Need to brush up on your Food Photography skills and equipment? This Food Photography Gift Guide will cover everything you need to get started if you have been bitten by the food photography bug.
I am always amazed at the natural talent some bloggers have when it comes to food photography. I have to work at it. But I have come a long way since my early blogging days and am really improving in the last couple of years. One reason is having better equipment. Little by little I am building my food photography studio. I want to share with you some items got that really helped and some items I am still lusting after. Check out this Food Photography Gift Guide for your needs or your favorite influencer!
Updated: July 2018
Breaking bad habits
It’s early December and I am going to tell you my blog resolutions. This way you can hold me accountable for my slacking tendencies. Last year I rebranded my blog name completely. So my resolutions to keep improving are 1) I really need to change my theme to a better and quicker one (DONE) 2) I want to pick one social media platform and abuse it to the fullest positive capacity (DONE) 3) And I have been putting off my food photo skills for too long (improved). That is where I got the idea to prepare this Food Photography Gift Guide for you just in time for the holidays!
Now I will assume you have food in front of you and a camera to shoot it with. You can technically take pictures of food with any camera. How well you use your camera will have a massive impact, regardless of the type of camera you have. If you choose to get a more performing camera, check out this post on the best camera for food travel.
I am so guilty of using my smartphone because it is there and easy. My smartphone camera has almost as many megapixels as my DSLR, which is insane. But to truly improve I will need to go back to taming my Canon Rebel DSLR camera. Update: I have upgraded to Canon EOS M6 mirrorless camera and it is now my main camera.
Ideal Essential Equipment
And the first item on my wish list is a new Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM Normal Lens for Canon EF Cameras. It is considered THE intro lens to food photography!
Update: the Canon M6 has a 3/4 build so the lenses are smaller. But there is an adapter ring, the Andoer EOS EF Lens Mount Adapter, you can use if you have the nifty fifty listed above.
Why would you want a specific lens just for food? Your camera came probably with an 18-55 mm zoom lens so why should you get a prime (fixed) lens within the range that you already have? Because you will take much sharper pictures! There are fewer parts moving. Prime lenses also have much wider apertures (the f/1.8), allowing for that out-of-focus background.
Get Stable and Steady
Lighting is a huge factor. Proper lighting and playing with shadows is key in creating atmosphere, removing shadows or too much direct light. I shoot often in the evening and if I am home during the day I have zero direct sunlight. Help! I was recommended this kit by a fellow blogger: CanadianStudio 1600 W Video Photo Studio lighting Softbox light kit with 2 light stands, 8 5500K light bulbs, 2 softboxes and carrying case. It’s a good price for a starter kit as well and I really hope to get this soon.
A must in your food photography kit is a tripod. You think you have a steady hand while taking that pic and once you upload it to your laptop it is completely out of focus. A tripod would keep the camera steady. This Professional PRO 72″ Super Strong Tripod With Deluxe Soft Tripod Carrying Case is perfect as it goes up to 72 inches (over top shots on a high table), it is very sturdy and the price is right at around 30$ CAD.
Not as ideal for food but if you want to take handheld movement shots, I just got the Cam Caddie Scorpion Jr. Video Camera Stabilizing Handle and I found it made a really big difference to stabilize video. It is a very cheap and effective alternative to a gimbal with would be triple digest in price. it can also be used with a smartphone, an action camera, and has a horseshoe on the top of the handle to attach lights or microphones.
Props and Chops
A nice to have is a proper 18% neutral grey card to properly balance your light levels. Learn how to make your own grey card or download one here for free.
The final and thankfully cheap item you need is reflectors so you can bend the light to your will! You can buy professional reflectors but frugal photographers will simply get a bunch of White and Blackboards at their local craft shop or dollar store. It can be a foam backboard or a plain construction paper sheet.
OK so we are equipped and we have a cooked dish. What is next for the Food Photography Gift Guide? Props, props, and props. You have to dress up that ‘shot’ you have in mind to make it more appealing. That is a whole other topic I need to explore personally in my journey but I’ll get you started on what you may need.
