Last night, after taking the photos of the fast food, I did little research on food photography.
I read bunch of articles and saw videos, and realized that there are few key things and preparations that goes into professional food photography, and those have nothing to do with specific gears or lights.
First of all, background is really important; some famous food photographer even claims that the background is seldom even more important than the food itself. Props are just as important. Say you're shooting a plank of steak; props here and there, silverware, little canisters of salt and pepper, etc., can really sell the mood.
One more thing I noticed is that many art directors and photographers prefer not to use glycerin, and just stick to water, or mix the glycerin with water with 1:1 ratio. Hmm... I doubt it has anything to do with financial concerns.
Anyhow, this is what I shot today.
Well, the focus is off. I would rather have the focus on the Ramen itself, but it has to do with the physical space of my tiny kitchen and minimum focal distance of my 70-200mm f/2.8.
Secondly, I thought I could make the noddles look appetizing. I have failed miserably, of course.
When I shot this initially, with just a kitchen light, I was able to see shadow of myself on the rim of the pot. So I set up my 430exII on the camera left side, but then the inside of pot overexposed, and cast harsh lights on the noodles itself. Now, the noodles look unappetizing enough. I had to diffuse the lights, somehow, and rather than setting up a umbrella, softbox or Gary Fong of some sort, I simply open my wooden cabinet, and bounced my speedlite off of the cabinet.
Gosh, I really need to go out.
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