1st commercial table-top product ( produce ) shoot...

I've recently re-discovered my love and ability for photography, and have started having work thrown at me from every direction. You'll

have to forgive if I placed this under the wrong subject, I'm actually a newbie when it comes to forums. I'm not a beginner at shooting, but

I've never done commercial table-top photography, which leads me to my questions... I've recently been recruited by an international

agriculture company to shoot various jobs for their sales media and website. The first job is the largest (work-wise) and quickly

approaching. Under a Very limited shooting timeframe, they want table-top shots of 50 products ( lettuce, cabbage, etc), 3 shots of each.

Overhead, underside, and leaf. I have never actually shot table-top macro before. So. guys, I need all the help, advice, tips that I can get

from you on shooting this. I'll be shooting with a canon 5d mark2. I need to know which lenses, type of lighting and setup, any tips on

shooting produce/plants (remember, this is commercial work), and Anything else you potential saviors might have to offer. This is my first

commercial client, I'd really love to nail this job, it has potential to be semi-steady work from one source...and a huge step towards freeing

me up to be a full-time photographer. Thanks so much.

lee

<p>Congratulations on such a sizeable job... does the company know you've not done this soecific type of work yet?</p>

<p>Just how tight is the timeframe; half-day, full-day, or all week? That's a lot of shots to get done in a day unless it's a catalog type of shoot where the lighting and backgrounds are fairly constant.</p>

<p>It's hard to make any solid recommendations without knowing more. Is there an art director or stylist involved? Are there any specific set/background/prop requirements? What are the intended end-uses of the images? Website use would represent one level of image size and quality requirements while magazine ads or trade show banners could be quite another.</p>

<p>I'd start with a simple backdrop and maybe three lights: main, fill and highlight. Some produce will have more translucence and a light with a grid or snoot would be helpful in enhancing that charateristic.</p>

<p>The biggest challenge will be keeping everything looking fresh!</p>

<p>First of all, congratulations on the assignment! I've taken two courses in food photography and do it as a hobby, so I can probably help with the lighting aspect. Will you be working with large "tablescapes" of produce, i.e. 20 heads of lettuce for some of the shots, or will it just be one or two pieces at a time? That will make a very big difference in how it needs to be styled and set up. Will they have a food stylist available for the shoot, or do they expect you to style the shots yourself? That can be difficult, because every little blemish in produce is highly visible in photographs, so you'll need to go through alot of it to find perfect specimens.<br>

To get the texture and dimension of your subject to show, it's best to set your main light around the 10:00 or 11:00 position, or the 1:00 or 2:00 position. For shots of one or two items, or a few carrots or things like that, you can work with one studio light and a reflector. I generally use a monolight with a small or medium silver-lined softbox angled slightly above and behind the subject at one of the positions mentioned above, and a silver reflector opposite the light. This can be something as simple as a foamcore board with foil or silver wrapping paper adhered to one side.<br>

For shots where you need a little extra light from above, for instance if you're arranging a number of pieces of produce in a small or medium tablescape, you'll need a second light and small softbox on a boom above the setup, set usually 2-3 stops lower than your main. I would absolutely recommend tethering to a laptop if you have the software for it (I believe Canon comes with tethering software--I shoot Nikon), because that will save you when you are having to shoot quickly.<br>

You won't need to use a macro lens unless they want a really detailed shot of a tiny area. Otherwise, somewhere in the 75-80mm range is usually where I work with a 28-105 lens. And a tripod is an absolute must!<br>

As far as the setup with the food goes, it really depends on what they want for the end result. Do they want some sort of styled backgrounds like tablecloths, environment around the subject, etc., or do they want a clean white background? White backgrounds take alot more work and skill.<br>

I would advise practicing beforehand with whatever gear you have. If you don't have studio lighting or have never worked with it, then you may be getting in over your head.<br>

Take a look at Matthew Klein's site for some good examples of produce photography. Click on his "ingredients" link. <a href="http://www.matthewklein.com/">http://www.matthewklein.com/</a></p>