Application of natural light and artificial light in food photography

Lead: Do you have any experience in photographing food in restaurants? Shooting in a designated restaurant is one of the most common tasks for food photographers. The following example will share my shooting experience, using two different lighting environments to shoot food.

Shoot with natural light

When you come to a strange restaurant, what you expect most is a big window (as shown below). Such a window can provide you with the best lighting conditions. In this environment, window light is most suitable as the main light source.

In this shoot, I put the food in the backlight position and then reflected the light to the other side with a white foam board. Please note that there is a bright white spot coming from the window above the table.

Window light shooting effect

Many restaurants have wooden desktops, which can reflect light, and large-area window light can provide a large-area reflective area for the picture. If the window area is small, or the desktop material is different, the effect of picture light may be different. At this time, you can adjust the food position and shooting direction to achieve the best results. Generally speaking, the dining table is reflective.

Light distribution mode and shooting environment display

This is the easiest way to shoot. The whole miniature studio was built very quickly. If the shooting time is in the afternoon, it will not even affect the business of the restaurant at night. But this method doesn't always work? Well, let's look at another plan.

Shoot with artificial light

Not all restaurants have oversized French windows to provide bright light. In this shooting environment, you can find a wall on the left blocking the window light, while the window light in front is far from our shooting position. This is a dark corner of the restaurant, and shooting here needs the help of artificial light!

There are many kinds of artificial light, but I have a suggestion here: the smaller the light source, the better. Your shooting location is not in the photo studio, but in a restaurant with a relatively narrow environment. Restaurant waiters will walk around and work, and they will watch curiously. They are not familiar with photographic equipment, which may cause unnecessary harm. They are likely to trip over those large lighting devices. Photography in restaurants is always tense, so the sooner you build a studio, the sooner you shoot, the better. I usually use Canon's flashlight and soft umbrella as light source, which is convenient without external power supply.

Please note that the desktop in the picture below is dark wood color, not the white reflected light of the light source in the above example, because the area of the light source and my shooting angle are different from the above example. The light source is located in the upper right corner of the screen.

Artificial light shooting effect

You should pay attention to the reflected light from the light source on the right side of the desktop. If you push the food into the light source, the reflected light from the desktop will enter the picture.

Light distribution mode and shooting environment display

When shooting food in a restaurant, make sure you are ready to face the natural and artificial light environment. Soft umbrella is a good light changing tool, which suits me very well, but it is not the only choice. No matter what tools are used, it is best to keep a low profile and speed in the restaurant and try not to affect other people's work.