Newbie Camera Help
 

Hey guys,

I'm helping my uncle start a new restaurant and I took on the role of making the menu. I'm thinking of buying the Canon T1i with the stock 18-55mm lens to take pictures of the food. Is the T1i with the stock lens a sufficient weapon of choice for this job? I'm assuming it will be more than enough for this role, but wanted your inputs. Macros is probably the only setting I'll be messing with. Any advice or suggestions? Thanks in advance.

Tim

i would recommend finding a lens that is a macro lens no matter what camera you get. the T1i will do the job fine. the pro's use a lot of fancy lighting to strobe food while shooting the pictures you see on a menu at your local big chain restaurant. you can substitute using a lot of lighting like desk lamps and such. also, get a decent tripod (expect to spend 100-200 bucks for a good one, manfrotto brand if you can find one) and put that camera on the tripod and the food on a table that you've lit really well. use manual focus instead of relying on the autofocus and shoot at as low an ISO as you can get away with (if you are on tripod, ISO 50 or 100, whatever the lowest is) and shoot f/11 or higher for a large depth of field. when shooting macro your depth of field gets really small so shooting a higher f-stop will let you show more of the food and still get some nice background bokeh.

also, until you start taking these pictures, pay attention when you go to other restaurants and try to figure out how they shot the pictures and see if you can duplicate the look. also don't discount setting up a scene to put the food in. olive garden especially is good at this by putting the dishes on various backgrounds/tables instead of just showing them on a stark white background or a gingham tablecloth like the local restaurants will

Thanks for your advice man.

anytime! just trying to help :tup:

Patrick.... You are giving me some photography lessons when I come up there where you like it or not. :tup:

always willing to help, i wouldn't know what i know now if i didn't have help along the way :tiphat:

That camera kit is can handle the job ok, but to get really good images, you need to know how to light it properly. Diffused light is key. I would also buy a remote trigger. Don't use the pop-up flash,period! A macro lens is good if you want to shoot a single grape or tomato, but you will have to dial down the aperture to a higher f-stop to get everything in focus. A good telephoto lens would do a better job for product photography IMO.

If your new to photography, I would suggest some light reading. A while ago I bought Scott Kelby's "The Digital Photography Book, Vol.3" which has a chapter on product lighting. His other volumes are worth the read for some insights into the basics. Your local library will probably have it if you don't want to spend the cash.

StormFront pretty much told ya everything. While a macro lens would be ideal, my friend has used a 50mm f/1.4 lens with much success in taking food photos in natural light. Its pretty much essential that you get a good tripod however, because if you go with natural lighting (which i would do if you dont have the proper lighting/strobe setup- avoid the pop-up flash that came with the camera!), steady-handing those shots is really tough. With the right framing of the photo, tripod, and a little experimenting with the shooting, you should be able get some good shots.

I've done product you can check my website Clint Earhart Fashion Photographer > latest news thats one of my shots I've done (Grey Goose). However, I like using primes for DETAIL, they are sharper, quicker, and better color in my opinion. I would suggest 50mm 1.2 (if you had the money or the 100mm 2.8 L lens. Best in my opinon, but you have to becareful of the magnification issue.

ALSO LIGHTING IS ESSENTIAL!

IF you odnt have lighting buy my Profoto D1 250 strobes from me!

But you need good lighting, show texture side light it. Bump your (K) temperature up from 6000k (Flash) to a littler warmer to add a "Warm" feeling to the meal, I always like food shots that are warm and inviting.

Lighting is essentially the key shot to getting your food great, selective focus try to knock the unimportant food from the dish out just a little bit, work with PRESENTATION. '

Hopefully that helps!

- Clint

Lots of great advice in here.

I agree on fixed focal length or prime lenses. You should look at the 50f.4 as it is a great lens optically. Do take advantage of it's shallow depth of field.
All who say lighting is the key are 100% spot on! I too know my way around a studio.

Images

Have a look at some food magazines. There are lots of excellent images including natural light images. If you use a tripod and utilize a large, north facing window you have a perfect lighting source. Put the subject near the window (back light the subject) and use a crumpled foil reflector to bounce some light into the shadows ( crumple aluminum foil then flatten it out and tape it to a small piece of cardboard and place it so it bounces light towards the front of the subject). Camera should be on a good tripod shooting down on the subject,.