Camera Recommendation for Product/Food Shots

[louisekennedy]

I have a client who has asked me for advice as to what they should buy to do their own photography. The

photography will be product shots. Very simple, about 24 inches high, three dimensional food items.

(nothing shiny) the idea is that they will have a static set up in their studio so that they can readily

photograph a product using exactly the same settings over and over again.

 

So I am suggesting that they get kitted out with a D40x, the kit lens, and a cubelite system, with two lights

(tungsten 500w) that comes with light stands etc. Plus a tripod of course.

 

their products will be shot on a white background for use on their website.

 

I did a product shoot for them, using my d200, two sb800's an sb600 and my 60mm on a white backdrop

and as it is I will have to do quite a bit of masking to get the white, but we got some great shots of the

products. (I just have a heck of a hard time shooting on a white background with my sb's to get a white

background)

 

I've not used the d40x and certainly not with one of those studio lighting systems. Will it be adequate?

Would a D80 be overkill? I figure they will need to spend about 500 - 700 on lights. 700 on a camera, 100

on a tripod (maybe used) to get them off the ground.

 

(I'm posting this in the Nikon area and not the lighting area) because I really only want to know about

nikon cameras and this one works with this set up.

 

thank you

[ShunCheung]

I would suggest a D80 instead of D40x, as the D80 has a much better viewfinder for manual macro focusing. And in case they would like to use SB-800, 600 or SB-R200 flashes, the D80's pop-up flash can be the commander to control those slaves. The D40/D40x's pop-up flash cannot be the commander and they also have no depth-of-field preview, which is, IMO, essential for macro work.

[louisekennedy]

thanks Shun. It's likely they would not use the sb800's at all. I want to try to set up a system

that is very easy for them. But your point is taken on the DOF. There will likely be about 25%

macro work. it's not photography where you'd have a beautiful DOF of a food item, as you

would find in a recipe. More website shots where more is in focus. Does that make sense?

[screamin scott]

They might consider a Point & Shoot since the smaller sensor would allow for greater depth of field for the product & most P&S cameras have a macro mode...Also, get a light tent (like those for eBay listing shots & a couple of inexpensive strobes with optical triggers to fire them ...A DSLR would be overkill if that's the only use for it

 

Scott

[mpolfer]

Sorry, this is a somewhat related question.

 

Louise, you have 2 sb-800's and 1 sb-600 would you advise me to get studio lighting cans, floods and strobes or would you suggest that I expand on my D200/sb-800 to do "studio" portraits IE Senior portraits and the like. I know I would like the added versitility of the wireless TTL that the Nikon flash family would provide me with because I do mostly "on location" photography. Just wondering if I can get studio results with the TTL setup.(halos and such included of course)

 

Thanks

Michael

[elliot1]

I think your recommended setup is perfect except I would suggest the d40 rather than the d40x. Since this is for web work, they don't need 10mp. For that matter they don't need 6mp either. The d40 and d40x will give virtually identical results.

 

The kit lens is perfect as it offers a large depth of field and is even good for close-up work (it focusses to with a foot or less). You will probably want to set them up to shoot at f8 or f11 for best results using a tripod.

 

There is no 'right' way to set them up, only different ways. Keep in mind that the image quality between the d40, d40x, d80 and d200 is virtually identical.

[alvin_wong]

<p><a href="http://www.strobist.com/">Strobist</a> is a website that provides an excellent introduction to basic lighting.</P><P>Keep in mind that your familiarity with lighting counts is far more important than the camera and lens you use. If you can get the lighting down, you'll be able to take great pictures with practically any camera setup. Spend your time learning how to use light, rather than spending it on the camera and lens. There's no substitute for practice. Good luck!</p>

[frank_meeker]

Louise,

 

Many food shots are done using window light for a blown out background.If that is not an option, a white tablecloth or even a white sweep, lit 1-2 stops hotter behind the food will do it.

Secondly, although with the tungsten hot lights, one can see what will be shot (what you see is what you get), it depends on the type of food to be shot and the expertise of the shooter and stylist as to whether or not the tungsten will work. For instance, if they are shooting veggies, fruits, or ice cream, those items "die" quickly under heat. If they are shooting fruitcake or a broiled steak, it will probably work reasonably well, even with little skill.

