Studio Photography Insights: dealing with food photography

By Alex Koloskov posted on

May 31st, 2012 |

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This week assignment was a food shot. Enjoy the video and the submitted assignments gallery.

Weekly Studio Assignment Results

chris-kryzanek_chili-cheese-dogs-img_3387e2

Studio Photography Insights Video:

Lighting setups and behind the shot info is on the corresponded forum thread: The food shot.

We’ve changed the format of the assignments to be every other week to allow discussion of other topics relating to the business of photography and equipment. With this change, it will give you more time to think about your shot, shoot it and polish before submitting it to the forum.

The next week assignment is:

A hand tool shot.

Hand tools can range from small little screw drivers to larger circular saws but still be able to be hand held.
Your shots want to be as creative, interesting and nice as possible. When finalizing your shots, think of as much details as possible to get the best image you can. The shot not only needs to be positioned and lighted properly, but it also needs post production in an application such as Photoshop to clean it.
Imagine this assignment is for a tool company or home improvement store that needs a photo taken to place a full page advertisement in a popular magazine. The photo should not only clearly display the product but make the reader of the magazine ‘need’ the tool they’re viewing.

We are actually are going to change the critique session a little next time: I’ll pickup only images where I see that photographers did their best to get the desired result. The shot does not need to be perfect as we are going to help you improve upon it, but we need to see a good amount of effort put into the images you submit.
Do you only have one light? Don’t let that hold you back;use multiple exposures and overlay them in post production, and you’ll get a multiple light sources shot. Don’t worry about having expensive equipment. Many great shots can be made from using materials that you may have around the house. Idea like using white bed sheets for diffusion panels, aluminum foil for reflectors or using cardboard to make many different light modifiers like snoots are great ways to save money and get great results.

Think creatively; try to stay away from a plain product shot. Push your boundaries if your able to.

Don’t forget about post production: clean scratches and dirt off the subject: unless it is a brand new item, there will be tons of blemishes on the shot that should be removed. Clean it before submitting.
If you feel like it will be too much effort, think about this: the idea behind our weekly assignments is to help photographers to establish themselves as successful studio product shooters, to build an outstanding portfolio. Things like this do not come in one click: you need to be passionate about what you are doing and put a lot of effort into each shot to make sure it is the best you can do…. or even better

Submit your work here: Hand Tool shot sub-forum.

Next week we’ll have a discussion about pricing, licensing and other photography business-related questions with hi-end established photographers like Bill Cahill, Dave Cox and others. Watch announcements on our G+ page: #StudioPhotographyInsights

Wish you good shooting!

P.S Thank you to Noah Katz for helping with this article.