Food Photography

Has anyone done food photography? I have a 16 hour job starting tomorrow and Monday to shoot every menu item of a steak house chain for marketing and training. I have read everything I can find and I have done some product photography in the past but helpful hints are appreciated. I am planning to use my 105 macro on one body and my 50 1.8 on my second body.

I used to do some in the old days (1976). The secret weapon of choice was HUGE softbox almost on top of the food to get nice backlight reflections from the food. It has to look juicy. We also had some dry ice to fake the steam. Or, have 2 plates ready, fisrt one cold to setup focus and light and then the second one hot to get the steam showing. Dark background helps for this as well.

It's a lot of work. Will you be working with a chef or someone to setup the plates? Most of it is preparation.

Good luck!

Yes, the corporate marketing folks will be helping (or in the way) while I shoot. They want two different styles of shots for each dish, one for marketing advertiseing and billboards, the second for plate presentation standardization within their group. I'm gonna be tired, but it pays very well. I also have a wedding this week, when it rains it pours.

The great thing about digital photography is that you will be able to show them the results right away. Polaroids used to be the way to do this but they were not the quality of real 4x5 or 8x10 film. Just make sure they approve of your shots as you go along and you'll be fine. If this is a large corporation, you probably have had a chance to see their previous ads to judge on the light used so you can produce something similar (read to their liking).

Also, be on the lookout for details. A little tiny detail can make or break a food shot. Take your time and you'll save time.

Have fun.

I hope you'll share some shots with us if they allow you to.

Marcel said:

I used to do some in the old days (1976). The secret weapon of choice was HUGE softbox almost on top of the food to get nice backlight reflections from the food. It has to look juicy. We also had some dry ice to fake the steam. Or, have 2 plates ready, fisrt one cold to setup focus and light and then the second one hot to get the steam showing. Dark background helps for this as well.

It's a lot of work. Will you be working with a chef or someone to setup the plates? Most of it is preparation.


Good luck!

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I have read incense works for fake steam, also cotton balls soaked in water and then microwave the daylights out of them and they will steam for a while. Vegetable
oil and a paint brush. Scotch guard to keep things from soaking in, and never eat anything from a photo shoot.

Also make sure you have a sprayer with glycerin and water to make nice water droplets on salads and cold veggies. I can't remember if we did use straight glycerin or if it was mixed with water even if they don't mix… Time to experiment (before the shoot).