Highlights of light and structure strategy in food photography

All photos use natural light (sunlight), and there are no auxiliary light sources such as artificial light. The photographic equipment is Canon 5D mark II camera, Longteng 90mm fixed focus macro lens, Canon 24- 105 zoom lens, and most of them use tripods. In most cases, backlight or side backlight or side light is used for shooting. When the light is good, iso generally uses 200. PS and LR for post-processing photos. This guide consists of 20 food photography pictures, each of which will explain the camera parameter setting, lighting mode, setting method and conceptual details in detail. It is recommended for friends who like to shoot still life.

1. Sun-dried red pepper and Chili powder

Parameter f/4, exposure 1/40s, ISO-400, focal length 105mm, shooting time 15: 3 1.

Using lighting: backlight

Food: Sun-dried red peppers are piled up in wooden bowls and scattered around.

Scenery: dark gray boards, bowls, wooden tables, etc.

Composition: Composition according to the trichotomy, with the theme at the lower left.

Details: I want to highlight the feeling of red pepper, so I used a dark background, or a wooden board that can emit all the light as the background ~ Later, the saturation of the background and wooden table decreased, which better set off the texture and color of pepper.

2. Fish in sauce

Parameters: f/4, exposure 1/40s, ISO-400, focal length 75mm, shooting time 16: 37.

Using lighting: backlight

Food: fish with Chinese sauerkraut

Scene: oil, salt, green pepper, lemon, blue board.

Composition: prone shooting. Focus on the top right, and other things complement the picture.

Details: I used a blue old wooden background to shoot food. This is a picture of grilled fish before it goes into the furnace, so I visited some ingredients needed for grilled fish.

tomato

Parameters: f/4, exposure110 second, ISO-2000, focal length 88mm, shooting time 17: 20.

Using lighting: sidelight

Food: small tomatoes

Set: bamboo basket, white cloth, dark wooden board, knife, small dish, blame.

Composition: prone shooting. The main body is located at the lower left, and other props are scattered.

Details: The shooting in the late afternoon will soon get dark. It mainly enriches the picture through the differences in colors of various parts and the differences in material dimensions of appliances ~

4.watermelon

Parameters: f/4, exposure 1/20s, ISO-800, focal length 50mm, shooting time 17: 29.

Using lighting: backlight

Food: cut watermelon

Suit: Brown chopping board, wooden handle knife, yellow porcelain plate, dark wood board and blue plaid cloth.

Composition: back shot, scattered composition. There is no special point, focus on the whole.

Details: originally thought to be red melons, they are all yellow ~ scattered to highlight the sense of randomness, and the small dish can be used as the visual center. The cloth on the lower left can break the silence of some pictures ~

5. Dried radish and sweet potato

Parameters: f/5, exposure 1/80 seconds, ISO-200, focal length 84mm, shooting time 14: 38.

Using lighting: backlight

Food: dried radish, sweet potato.

Scenery: dead branches, dead leaves, dark wooden boards, peeling knives, worn-out porcelain pots, persimmon petals.

Composition: The main body is dried radish in the basin. There are many scattered items ~

Details: I want to show a casual and simple scene, so the props, tools and food used are extremely primitive and even cheap.

6.small green pepper

Parameters: f/4, exposure 1/25 seconds, ISO-200, focal length 85mm, shooting time 16: 08.

Using lighting: backlight

Food: Small green peppers are stacked in a bowl.

Suit: wooden table, sunflower-shaped wooden pallet, wooden handle knife, dark wooden bowl, white cotton cloth.

Composition: The pepper in the bowl is the main body, the gauze is soft, and the vegetables in the back plate complement the picture.

Details: prone shooting. Spread black flannel under the table ~

7. Wedding cookies with flying skirts

Parameters: f/4, exposure 1/60s, ISO-200, focal length 75mm, shooting time 15: 48.

Using lighting: backlight

Food: wedding cookies with flying skirts

Suit: blue wooden box, white gauze curtain.

Composition: plane shooting, with reflector in front and biscuits in front and back.

Details: I try to make the cookies stand up, which is more stereoscopic ~ backlit. The back is a white gauze curtain, and the painted wooden box has reflective performance, which can make the standing biscuits look more stereoscopic.

