my portfolio, but I already have the gear and they are for a friend. I have barely broken even on a few jobs, use the money to fund a particular piece of gear because I wanted the experience and the portfolio and I thought the project was exciting. It depends on a lot of things.

Like I did the photos for these websites

https://houseofollichon.co.uk

https://chaseblissaudio.com

https://marissathereze.com

All are essentially product photography, different kinds of product photography.

In terms of how to shoot it in terms of equipment. I've not done a whole menu but have done my share of food photos at weddings. Sometimes natural light, often a bounced flash.

I normally stick to a 50mm Prime, I find this the best focal length. Normally like F/2.0.

You can either shoot it from up top or from about 45 degrees.

N80QYpe.jpg

kg8Bh1e.jpg

Qwi7JJF.jpg

Meal set works well from the top

3b01By8.jpg
 
Thanks for the feedback @Raymond Lin and @StoutMeister and @mattyg for letting me tag onto your thread.

My field of work and profession is the IT sector. I used to work for this restaurant and maintain their IT infrastructure and did a bit of marketing for them too but left the post in February as I had commitments elsewhere and I knew they were struggling a bit financially as well.

I've assisted other photographers in the past for free so that I could learn a thing or two from them. Photography is a hobby of mine, and they know this and that is why they have asked me but I've never done any professional job in the field.

I still have not agreed and I still feel that they should use a photographer and get the job done properly but funds are very tight for them.

I won't be out of pocket in any way and though I wouldn't technically get paid, I do visit the restaurant from time to time so would make my money that way. I'll speak to the director, he is a very close friend of mine and will be honest about my lack of equipment and skill in the area.

Those are some very nice pictures, I'm hungry now :D
 
EGuitarStar said:
Thanks for the feedback @Raymond Lin and @StoutMeister and @mattyg for letting me tag onto your thread.

My field of work and profession is the IT sector. I used to work for this restaurant and maintain their IT infrastructure and did a bit of marketing for them too but left the post in February as I had commitments elsewhere and I knew they were struggling a bit financially as well.

I've assisted other photographers in the past for free so that I could learn a thing or two from them. Photography is a hobby of mine, and they know this and that is why they have asked me but I've never done any professional job in the field.

I still have not agreed and I still feel that they should use a photographer and get the job done properly but funds are very tight for them.

I won't be out of pocket in any way and though I wouldn't technically get paid, I do visit the restaurant from time to time so would make my money that way. I'll speak to the director, he is a very close friend of mine and will be honest about my lack of equipment and skill in the area.

Those are some very nice pictures, I'm hungry now :D
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Cool beans EGS! Enjoy! ;)
 
So my first ever "paid" shoot ;)

Here are some of the JPEGS straight out from my 16MP Micro Four Thirds Panasonic GX80 Camera with the Leica 12-60 f2.8-f4 and the the cheapo 25mm Panasonic Prime.

Lightning wise I used some constant lighting and 2 x Godox TT350o flashes.

P1100803 by Shahan, on Flickr

P1100674 by Shahan, on Flickr

P1100899 by Shahan, on Flickr

P1100790 by Shahan, on Flickr

P1100901 by Shahan, on Flickr
 
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