 

As far as a camera goes, if the camera can be set to manual, it will work...

The lens should depend on what type of images are to be made. A fast (f2 or faster) will allow a nice amount of blur to be seen, due to selective focus as is used in classic food shooting, as opposed to a slow lens that will only deliver great depth of field and blur that looks like a mistake.

For magazine food articles, showing plated, styled food, two of my favorite lenses on a D2x or D200 are a 35 f2 and a 50 f1.4, shot at f2. The images allow one to focus the viewer's eye on the most appetizing part of the prepared dish wile the blown out whiteness at the back lends a look of cleanliness (whick is very important in food...) Also, in most cases, never use the color blue, of any shade, in a meat shot...:)

 

Good luck,

 

Best regards,

 

Frank M.

[louisekennedy]

thanks for the responses.

 

I kind of adhere to the thinking that if there is an opportunity to learn something, then

why not, so the idea to put them in a dslr rather than p and S, falls into that category. And

they may find that they can use the camera for event photographs and such, and remove

their dependency from having to spend money for my time for what they are looking for.

I'm all for that.

 

If I were only doing studio work, I would go with a set of lights, probably some nice alien

bees, a good light meter, stands and so on. but I'm on the road alot so the sb's are really

great to throw in my big camera bag. I have some clamps if I'm on the fly, or I can bring

some light stands and an umbrella or two. I love the sbs and they are so fun that I'm still

spending time experimenting.

 

but my client will not have fun with them, so thus the set up I outlined. Elliot, thanks for

the feedback about the D40 vs D40X. You're right of course. although I would argue a bit

about your statement that the image quality on those four cameras is virtually identical. I

know that there is a big difference image wise between my d70s and my d200, even with

identical lenses. By the kit lens, you're talking about the 18 -55 right? Or the 18-135?

 

Strobist is a great site alvin, thanks. this client really doesn't need to learn all there is to

know about lighting to get the product shots they need, if I set them up with a good

guide.

 

Frank, the set up calls for a white background, and it's not restaurant type of food. More

product using food. (think candy canes and such) so nothing perishable. Very static. No

classic foodie shots. Although thanks for the feedback which I will store for future use for

other projects where I can have fun. I love my 50 f1.4 for those shots as well. good to

know about meat and blue. I did not know that.

 

so my thinking to recap is a D40, a simple cubelite system something like this from bh

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/501700-REG/

Lastolite_LR8837L_Cubelite_39_Studio_Kit.html or some version of this

[ShunCheung]

I happen to think that the SB-800, 600 and R200 are great for these small product shots. The problem is that if you need to get a few of them, the cost adds up quickly. For example, the R1C1 set with two SB-R200 is over $700.

 

To answer Michael's question, for studio people portraits, I think studio strobes are better beause they are far more powerful. After adding diffusers and softboxes, you still have plenty of light to give you more flexability for aperture selection. The SB-800, etc. are somewhat underpowered in those situations.

[jose_angel]

I have been shooting products (our own manufacturing) for almost fifteen years on a static small studio at the corner of my office. IMO the most important is to obtain a good image quality some digital P&S lacks (aside to other features).

 

Although I have a pretty sophisticated studio lightning system (Elinchrom Digital heads, spots, reflectors, boxes, etc.), our brochures and product images have been -always- taken (still does!) with crappy old flashes: two small old Metzs, sometimes a Pentax or a Nikon SB-16? or a CL-4, a Metz reflector and some white stirofoam plates. Sometimes I have used a big light box (film viewer). When a flash of my own use gets old I take it to the office. I set the exposure with a flash meter. I use whatever to hold the flashes and a Manfrotto artculated arm to hold the camera. That`s enough for professional look shots. The only think I have updated over the years are the cameras; film SLR, Coolpix and DSLR.

 

Time ago I bought a complete tungsten studio light outfit with accesories when digitals arrived but I sold them some weeks later. The heat this lamps give off were unbearable (and dangerous).

 

Of course a SB-800 three flash outfit could be the easiest&greatest way (I like to use two SB-800`s and a SB-80DX).