Custom setting for indoor food photograph/no flash?

[Veronica]

Hi there,

I am going to shoot some indoor restaurant food photos with my Canon G3 and was wondering if anyone could offer a good custom setting for this. I will be using my wide angle lens converter. The plate will fill the frame of each picture, if that helps......

[Vegas Poboy]

If you're not going to use flash I would at least try to use some window lighting.

[Veronica]

Normally, I do use available light. I was thinking about situations where there may not be any natural light available....Any ideas?

[Vegas Poboy]

Normally, I do use available light. I was thinking about situations where there may not be any natural light available....Any ideas?

The only other way that I know how is to go long exposures or standard quartz lighting, making sure you adjust the white balance.

[Cadenza]

If the place has large windows and
good light sources, you may be able
to get away with it if you set the G3
on a tripod.

Otherwise, you HAVE to use an external
flash in such a situation, not direct but
bouncing off the ceiling or walls. If the
walls and ceiling are dark or non-reflective,
try using some kind of reflector for the
flash. You can get very natural, soft
looking light for what you're trying to do.

The G3 powers are very limited indoors,
hard to get good results.

[CyberDyneSystems]

Or a mini tripod....

[Veronica]

Thanks. What external flash do you guys recommend for the G3? I don't want to spend a huge amount of money.....

[Cadenza]

If you want to save money, you could
pick up a used 380EX somewhere, for
less than $100; there are lots of them
around.

The newer 420EX is also an excellent
unit, but costs about $180. The main
advantage of the 420EX is that it swivels
and rotates both sideways and up and
down. The 380 EX only swivels up and
down, but otherwise recycles faster and
consumes less power -- my batteries
used to last forever on the 380EX. The
batteries get used up much faster on
the 420EX (still not bad, though).

Canon's 550EX may be a little bit of an
overkill for the G3, but worth a look if
you're planning to upgrade to DSLR system
in the future. I'm not familiar with third
party brands, but apparently there are
decent ones around which will work with
the G3.

For shooting stylized food on location,
you're essentially trying to emulate
controlled studio effects. Try using RAW
so that you'll have a better creative
latitude.

[aznkid.com]

if you're really on a budget, use window lighting..

try to use a reflector so the dishes don't have harsh shadows..if you don't want to spend money on that, i'm sure the kitchen has some tinfoil for you to use..or maybe bring a white bedsheet..good luck!

it is possible to buy a cheap flash that can bounce to the ceiling but beware of voltages on the flash..do a search on this and you'll find a website that tells you the voltages..

[Veronica]

Thanks everybody!