Cheap or Free Prop ideas
A must include in a Food Photography Gift Guide: plates, utensils, tablecloth, napkins, cute seasonal decorations, ribbons, twine, backdrops, etc…you get the idea! Here are great places to find such things:
- SwankyPrints on Etsy is awesome for 2×2 ft photography backdrops (see A).
- Ikea As-Is section – check out cupboard doors, they can make great backdrops for like 5$.
- Cheap decor stores, Chinatown or discounted sections. Remember YOU ONLY NEED ONE PLATE for a shot.
- Home renovation stores – I found a welcome map with a realistic wood background for 10$, seen here for this cinnamon bun shot (see B).
- Flea markets and garage sales are also great for plates and props.
- Garbage on the street! No, I am serious I once found a piece of slate countertop (see C)!
- Cristina over at I Say Nomato did a fabulous DIY post on making your own backdrops for under 30$ CAD!
- More DIY Food Styling tricks by Canva.
Improving your technique
- If you are looking for a great post for starting out in Food Photography click the link! Sally’s Baking Addiction has written a great article to get an idea of what you are getting yourself into 😉
- I also have a Pinterest board on Food Photography with great free resources you can check out!
- A book I like to “get” lighting is Understanding Exposure, Fourth Edition: How to Shoot Great Photographs
- And a great book focused on taking clicks of food is Plate to Pixel: Digital Food Photography and Styling
Touching it up
OK, we finally took our pictures, woohoo! Now you want to make them just a bit better? That is where a photo editing software comes in and shoud be included in this Food Photography Gift Guide. There are simple free ones online that do not require a whole lot of knowledge but if you are serious about your food photography I recommend you look into a good one and take the time to learn in. They do come with a learning curve. Here are a few ones…
- GIMP, it is a free open source software, not bad
- Photoshop, my personal fave that I use (monthly subscription)
- Lightroom, the other one most photographer’s use (monthly subscription)
Cameras I use
If you are curious, I use the following camera now for food photography and for my youtube videos. It is the Canon EOS M6 (Black) EF-M 15-45mm f/3.5-6.3 IS STM Lens Kit. I freaking love it. It compact, light and easy to carry in a big purse. The quality of the photos and videos is amazing compared to a phone or older camera. And LOVE the flip up screen for selfies.
Keeping your old camera as a secondary one is a good idea, for example, I use for my YouTube videos if I want to shoot two angles. It is the Canon EOS Rebel T5 18MP DSLR camera. It is an entry level DSLR but it does the job until I have a 4-digit budget!
Food Photography Gift Guide Wrap-up
So tell me about your food photography set up:
- What kind of camera do you have?
- Do you use lighting and boards?
- What items in this Food Photography Gift Guide would top your list of must-have?
- What photography level are you at: beginner, intermediate, advanced?
Quick List for the Food Photography Gift Guide
- Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM Normal Lens for Canon EF Cameras
- Andoer EOS EF Lens Mount Adapter
- CanadianStudio 1600 W Video Photo Studio lighting Softbox light kit with 2 light stands, 8 5500K light bulbs, 2 softboxes and carrying case
- Professional PRO 72″ Super Strong Tripod With Deluxe Soft Tripod Carrying Case For The Canon EOS REBEL T3 (EOS 1100D) Digital Camera
- Cam Caddie Scorpion Jr. Video Camera Stabilizing Handle
- SwankyPrints
- Understanding Exposure, Fourth Edition: How to Shoot Great Photographs with Any Camera
- Plate to Pixel: Digital Food Photography and Styling
- Canon EOS M6 (Black) EF-M 15-45mm f/3.5-6.3 IS STM Lens Kit
- Canon EOS Rebel T5 18MP DSLR Camera With 18-55mm Lens Kit
- GIMP
- Photoshop
- Lightroom
Don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel!
Looking for more awesome shopping guides:
Great ideas. I’m an Android user and need to travel light but food photography is becoming more important. I’m investing in a good camera and should check out the book! Thanks.
Android user here too 🙂 I only keep the DSLR for the kitchen mostly lol. It’s a great book!