8. Spicy beef jerky

Parameters: f/4, exposure 1/6 seconds, ISO- 1000, focal length 60mm, shooting time 17: 14.

Using lighting: backlight

Food: beef jerky on the plate

Suit: black iron pot, blue background, blue cloth, black chopsticks.

Composition: shoot down, slightly to the left. The main body is prominent, and others are used as foil and supplement.

Details: the super delicious beef jerky sent by Yu Xuan's mother ~ ~ I want to use dark blue and dark utensils to express the texture and color of beef jerky ~ On the tableware, I chose black chopsticks, which is more suitable. Reducing the saturation of the blue part properly can also highlight the main body better.

9. Protein almond cookies

Parameters: f/4, exposure1125 seconds, ISO-400, focal length 90mm, shooting time 15:58.

Using lighting: backlight

Food: Protein almond cookies on the plate.

Set: iron plate, iron plate, knife, small mesh screen, chocolate sauce, chocolate powder.

Composition: prone shooting, close-up shooting, non-residential composition.

Details: I chose the silver metallic background and dinner plate, hoping to get the coolness brought by this material. This color is also in contrast to the color of chocolate almond cake ~ I used the overhead pat&; Close-range shooting techniques mainly highlight the texture of things themselves and the lines of plates; An almond cake coated with chocolate sauce outside the dinner plate can echo the almond cake on the plate and the chocolate sauce on the knife. It should be noted that when close-range shooting is adopted, besides the main body, other elements we place should also be related to the main body, such as dolls and fake flowers, which cannot be included in the shooting range ~ ~

10. Protein almond cookies (2)

Parameters: f/3.2, exposure 1/25 seconds, ISO-200, focal length 9mm, shooting time 16: 29.

Using lighting: backlight

Food: Protein almond cookies on the plate.

Set: white cloth, dark blue rag, spoon, transparent water cup, English newspaper, cup, tinplate, mesh screen, knife.

Composition: shooting at an angle of about 30 degrees; Non-residential components ~

Details: It was taken with the first picture; You can see that the angle has changed, and it is also backlight. 30-degree angle shooting looks stronger than overhead shooting, and the form of display is different; The first picture is not visually shocking, but it has more elements, a sense of content and a story. Only put other props that can be related ~ the relationship is not clear, but those that don't steal the limelight or are not abrupt can be appropriately blurred.

1 1. A basket of eggs

Parameters: f/4, exposure 1/80 seconds, ISO- 100, focal length 90mm, shooting time 15:33.

Using lighting: backlight

Food: accumulate free-range eggs and quail eggs.

Suit: wooden board, wooden box and straw.

Composition: 30-45 degree angle shooting, non-residential composition, the main body is concentrated on the left side, and straw appears in the picture as a foil.

Details: looks rustic? Eggs? It is very suitable for taking photos of country style and simple style ~ ~ There is no need for strong color contrast, and the contrast between light and shade can be stronger. This photo, which I took in the backlight, used a dark background to highlight the texture and color of the egg; And use free-range eggs and quail eggs to match the shooting, so that the size and color are different, and it can also produce better contrast.

12. Roasted chicken wings

Parameters: f/4, exposure 1/20s, ISO-400, focal length 102mm, shooting time 16:35.

Using lighting: backlight

Food: chicken wings

Set: light blue board, printed cloth, rectangular whiteboard, small whiteboard and white chopsticks.

Composition: shoot from above to highlight the concise composition of the theme.

Details: I use the angle of the top of my head to express the shape and texture of the dishes; Highlight the color and texture of dishes with a clean and slightly cold background color. This photo that highlights the dish itself doesn't need many other props. I think a small plate and a pair of chopsticks are enough ~ ~ I choose white chopsticks. 1 fits the clean style of this photo, but I don't want to highlight chopsticks too much.

13. Cut the pumpkin

Parameters: f/2.8, exposure 1/2s, ISO-200, focal length 90mm, shooting time 17:30.

Using lighting: backlight

Food: cut pumpkin.

Scenery: dark wood board, cloth, bowl, wooden handle knife, spoon, wooden container.

