Cheap lighting setup for food photography?

Hello all,

 

I hope this is the right place to post in. I've searched the forums but could not find the answer I was looking

for. I'll admit I might have missed posts discussing my request, please feel free to point me to existing threads.

 

I have recently been gifted with a Sony Alpha 350, and a 50mm 2.8 macro lens. This is a journey back into

photography for me after nearly 20 years away (my old beat up Leica M3 and assorted lenses were stolen, didn't

have the heart to re-equip).

 

I worked as a chef for nearly 15 years and while I don't work that industry anymore, I still have fun exploring

culinary creations and presentation. I took some snapshots of dishes I created the last couple years, but with

this new camera, the bug has taken over me again and I'd like to get properly setup to do more food photography.

Hence, I need decent lighting equipment.

 

The problem is, I am on a (very tight) budget. I would love to hear any suggestion as to lighting solutions that

involve affordable (or near-free) options.

 

I will be wanting to get some "proper" equipment, I'm currently thinking three lights (I prefer continuous

lighting over flash). Diffusers. I've come across some "tents" in my searches and this seems like an appealing

solution, but probably too limiting in terms of sizes to be practical for the kind of photos I'm looking at doing.

 

Please bear in mind that I'm in New Zealand, so product sources in the US are not practical for me (especially

with the 220V current).

 

Thanks in advance for any ideas or assistance you might provide.

 

Nic

I forgot to add that the majority of the shots are taken/will continue to be taken in the kitchen, so it should be quick and easy to dismantle and stash away!

 

Thanks again

 

Nic

Hi Nicolas,

 

Not an easy task considering your tight budget. When I was living and working in Oz shooting food I often used my Bowens units, however, I was lucky enough to visit a few of the greater food photographers that had purpose built studios to carry out such shots only to find that in most cases their studios had fully equiped built in kitchens with huge bay windows. Those that did not use daylight would re create it via large softboxes as well. I don't know the layout of your kitchen, but currently I combine one small flash unit with daylight to do most of my food shots in my kitchen which has a large window facing north. Apart from the main light source also be aware that you may be needing small mirrors or white foam to kick light back into certain areas of the subject. A piece of white perspex to give you a seamless background is a easy tool to light from underneath and from behind as well rather than a light tent as you are right in thinking that it may be restrictive. Look up in your local 2nd hand camera market for a couple of Metz flash units as they may be something that can be used with a little prior planning and testing considering you are not using film.

 

All the best

 

Artur

Continuos lights are not ideal for shooting food. The heat alone will effect the subject at an alarming rate. Food photography

requires a lot of attention from you and the Stylist and the use of hot light will limit the time you have to capture the image.

I would recommend renting lights if you cannot afford to buy.

Direct and diffused daylight through a window.

This can be done on a tight budget. Here's a list of what you need to get if going the used/cheapest route.

 

1) cheap light stands or super clamps. $40 US

2) 2 or 3 used flash units capable of manual mode and with pc port connectors. $50-80 each

3) "poverty wizard" set or other Ebay radio slave units. $30

4) 2 shoot through white umbrellas, small 24". $30

5) white foam core board from office supply store. $30

6) Aluminum foil (sure you already have that). $5

7) used flash meter. $100

8) Peanut optical slaves PC port connected and misc pc cords. $60

 

About $500 would get you everything you need to get started.

 

But frankly, for a little more money, I'd get this kit from alien bees brand new. http://alienbees.com/digi.html

I would second the recommendation to use as much natural light as possible, and also to steer clear of hot lights-as others have said it will wilt, melt, and otherwise wreck your beautiful food.

 

A light tent is not really a good solution for most items-they tend to make lighting very flat and uniform. If you have a window to work with, I would position that behind the food, then use a strobe in a softbox to balance with the window light. If you overexpose for the daylight a bit, you will get some very nice backlighting, and then you can use the strobe to fill in the front part of the plate.

 

Another, more controllable lighting option is to use srims and regular reflectors with a collection of grids and barndoors-this approach will let you control the light fall-off and diffusion more accurately than with a softbox. However, it doesn't quite fit your desire for an inexpensive setup.

 

My suggestion for a kit would be one monolight with a medium softbox, and a boom stand-depending on the brand you get, the kit will probably be around $500 USD. A couple of good brands you should be able to get in New Zealand are Elinchrom and Bowens.

Another thing to consider along with all the good lighting suggestions is to get hold of the 50mm f/1.4 lens - that will help you with controlling DOF on some of your shots that may not demand the close-up treatment. --Rich

Thank you for all the suggestions. Very good stuff :)

 

I do have a large window in the kitchen which I can use in the afternoon, but one of the problems is that a lot of the dishes photographed are dinner meals, no light coming through at that time, and it plays a bit of havock on the timing too, plates are styled, photographed and then delivered to the table for dinner. I realise this is not what many photographer have in mind with food photography, but I'm not at a point where I want to cook things just to take them in photo and not consume what I've done.

 

@Artur, thanks for the tip on perspex, definitely will look into that.

 

@Tony, I'm the food stylist! :) Renting is not an option, as a lot of what I do is documenting my own cooking, so it's ongoing. Not practicable to rent. Also, I doubt I could source rental on that kind of equipment in the little town I'm in :)

 

@Bob, thanks for the alien bee link. This is certainly an interesting option, but I'll have to keep it for later. With the exchange rate the US$600 turns into nearly NZ$1000. I'll also have to contact them to see how their products work on 220V.

 

@Andrew, thank you for pointing out the light tent is not a good option.

 

@Rich, that's a nice lens, but I can't justify acquiring new lenses before I have better lighting setup :)

 

Again, thanks for the suggestions, it certainly gives me something to consider and explore.

 

Cheers

 

Nic

Window light with a silver card reflector. After the sun is down you'll need a small strobe in at least a 16x20

softbox to replace the window. This is bare bones stuff. If you look at editorial food photography for the last 8

years or so, it's all wide aperture, using sometimes uneven natural light with an occasional silver reflector for

hard fill and specularity (glisten)... t<div></div>

The answer to almost all "how do I light this but I don't have any money" questions are at www.strobist.com. Start with the lighting 101 section. They will show how to do studio quality lighting with cheap shoe mount flashes and cheap accessories, some of them homemade.

Use window light as Ellis said.Tents are hardly used for food shots.You can buy 2 Sony dedicated flash units as an option.Otherwise buy used studio strobes.Get a publisher to publish your cook book and ask him/her to pay for your lights.Easy soluation !

Hi Nicolas,

 

I'm in the exact same situation than you, having to shoot food at dinner time. So, what did you choose after all?

<p>To contribute to the thread (a little late, even), here's a great book I just picked up called <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1933952105?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwwasabi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1933952105">Low Budget Lighting</a> . It's all do it yourself solutions to lighting gear. Very good find.</p>