Photographing Food

[Tracon]

Hello again! I need help shooting food! Last week I told my boss, the head chef of the restaurant I work at, that I purchased new equipment and I wanted to take photos for the website. Today he came up to me and said he spoke with the owner and Friday he wants to bring me in for a few hours before service so we can make some food and I can photograph it.

Now, being a restaurant, the lighting isn't great. During service we dim the dining room lights which provides a beautiful orange glow to the food which accents well with the wood booths and the wood paneling on the walls. The only problem is I don't have a tripod or an external flash. We could turn up the lights during the day when I plan to shoot to help aid that situation, but I'm afraid the bright overhead lighting wont bring out the textures and the "feel" of the dishes.

I plan to shoot the dishes using my 50D and 24-70 f/2.8L. So I guess my real question(s) is/are: Do you have any tips for me on Friday? If any of you have ANY experience shooting food please help! I plan on using Av mode at around F/8 or so. I really want to isolate the food while producing a nice bokeh in the background. I don't know what I'm talking about. I am afraid I won't get a second shoot for this so it needs to be right the first time. These are people that I need to impress

Below is the link to the website so you can develop a feel for the ambiance.

Friday is real close guys, so if you have any advice I could use it now. I have never done this type of work before.

501 City Grill: http://www.five01citygrill.com/ordereze/Gallery/1/Photos.aspx

Please help!

[canonloader]

Av Mode is for birds. Shoot Manual. Find a bar stool or use the back of a chair to brace the camera. Or, buy or borrow a cheap tripod and use mirror lockup and a remote, or the timer. Do some tests with the onboard flash, put a couple folds of toilet paper over the light to diffuse it, or a piece of a milk carton. Since you work there, go in early and do some test shots. You can also stop at Walmart or an art store and buy two or three foamcore boards to use as light reflectors. Take a roll of masking tape to use to make them stand up. Get creative.

You really do need a tripod for this though.

Also, post the link to this thread in the main still life forum, even in that food thread where more people will see it. People rarely come into this talk thread.

[Tracon]

Thanks for the advice, Mitch. I was a bit quick posting to the still life thread, but I re-posted in the general talk board which seems to be getting more attention. That is here: http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=821094

Thanks again for the words. One of the girls I work with has a tripod I will use for the shoot. Tomorrow is my day off so I plan on going in early and practicing while the crew preps for that evening.

[canonloader]

I meant to post in this thread (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=597142), in the main Still life forum. A lot of food photographers there. If you have not read it, you should now. ;)

[nebula_42]

When I shoot food, I use off-camera light to create depth and texture in the food. I use two 580EX's - one on camera and the slave at about 70-80* to the side on a stand. Turn off all ambient lighting if you can. Camera should be on a tripod and shoot with small enough aperture to get the whole plate in focus.

[JayJay]

Av Mode is for birds. .

why is that? I'm not sure I understand. I use Av mode for lots of shots, especially controlling depth of field. I never shoot birds!

[canonloader]

Av is for birds, cause they move. Fast changing light conditions, like when shooting birds, or anything that moves fast, Av is ideal. But, if you take my comment in context, as it should be, then Manual Mode is better for things that don't move, like a plate of food. You could still use Av Mode for food, but why leave shutter speed up to a chip in the camera? 99% of the time, you are going to still rely on the onboard light meter to tell you what combination of shutter speeds, aperture, ISO and so on, to set, but at least in Manual, you are cutting out one more pre-programmed chip in the loop.

[JayJay]

many thanks canonloader, that's helping me move up a notch :-)

[Vascilli]

Is the light changing? No? Use Manual.

That's my thought process.