Composition: shooting angle between flat shot and overhead shot ~ relatively messy scene composition.

Details: I shoot with backlight+a certain angle to highlight the texture of pumpkin; The golden yellow and background color of pumpkin are relatively thick and have contrasting colors; On the props, there are some tools and props related to cutting pumpkins and digging pumpkin pulp.

14. Fresh vegetable salad

Parameters: f/3.2, exposure1125 seconds, ISO-200, focal length 90mm, shooting time 15:46.

Using lighting: backlight

Food: vegetable salad

Set: white wooden board, olive oil and oil bottle, white platter and cheese powder, cyan platter and peas soaked in soy sauce, quail egg shell and fork.

Composition: shoot at an angle of about 30 -40 degrees, highlighting the main non-residential composition.

Details: The white background and white plates bring a fresh feeling and highlight the color of the salad. Shooting at an angle of 30-40 degrees can well show the shape and texture of vegetables. On the props, there are some related utensils, ingredients and tableware.

15. Breakfast

Parameters: f/4.5, exposure 1/20s, ISO- 100, focal length 90mm, shooting time 15:58.

Using lighting: sidelight

Food: fresh vegetables and fruit salad

Set: salad dressing and glass bottle, spoon, teacup, blue plaid, table.

Composition: slightly higher than the flat angle. Multi-element composition, with high and low strewn at random and material differences.

Details: A clean new photo, revealing the legs of the table and laying a tablecloth to create a dining atmosphere. Highlight colored food with blue and white; Fill the back space with scattered cups and bottles and break the plane space.

16. Cut pomegranate

Parameters: f/4, exposure 1/320s, ISO- 100, focal length 88mm, shooting time 14:28.

Using lighting: backlight

Food: cut pomegranate

Set: iron plate, wooden handle knife, spoon and bowl.

Composition: prone shooting; Non-residential composition ~ the main body is concentrated in the diagonal position

Details: I shot in direct light, and the contrast is very strong in the case of large light ratio. Crystal clear pomegranate and rough slate have texture contrast ~ garnet and blue-gray slate also have color contrast.

17. Time color

Parameters: f/4, exposure1100s, ISO-200, focal length 85mm, shooting time 15:05.

Using lighting: backlight

Food: leeks, bean sprouts, ginger slices, peanuts and pickled ingredients (peppers and pepper segments)

Scenery: olive oil and oil bottle, saucer, chopping block, straw rope, teapot and slate.

Composition: prone shooting, multi-element composition

Details: food maps can often be multi-element, and the ingredients in the maps usually belong to the same category; For example, materials for cooking Chinese food; Materials of western food; Materials for snacks; This film is full of Chinese food materials, the contrast and change of color, line and texture.

18. Eggs in the light and shadow

Parameters: f/2.8, exposure 1/4000 seconds, ISO-200, focal length 90mm, shooting time 14: 19.

Using lighting: sidelight

Food: A basin of free-range eggs is put in a bowl.

Suit: shabby bowl, straw, brown wooden box

Composition: the shooting angle is about 40 degrees; Non-residential components; The subject is located at the top right of the photo.

Details: This photo has areas that can be clearly seen by direct light, and other areas that appear black are not illuminated by direct light ~ Because there is a great difference between the light and shade of areas with direct light and areas without direct light, when the subject is exposed normally, the surrounding areas will appear black due to underexposure. The mesh image projected on the eggs and boxes is made by putting a mesh iron basket on the right.

19. waldorf salad

Parameters: f/4, exposure 1/250 seconds, ISO- 100, focal length 67mm, shooting time 1 1: 10.

Using lighting: backlight

Food: salad

Set: white vertical striped board, teacups and tea leaves, round plates and forks.

Composition: shoot from above, highlighting the simple composition of the subject.

Details: I use clean white and extremely simple props to highlight the color and texture of the dishes themselves.

20. The old man's hand &; mushroom

Parameters: f/4, exposure1/250s, ISO-200, focal length 105mm, 14: 12 shooting.

Light consumption: outdoor light

Food: mushrooms

Composition: Focus on the hand of the elderly picking mushrooms, with mushrooms as the background.