I agree 50mm is the best for food photography, they are also cheap hence its called plastic fantastic. But if you have more money to spare upgrade it to an even more bigger aperture.
Oh for sure is one has more money they can go up. There was a lot of debate over the 50mm and 100mm online actually. Great point to mention Raymund!
This is a terrific list of goodies! I need to invest in a new camera as mine got messed up a while ago, but I haven’t been able to make myself spend the money just yet… maybe Santa 🙂
Thanks Amy for stopping by! Oh I wish Snata will be good to you! Glad you liked the list!
Great job Eve, this is what I call a kick start to the new year :). Lovely post and informative too. I have the lighting kit you’ve mentioned above and let me tell you I hate it :). I like shooting better in daylight but winter always a bad season for getting food photos so sometimes I have to use my these artificial lighting. I should learn more how to use them and put them to a good use. Personally I feel the food should be the king and I should not distract the viewer’s eyes with props and colored background, although I did use them sometimes. I consider myself on the far end of a beginner ready to move on to the intermediate. Thanks Eve for such a great post.
Thanks Amira for your great comment. I am curious if you could tell me exactly why you hate the lighting kit? For sure daylight is best if ones have it 🙂 Props, used sparingly I agree. I tend to stick to my plate but might add a nice towel and fork just to make it look more alive.
What a useful round up of photography equipment! I’ve been eyeing a lens that I couldn’t justify buying myself—but I did give Bill the details. We’ll see if Santa brings it 🙂 I use lightroom and it’s made a huge difference (and the better camera lens). I have artificial lights but I don’t like the photos I’ve taken after dark…winter is terrible for getting dinnertime photos!!
Thanks Liz glad you found so good info! Yeah lens prices are insane but hope Santa will be good to you.
Ooh thanks for the Etsy shop link! I’m always looking for cool backgrounds! 😀
My pleasure Lorraine, they can get you in shipping for intl but check out there occasional sales it makes it worth it.
Wow Evelyne, so fancy…I am trying to avoid all the gadgets for photography as my kitchen is small…maybe one day…I look forward to see all the improvements…
Thanks for the post my dear…hope you are enjoying your week 🙂
Thanks Juliana, I have a tiny kitchen too so can relate! I won’t get everything on the list for sure but, as you say, one day! Have a great weekend!
I always have problem with studio lighting…bought a cheap set years ago, and used it once or twice, very disappointed..maybe I should get the one you mentioned above. Thanks, Evelyne, for this great post.
My pleasure Angie, that kit on my list to get to. I have one light and it kinda sucks!
This is, quite simply, one of the COOLEST blog posts I have read this week. Seriously pinning this right now… it is what every food blogger needs! – http://www.domesticgeekgirl.com
Thank you so much Gingi! I am so glad you found it a good resource 🙂
Try the Weaver theme if you are using WordPress. It’s very customisable. Good luck with the food photography. I have a pocket camera which I would love to upgrade but can’t justify the expense.
Thansk Tandy I will look int the Weaver theme. The prices keep dropping for DSLR, or get an older model for cheap. I got my first one on ebay for like 100$ at the time, a used one.
Great post Evelyne! Hehehe..Good luck with the New year resolutions. I’m guilty of them as well.
I’ve never used anything but natural light to shoot and I love shadows in my photos so whether dusk or dawn, it wasn’t much of a problem. Regrading backgrounds, I did paint a few when I was starting out but now I only use natural wood, vintage trays, old boxes etc. The tripod would top my list from your suggestions, I cannot do without mine. I also think that it is equally important to invest in a good photo editing software as much as the photography equipment (camera, lenses, tripod). Aaaand the surest way of success is to practice…the more photos you take, the sooner you’ll know what works for you:-)
Thank you Sonali! You are so lucky to have natural light. I face north west so none for me. And I loev your props and pic. You are right got to practice a lot (need to find time!!!!!!!!) but it is a question of priorities. Great poitn about a photo editing software, I actually debated to put it in the post or not but I shoudl, will update it!