Food Photography - Tips Needed

[Yi-P]

A friend of mine operates a small food-court restaurant (Asian food). She wants to have her menu updated and asks me to do the photos. She is also willing to pay me for the photos taken in this...

I have not done any sort of food photography before, only a little bit of product photography before, I want to get some advise here...

Couple of questions to start off with:

- Should I be using softbox(es), umbrellas or a light tent?
- How should I do the shoot? I don't think I can take the food home and shoot because they all going to be cold and look very unappetizing.
- On-location shoot? How should I set this up, because it is a food-court restaurant and the space they have is only kitchen and the tables, sitting area is public space. Not sure if I am allowed to set up a mini-studio there...
- Should I be setting up proper 'themes' and background or just shoot 'food-on-white'?
- How much should I charge? A package for the whole shoot or per photo on delivery? I assume they want to have their menu updated and the 'big' menu up there on the lightbox.

Any tips or past experience will be much appreciated.

[big pix]

here are some samples with one studio flash bounced off the 9 foot high ceiling with a reflector in front........ food on the table prepared by the chef , photographed and eaten





these shots were done in my home, shot with a D70s 105 macro from memory f16.......

[firsty]

see if you can use the food court after hours when all the public have gone home, that way you won't be rushed and you can have a party eating all the food as the next dish is prepared

[big pix]

if shooting in the food court use a large sheet of white foam board about 1 1/2 meters above the food and bounce your flash off this, along with a white reflector lower for some fill.........

[Geoff]

see if you can use the food court after hours when all the public have gone home, that way you won't be rushed and you can have a party eating all the food as the next dish is prepared

Excellent suggestion Keith!

[Kyle]

Might want to let the food cool a bit also, the heat waves might show up in your photos.

I have nothing else to add

[MSF]

If they are small enough dishes, I just use the light tent, and set up on a small table off to the side out of the way.

As was mentioned, try to get there before/after they open/close and you will have less pressure and more time to be comfortable ( and less people watching on and asking questions and generally distracting you..

here are some from a while ago I did...

I used black as their website was black themed.

http://www.motorsportfotos.com/Favela/

[sirhc55]

Remember not to eat the food before the shoot

[Grev]

Remember not to eat the food before the shoot

Seriously, best tip ever. For myself, I can never stop myself from eating pre-cooked stuff like muffin mix and cookie dough. Not to mention raw egg, raw onion, blue steak... etc.

[wazonthehill2]

Go for crystal clear shots and grab the colour, you do not want it to look flat.

Regards
Waz

[who]

While I have never done this -- consider buying some nice plates / platters / bowls that all match to suit the type of Asian food.

Bit hard to place a soup on a plate..... and photographed in the plastic take-away containers is a bit cheap.....

[Bindii]

Food always looks best on white .. it makes the colours stand out and there are no distractions.. discuss with the clients what they would prefer (and cross your fingers that they want it on white)... its also important that its fresh. if its not it will show in the shots...

Try practising at home with your own meals with different lights and angles etc so that you at least have an idea as to what will work and won't on the day...

Try to do it after hours... but remember that then the chef will also have to be willing to be there cooking as you need it..

lights are great if you have them but as its a large area (food court) there should be plenty of available natural light to get by on.. and its easy enough to set up a white backdrop behind the table that you are shooting on... (even a large peice of white cardboard will suffice if you don't have a backdrop..

How you charge is up to you.. personally I would be offering a package with 'x' amount of shots and extra's can be purchased if they so wish... if you do that then be sure to try and grab some 'detail' shots of their products (even stuff like condiments etc) as they can be used on their menu's etc to pretty it up.... you might make a few extra $'s out of it that way...

Good luck.. looking forward to seeing the results..

[Yi-P]

Big thank you to everyone who contributed to this discussion!!

I'm trying to get in contact with the client, but they seem to be on a family holiday trip since its the only time they can get a break... I will get back to this once I get some updates

[Yi-P]

An update to the situation:

I been to the restaurant today and talked to the owner. She is looking for about 10 shots (dishes) to put up on her display. The shots going to be taken inside the kitchen under very quiet hours (just after lunch).

The shots already up on her display has a blue textile backdrop. Some has a yellow-ish textile backdrop as well. She doesn't need anything fancy but let customers know what they are ordering.

To my concerns, she believes that photography job like this are easy and shouldn't be too much on the charge (as she believes that there is not much to be done). She's a very good friend of mine, so I don't want to be too harsh on this, as well as my first job in this area.

If these 10 new displays goes well, I might have a chance to redo/update her whole lightbox display photos. (Those big lightbox menu you see at food courts). But I'm not sure where to get those printed as well as the labelling printed out for lightbox displays.

The first 10 shots on display only need to be printed and laminated on about A4 size. Shouldn't be too hard I think.

Any thoughts?

[sirhc55]

Yip - if working for friends there are only two ways to go re charging. Charge exactly what you feel is right and if they don’t like the price, don’t do it! Secondly, do it for free

[MSF]

Yep, as sirhc55 said...

Don't sell yourself too short if you are going to charge her - otherwise you set a benchmark with her and she may expect really cheap photography for ever.
The alternative - as suggested - is to do this first shoot for free (or a contra deal on meals etc), but make it clear that if she wants more work done later - then expect to pay around (insert $$$ figure here).

No doubt your price will be heaps cheaper than any alternative professional photographer, so suggest that she rings around FIRST for quotes, she will see that you are offering her great value for money..

