Let's Talk BBQ
Tips, Tricks & Just Good Advice! => Good to Know! - A collection of How-To's & Sage Advice => Photography and Food! => Topic started by: RickB on June 18, 2013, 08:13:56 PM
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Ok I will admit I am photography virgin. So with that being said I need a little advice. I am just starting out with a DSLR and I would like advice at this point for food photography. The problem I always had with point and shoots was depth of field. All my close ups had tunnel vision so to speak. With PAS cameras you could usually only change one or two of the main parameters in photography. Those being shutter speed, f-stop and ISO. This is what I know.
Shutter Speed. The longer the the shutter is open the more light to the picture. Down side is the longer the shutter is open the more possibility of blur.
F-Stop. The larger the F-Stop the greater the depth of field. Down side the larger the F-Stop the more light required.
ISO. The lower the ISO the sharper the image. The down side, the lower the ISO the more light required.
Seems it’s all about light. With that being said I tried a few pics at the extremes with a tripod. While the result was perfect, the need of a tripod was limiting. I took this pic with a ISO of 200, F-stop of 22 and a 30 second shutter speed. Great DOF which is what I am looking for. Need some advice for hand held pics. Thanks
(http://i1361.photobucket.com/albums/r662/RickB23/IMG_0159_zps24ec1954.jpg)
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Point and shoot does enough for me, but I am sure Dee will be along shortly to give you instructions on the finer points of food photography.
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I'm sorry that I'm too busy right now to give professional advice on something this simple. I'll leave it to the less talented to help Rick. :) Dee
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If Mr. Rick speaks I am sticking around to find out the answer ;D
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I'm sorry that I'm too busy right now to give professional advice on something this simple. I'll leave it to the less talented to help Rick. :) Dee
Come on Dee I told ya I dont know sqwat. Give me a break. :D We all know you are the Yoda of photography around here!
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Rick you have the right idea on the camera settings and that is a beautiful shot. When I shoot my food photos I don't use a tripod and I want to shoot fast so I can eat the food while it's hot. I shoot all of mine in the macro (close up) mode. This gives me a fast shutter speed and a lower fstop for a shallow DOF. Food on a plate to me does not need a deep DOF. In macro mode the camera decides the settings, it is better than I am at it. The fast shutter speed lets you shoot hand held with good results.
I usually shoot at least 3 photos sometimes changing the shooting angle some. Then I pick the best of the 3.
I do some post processing of all my photos in Photoshop Elements, a cheap version of Photoshop. I do a lighting levels adjustment and an unsharp mask. Your camera will be better than mine and might not need the post processing.
Below is a shot I just did, shot in macro mode, and the camera chose ISO 200, exposer time 1/60 second, at f8.
Original out of the camera
(http://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a474/deains/Traeger%20Food%202013/_6189185_1_zps3b7da224.jpg)
After a levels adjustment and an unsharp mask
(http://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a474/deains/Traeger%20Food%202013/_6189185_zps990805c9.jpg)
Hope this helps, Don
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Rick, what lens are you shooting with?
I guessing you're shooting in the 100mm range...
When you go with a longer focal range, your depth of field is going to decrease, and you're really going to see a point of diminishing returns above f14
So when you say you want greater depth of field, are you saying you want all the food to be in focus?
You will need a wider angle lens for this to happen.
Help me figure out where you want to be and I'll get you there!
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Rick, what lens are you shooting with?
I guessing you're shooting in the 100mm range...
When you go with a longer focal range, your depth of field is going to decrease, and you're really going to see a point of diminishing returns above f14
So when you say you want greater depth of field, are you saying you want all the food to be in focus?
You will need a wider angle lens for this to happen.
Help me figure out where you want to be and I'll get you there!
The Canon SL1 came with a 18-55 and a 55-250. The wife wanted a smaller lense so I bought a 40mm pancake. All are auto focus and image stabilized. The pics were taken with the 18-55.hope this helps.
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Rick you have the right idea on the camera settings and that is a beautiful shot. When I shoot my food photos I don't use a tripod and I want to shoot fast so I can eat the food while it's hot. I shoot all of mine in the macro (close up) mode. This gives me a fast shutter speed and a lower fstop for a shallow DOF. Food on a plate to me does not need a deep DOF. In macro mode the camera decides the settings, it is better than I am at it. The fast shutter speed lets you shoot hand held with good results.
I usually shoot at least 3 photos sometimes changing the shooting angle some. Then I pick the best of the 3.
I do some post processing of all my photos in Photoshop Elements, a cheap version of Photoshop. I do a lighting levels adjustment and an unsharp mask. Your camera will be better than mine and might not need the post processing.
Below is a shot I just did, shot in macro mode, and the camera chose ISO 200, exposer time 1/60 second, at f8.
Original out of the camera
(http://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a474/deains/Traeger%20Food%202013/_6189185_1_zps3b7da224.jpg)
After a levels adjustment and an unsharp mask
(http://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a474/deains/Traeger%20Food%202013/_6189185_zps990805c9.jpg)
Hope this helps, Don
Thanks Don I will try those settings.