Well, since I seem to be so behind these days getting blog posts up (not to mention commenting on all of the absolutely incredible egg photos that came in this month), I thought I’d just pop in to give some link love to Kathy Casey’s blog. Kathy Casey is a Northwest chef who has more than a few cookbooks under her belt. Her latest, Sips & Apps, is currently being shot right here in Seattle. Kathy has given a little peak(and hopefully more to come) at the shoot.

One day, if I’m really, really good, I might have a room 1/100th of this…

Fun camera… but not what I actually do my work with…

Wow. It seems like I just posted my Guide to Food Photography gear… but it’s been almost a year, and I have realized a good chunk of my equipment has changed during that time. Since the number one question I get from readers is what gear do you use, I thought I’d give you a new peak into the studio & camera bags.
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If you are interested in improving your off-camera flash lighting skills, Strobist is kicking off a new round of lighting assignments geared toward teaching people the basics. Lighting 102 kicks off on June 4th, and I’m thinking about playing along this time. Most of what I do is natural and continuous light, and my flash skills are sorely lacking. First step is the gear… and Midwest Photo has put together several great low-cost options of the Strobist lighting kits. If you are thinking about going through Lighting 102 (or looking back at the Lighting 101 archive), you might check out the kits soon, before they start to run out.

One of my early posts on Still Life With walked through my workflow of taking food shots in my studio (ie, my kitchen). Well, I recently realized how much a seemingly small change has made to my overall workflow. That change was starting to shoot tethered to my laptop, and it’s had numerous impacts on the steps I follow.

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It must be the holidays! I’m getting tons of requests for lighting and camera recommendations, so I thought perhaps I should do a little post on my gear and photo-centric wish list. (plus, I just updated my Amazon Shop, which includes most of this stuff… I’ll keep it updated with my latest finds.)

Camera

I’m still shooting with a Canon EOS 20D for most of my shots. I love this camera… it’s a great size and produces beautiful shots. Of course, the Canon EOS 5D is on my wishlist… but I think it’s still many months off.

In the studio, I shoot with one of three lenses almost exclusively: the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro, the 50mm f1.4 and the 45mm f/2.8 Tilt Shift Before I got the tilt-shift, I used the 50mm quite frequently… but it’s so close to the 45mm, that I rarely use in the studio anymore. 75% of my shots are now with the 45 T/S. It is an amazing lens.

Outside of the studio is a different story. For shooting on location with minimal gear, the 50mm 1.4 is a must have. Nothing else handles low light like this lens (ok, the 1.2 version would, but can anyone afford it?). I also love to take the 24-105mm f/4L, which is a great lens for well-lit shots and gives a bit more flexibility for framing. Just the little bit of zoom handles most of the shots I want to take. If I’m up for bringing a 3rd lens with me, then it’s the 200mm f/2.8L , which is my favorite telephoto lens… cheaper than the 70-200 2.8 and a bit crisper.

I also have some accessories. My favorite is the Canon EP-EX15 Eyepiece Extender, which lets me look through the view finder without always smudging up the display on the camera. Such a simple little thing, yet it makes me so happy.

I also love my Remote Switch, which lets me take photos on slow shutter speed without having to mess around with the timer. Of course, I’m sure I’d also like the Wireless Radio Remote too.

Lighting

A good portion of my lighting is free, or nearly so. Big windows and french doors that face south and west. I’ve covered the southern windows with a frosted vellum that is available at art supply stores by the roll. That, and a few big sheets of styrofoam board are my lighting solution for about 75-80% of my photos.

When I don’t have enough light, I use the Lowel Tota system, which is a reasonably priced start into studio lighting. The Tota-Pak includes a 750W tungsten halogen lamp with bulb, a stand and an umbrella is regularly $280, but I just noticed that it is on sale for $194 on Amazon right now. The V-Light Pak, which is 500W is on sale as well for about $5 less. I haven’t used them yet, but I recently got the Tota-frame and Assorted Lighting Gel Set for the Tota-lamps as well.

I also have a very small fresnel light by Mole-Richardson that I use only for special cases that I need just a little bit of extra light in one spot. It’s fairly dramatic lighting, esp with all the accessories you can put on it.

Props & Accessories

My tripod is a set of Manfrotto legs and a Really Right Stuff ball head. This is a heavy duty studio tripod… the kind of thing you wouldn’t want to throw into a backpack and take with you, but excellent in the studio. I also have a great arm that clamps onto my tripod for holding onto miscellaneous gear like reflective discs.