[Yi-P]

Yip - if working for friends there are only two ways to go re charging. Charge exactly what you feel is right and if they don’t like the price, don’t do it! Secondly, do it for free

The alternative - as suggested - is to do this first shoot for free (or a contra deal on meals etc), but make it clear that if she wants more work done later - then expect to pay around (insert $$$ figure here).

The feeling I get is that unless I do a bloody good job on the first set, that is better than the ones she have on her lightbox display. I won't get the chance on the second offer to update her display.

I think I'll start off with the first one on charging the cost involved from my side (travel, gears, background, prints etc) then add up a little margin for my time. So as to snatch the second offer to charge a higher value.

[Matt. K]

Yi-P
Food photography is a very specialised area of photography and quite difficult to do at a professional level. Tricks include the use of oils for a glazed look, dry ice for steam and a million other little fixes and cures to make the food look inviting. I would do some research on the internet or get some books on the subject if you want to produce gob-smacking results. Nothing is what it appears to be in food photography.

[Yi-P]

Yi-P
Food photography is a very specialised area of photography and quite difficult to do at a professional level. Tricks include the use of oils for a glazed look, dry ice for steam and a million other little fixes and cures to make the food look inviting. I would do some research on the internet or get some books on the subject if you want to produce gob-smacking results. Nothing is what it appears to be in food photography.

Thanks for the tips Matt,

I've been looking around the internet for resources regarding this. But from the results shown around the food court of that area, the photo quality of those on display are much considered 'snapshots' if looking from a professional point of view. But nonetheless, I will research some of the lighting needs and background placements and angles of photos on the net, maybe some books around as well.

Matt, would you recommend that food be taken into a light-cube/tent for this or just use a normal umbrella or softbox?

[MSF]

If you can arrange to do it on a weekend, - Then I would be happy to bring my light tent for you to borrow if you don't have one...

[sirhc55]

Yip - if working for friends there are only two ways to go re charging. Charge exactly what you feel is right and if they don’t like the price, don’t do it! Secondly, do it for free

The alternative - as suggested - is to do this first shoot for free (or a contra deal on meals etc), but make it clear that if she wants more work done later - then expect to pay around (insert $$$ figure here).

The feeling I get is that unless I do a bloody good job on the first set, that is better than the ones she have on her lightbox display. I won't get the chance on the second offer to update her display.

I think I'll start off with the first one on charging the cost involved from my side (travel, gears, background, prints etc) then add up a little margin for my time. So as to snatch the second offer to charge a higher value.

Yip, just keep in mind that if you charge low on the first shoot and all goes well (i.e. excellent results) your client will NOT look to you upping the charge the next time around. Believe me, I talk from experience

[Mr Darcy]

The shots going to be taken inside the kitchen under very quiet hours (just after lunch).

Can't add to the photography tips, but If you are shooting in the kitchen, be wary of floating grease getting on your gear. The extractors should get most of it, but...

[Matt. K]

Yi-P
Depends on the subject. Softbox for most images should be OK. Oysters on black perspex....use lots of herbs and greens to jazz up the colours....cooked meat is a pain and should be more red than brown....vegies should be par boiled and then chilled in ice to hold the colours etc etc. Use dry ice to simulate steam or extreme cold. Brush anything that looks to dry with olive oil. The choice of dinnerware colour and shape is important. The use of garlic/onion and other plants can dress up a table. Get creative. Even a flower or 2 can jazz up a setting. Look at the overall dominant colour of the dish and add a touch of complimentary colour wherever possible. Cane baskets...dead chickens, hares, ducks, corn on the cob, whole snapper, lobsters etc are all classy props. Think..then drink...and if that does not work then drink then think!

[Yi-P]

Many great thanks to all contributed here. Your inputs and advises are much appreciated!

[radar]

Yip,

a photog friend of mine got this book:

Digital Food Photography by Lou Manna. The Amazon link is here.

Even if you don't want to buy it, you may be able to find it at a library or you can browse it at Borders/Dymocks/etc. I have browsed through the book a while ago and found that there were plenty of tips and tricks.

Cheers,

André

[PiroStitch]

Just found this video from another site. You might be interested in seeing his lighting.

Video

[Reschsmooth]

Just found this video from another site. You might be interested in seeing his lighting.

Sweet camera!

[Yi-P]

Just came back from the shoot, all went well and they were very happy with the shots.

Only thing is, my camera smells like chicken now...

Here are the shots I'm planning to deliver to the shop owner:





They were shot using my DIY sync with Poon's wireless remote. 3x Speedlight setup, camera on tripod, and just a little cropping and curves done in PP.

Once again, thank you all for the tips and support!!

[seeto.centric]

nice work! the choice of colours just seems to.. work!

enjoy nibbling on that curry/chicken flavoured strap

-j

[Alpha_7]

Great shots Yip, I did notice in the first set, one image is bigger then the rest (was that by accident ?)

[Yi-P]

Great shots Yip, I did notice in the first set, one image is bigger then the rest (was that by accident ?)

Oh, that was just a quick action from photoshop, I noticed that too, but its kinda late at night and being lazy. These won't be presented to the client just yet, but just showing whats being done.
Size difference is because some were cropped and I ran my own CS2 action resize to 15% original size and all the borders etc... so it has a little size difference...
I will definitely fix that up on my presentation to the client

enjoy nibbling on that curry/chicken flavoured strap

Hehehe, the smell is still there but not as strong as yesterday that filled up my room with curry chicken...