8 Essential Equipment Purchases for the Aspiring Food Photographer
You’ve discovered an interest in food photography. Maybe, you’re an amateur chef, a foodie or a photographer that likes close-up work. Whether your interest goes no further than a serious photography hobby or compels you to consider a career in food photography, you’ll need some essential pieces of equipment to start the learning process and to work as a professional.
1. Obviously, you must have a camera. The brand name is not quite as important as how it feels in your hands and how naturally you can reach the controls and buttons. Since this can be a hefty investment, consider renting a different camera during various weekends before you choose one to buy.
Read real customer reviews of the Nikon 105 mm f/2.8G IF-ED here.
Professional quality work requires a professional-grade camera. This is especially true for food photography because detail capture, contrast, fine focus and accurate color is what photo editors demand.
2. A mistake that many amateurs make is to buy the best camera body they can afford. Actually, the lens is a bit more important than the camera, so always buy the best lens you can afford. A macro lens is the primary tool of the professional food photographer.
The major brand names come to mind; and Nikon and Canon manufacture excellent macro lens. The Nikon AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED is priced at $899.00 from B&H Photo Video. The Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM is available from B&H Photo Video for $996.00; however, the price is reduced $110 through 1/7/12 to just $886.00.
These Nikon and Canon lenses are built with the image stabilization technology and virtually silent focusing motors that are a must for professional food photographers.
Close-up filters that attach to the front of a lens are not substitutes for an excellent macro lens. The filters simply can’t reproduce the same sharpness, color accuracy and other image qualities that food photos must have if you expect to sell them or make food photography your career.
3. Despite the exceptional image stabilization technology in a good macro lens, a sturdy, food photography-specific tripod is also essential. It’s important to choose a tripod that can be set at a lower minimum height than many standard tripods. Many food shots are enhanced when the camera can be positioned at the common table height of 30 inches.
An example is the “Brian” Tripod from 3 Legged Thing. It’s a carbon fiber tripod that is a compact, light and very stable camera platform, capable of supporting 17.6 lbs. (8Kg). The Brian tripod is extremely versatile, as it has a wide range of operating heights, from a minimum of 14.1 inches (360mm) to a maximum of 6.25 feet (1.9m). It retails for as low as $320.
4. You’ll need a set of reflectors, or reflective material, to enhance the lighting of food photos. Since you’ll be shooting tabletop or even closer shots, full-size studio reflectors can be useful, but a more effective alternative is Photoflex’s LiteDiscs. They are available in translucent, white/gold, white/silver, silver/black and other combinations in small hand-held sizes, ideal for food.
5. ExpoImaging’s Rogue Flashbenders are also nifty, little reflectors that attach to external flash units and can be bent to help you control light better. The large positional reflector is 10” x 11” (254mm x 280mm), the small positional reflector is 10” x 7” (254mm x 178mm) and the bounce card/flag is 5” x 9” (127mm x 228mm). With the moveable rods in each Flashbender, you can bend and shape the Flashbenders in virtually an unlimited number of positions. You can also use the large positional reflector as a snoot to project a tight, narrow circle of light.
Read more in the PhotographyTalk.com article, 10 Reasons You’ll Bend Over Backwards for the Rogue Flashbenders.
6. Food photography typically requires that you are constantly checking your images and re-shooting many of them. You’ll find that this is much easier if you shoot with your camera connected to a laptop, so you can view your images on its bigger screen instead of the smaller LCD on your camera.
7. Any professional food photographer will tell you that a white balance filter is near the top of the list of must-have equipment. The colors in food photos must be very accurate; and, since available light is often a light source, its subtle variations are unlikely to match with a camera’s white-balance presets.
An excellent white-balance filter is the ExpoDisc from ExpoImaging. The ExpoDisc is temporarily attached to the front of the lens with quick pressure-release friction mounts in various sizes. Then, as the incident light enters the lens, you set your camera’s custom white balance.
Learn more about the ExpoDisc in the PhotographyTalk.com article, Photography Equipment Review—The ExpoDisc Professional Digital White Balance Filter.
8. Of course, you don’t want to rely on available light for all your food photography, so a set of strobes or constant-light fixtures are also essential tools. A two- to three-light kit will provide all the light you should ever need. Being able to modify the light is also important, so add a Rogue Grid to your lighting kit.
The Rogue Grid kit includes two grid sections and a round bezel to secure them, so you can use them separately or together. One grid creates a 25º beam, the other a 45º beam. Stack one on top of the other, and with the spaces between the grid patterns aligned identically, you then have a third grid that casts a narrow 16º beam.
Read the PhotographyTalk.com article, 10 On-the-Go Features of the Rogue Grid Flash Modifier, for more information.
You may also want to consider acquiring the Strobies Portrait Kit. This is a clever lighting concept from Interfit Photographic, Ltd. The company has reduced the size of typical studio flash equipment, such as a softbox or umbrella, so they fit many of the popular brands and sizes of flash units. The Strobies Portrait Kit includes 1 beauty dish, 1 globe diffuser, 1 white softbox, 1 barndoor set, 1 snoot and 1 honeycomb.
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