White dishes are my most frequently used, but I have quite a few solid color things as well. And some dishes with Asian prints. But, if you are just starting out, make sure you have a good variety of white plates and bowls, and some simple flatware. Forks appear most frequently in my shots, quickly followed by spoons. I tend to use the smaller flatware more frequently, but I also have a couple of interesting serving tools, like a copper ladle and coffee scoop.

For backdrops, head to your local fabric store. You can get some good deals on cloth paying by the yard. Who cares if the edges aren’t finished when they don’t show up in the photo. Also, hand-made paper found at arts supply stores or card stores makes for some really nice backdrops, esp when you have a working sweep.

For a more finished look, I also have a fairly wide selection of towels and linen napkins that can be folded and placed under or around dishes. I prefer simple patterns and solids, in fairly light colors for these… but I do have the occasional piece that is quite bright and playful. I find most of my linens in the sales racks.

For styling your food, a good set of tools to have on hand are a pair of chopsticks (for pushing, poking or picking things up), tweezers, a pair of manicure scissors, some cotton swabs, a spray bottle (with water) and plenty of paper towels. Joe Glo wipes are also really good for little clean-ups.

Software

I reference Photoshop CS2 for most of the articles on Still Life With. It’s really, really expensive but it’s also just about the only tool that you can use to do advanced editing. If you don’t need advanced editing, just go with Photoshop Elements. If you outgrow it, Adobe is generally pretty good with giving upgrade discounts. Or, if you are really just getting started, you can always go with iPhoto on the Mac or Picasa on the PC without any outlay of cash.

My newest software necessity is Phase One’s Capture One Pro. It’s a raw workflow tool that lets me shoot tethered to my Mac. I have a long USB cable that connects my camera to my Mac, and as soon as I take the photo, it’s on my laptop and I can see it full res to make sure that I’m getting what I wanted. It’s completely changed the way that I shoot and edit, and I couldn’t be happier about it. But, it was a serious expense. Unless you are going pro, there is no reason to pay that kind of money. That said, I’ll have more info on shooting tethered in an upcoming post.

BTW - I’ve been thrilled to get so many mails asking me my opinion on this stuff. I’m very happy to help… so if you have other questions, do feel free to shoot them my way!

Technorati Tags: camera gear, Food, Food Styling, Photography, shopping

One common technique for still life and product photography is floating the subject on a background, usually a single color and often white or black. These images are then easily placed in catalogs or websites without having a whole square photo look. They seem to simply float on the page. (Somewhat ironically, my floating photo here doesn’t float, since my background isn’t white!)
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One of the simplest ways to improve your food photography is by controlling the lighting with a reflective surface called a bounce. A bounce can be any white, silver or gold material that reflects light. While the effects may be tricky to see on first glance, they will make a big difference in the overall look of your photos especially when you are using limited natural light that is coming in through a kitchen or dining room window. You can use a bounce in a number of ways.. to subtly lighten shadows, to bring out detail in a dark part of your subject, or even to control reflections. The key is understanding which type of bounce to use and where to put it.

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How do you make cold drinks look appealing? You need some condensation. And not just any condensation… condensation that holds up long enough to get your shots in.

Typically, food stylists use a mixture of glycerin and water, carefully sprayed on, to make gorgeous little beads of water. But, I don’t typically keep bottles of glycerin around in my kitchen and I certainly don’t want to drink out of a glycerin coated glass.

To stick with more common, real food, you’ll give up some flexibility in shooting as well as the look of perfectly formed droplets. But, since I strongly prefer natural food styling, I started experimenting with ways to get the best looking condensation the old fashioned way - water and a temperature change. Continue reading →

Studio lighting is a science as well as an art. After picking up several books on the subject, I’m starting to get used to some of the terms like bounce and snoot… but I’ve still got a long way to go, there is so much to take in.

Let’s start with the somewhat obvious. Different light has different color characteristics. Anyone who’s worked in an office is certainly familiar with the blueish glow given off by florescent tube lighting. Or, you may have heard of $1 million dollar light, the term that movie studios use to describe the golden quality of light just before sunset (it’s called that because at the time the phrase was coined, it took about a million dollars to replicate the same quality). The lighting you use will have a dramatic effect on the color composition of your photos.
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