Lighting for food photography comes in three general types. Natural light for food photography is a great option, but you still need an actual lighting setup even when taking advantage of natural or ambient light.

The other two types of equipment for a food photography lighting setup are artificial lights, either strobes (flash units), or continuous lighting such as quartz lamps, incandescent photoflood bulbs, fluorescents, or LED lights.

Let’s discuss them all!

Table of Contents

• Natural Light Food Photography Lighting Setup
• Gear Choices and Placement
• Artificial Light Food Photography Lighting Setup
• Backdrops Are Essential
• Go Beyond Basic

Natural Light Food Photography Lighting Setup

Photo by Aquarius Studio via Shutterstock

We’ll start here since many beginners to this genre of photography may be testing it out to see if it’s something you want to continue doing. 

What would a food photography lighting setup look like using primarily natural light? Some photographers might be inclined to think that using natural or ambient lights means there isn’t any actual food photography lighting setup to even consider.

For high-quality images that could be used commercially (which is why most people try this genre in the first place), natural or ambient light still requires us to modify or control it. Some ways to do that are with reflectors, using backdrops, and having our camera on a tripod.

First, consider the tripod choice since that one tool will work in all of our food photography lighting setups. While I am a huge fan of tripod alternatives and travel tripods, nothing beats a full-featured medium to heavy-duty tripod for commercial photography.

Gear Choices and Placement

Photo by The Image Party via Shutterstock

Here are a few tips regarding the gear to use and its placement for the best food photography results:

• The Manfrotto MK290XTA3 is a fine choice for a medium-duty tripod that has versatile features and excellent stability that we can use onsite or in our own home studio. It can be an everyday use tripod for paid photography or stuff we’re doing simply for the fun of it.
• Best Ever Backdrops has photo-realistic water-resistant backdrops that can also be a part of any food photography lighting setup. A good backdrop is virtually indispensable for any type of food photography. The backdrops from Best Ever Backdrops are highly portable, so we can use them in our studio or take them onsite.
• A 5-in-1 Reflector Pack is also invaluable as part of any food photography lighting kit. When using only natural or ambient light, a reflector helps you control where the existing light can be directed. 

A Smart Way to Use a Reflector

One method of using a reflector is to mimic having two lights by using the reflector in a fill light position. From camera position, whatever direction of the main light source, place the reflector on the other side of you, angle it until you see the desired lighting effect. 

Photo by Charlie.Fox via Shutterstock

A large reflector can also be used to direct light towards or away from the backdrop for separation of the goods from the background. When using photo-realistic backdrops such as the Mix and Match Collection from Best Ever Backdrops, including the background as part of the background allows for realism with complete control. 

A higher position of the reflector from about the same lighting configuration as the key plus fill light mentioned above works well within a natural light food photography lighting setup. Simply adjust the reflector angle to shine light either directly on the backdrop or towards the rear of the food being posed, depending on your desired final image.

Artificial Light Food Photography Lighting Setup

Photo by New Africa via Shutterstock

Though I mentioned flash units, photofloods, and fluorescent fixtures, the type of artificial lights I prefer for a food photography lighting setup are LEDs.

Allow me to sing the praises of LEDs for our food photography lighting setup:

• Bright light
• Cool operation
• Color fidelity
• Adjustment of color temp and power intensity
• Compact size
• Long-life bulbs
• Battery power options

Since LEDs are continuous lights, our food photography lighting setup can also light up our videos.

Here is an example of a portable but fully capable LED version of a food photography lighting setup, the Smith Victor CINE-Flood 3000 2 head kit. The Bowens mount light heads work with or without the included soft boxes. 

A remote control can be used to control each light, and you can configure your food photography lighting setup in a variety of ways. A good starting point is to have the lights on either side of the camera, using about a 45-degree angle to light up the subject. 

Either use the lamps balanced to each other for virtually shadow-free lighting or lower the intensity of one by 2 or 3 stops to introduce some subtle modeling effects. Adding a 3rd light to your food photography lighting setup, such as a small, battery powered LED panel light, can add depth and separation by illuminating the backdrop.

Backdrops Are Essential

Image Credit: Best Ever Backdrops

A good background, such as the stain-resistant 24” x 36” portable backgrounds from Best Ever Backdrops, can make or break an image. Unless very carefully arranged, many food photography images will benefit greatly from employing high-quality backdrops.

Beyond your food photography lighting setup, these superb backdrops are great for other small product photography and for close-up portrait photography such as a headshot or a head and shoulders pose.

Go Beyond Basic

Photo by Brina Blum on Unsplash (license)

Once you’ve shot a few paid or unpaid photoshoots, you can go beyond the basic or standard food photography lighting setups and experiment with other techniques such as high key and low key photography, HDR photography, and a number of specialty configurations.

A steady tripod, LED lights, reflectors, and an excellent backdrop or two will enable you to create beautiful and commercially viable images with your food photography lighting setup.

Other Food Photography Gear to Consider

• Peak Design Travel Tripod
• Canon EOS R5
• Canon EOS R6
• Acratech GP-SS Ball Head
• Canon RF 100mm f/2.8L USM
• Canon RF 85mm F1.2 L USM
• Wireless Camera Remote

Our articles might have affiliate links and the occasional sponsored content, but don’t sweat it – if you buy something, we get a little kickback at no extra cost to you, and we only hype products we truly believe in!

Learn More:

• Simple Food Photography Composition Techniques

The post A Beginner’s Food Photography Lighting Setup appeared first on Photography Talk.

Taking photos of food with a phone is no longer something reserved for Instagram influencers and bloggers.

Even professional food photographers harness the power and flexibility of using their iPhones to take images for paying clients.

But, as we all know, the quality of an image has much more to do with your skills than it does with the camera you use.

That being the case, let’s discuss a few crucial iPhone food photography tips that will help you build the skills you need to capture the highest-quality images.

Table of Contents

• What Gear Do I Need for iPhone Food Photography?
• Use All the Lenses on Your iPhone
• Leave Negative Space in Your iPhone Food Photography
• Shoot at Different Angles
• Incorporate People or Processes

What Gear Do I Need for iPhone Food Photography?

Image Credit: Best Ever Backdrops

There are all sorts of different items that are useful for capturing the best photos of food:

• An iPhone
• Good lighting
• Food photography backdrops
• A tripod
• Props

And since newer iPhones have two or three lenses built-in, the advice would be to use the different lenses according to your creative needs. More on that in a bit.

For now, I want to focus on one particular type of food photography gear – backdrops.

Food Photography Backdrops

Image Credit: Best Ever Backdrops

When you focus on iPhone food photography, one of the advantages is that you can work quickly and be highly mobile. You don’t want your food photography gear to get in the way of that.

That’s why the new 24×24 backdrops from Best Ever Backdrops are the perfect addition to your iPhone food photography kit.

These backdrops are 100 percent waterproof and completely stain-resistant, so you can take photos of any kind of food without worry that it will damage your backdrops.

Image Credit: Best Ever Backdrops

What’s more, these backdrops are two-sided – one texture on the front and a different texture on the back. So not only do you reap the benefits of its small size, but you also get double the backdrop!

This is an ideal feature because you can get more variety in your shots without having to invest in so many backdrops.

Heck, you can get two sets (four different textures) and have plenty of options for food photography backgrounds while maintaining a streamlined kit.

And since each backdrop weighs less than one pound, you don’t have to worry about being weighed down by a lot of gear. Like I said, these backdrops are perfect for iPhone food photography!

Editor’s Note: Right now, you can get 15% off your order from the Backdrop Collection or the Mix and Match Collection at Best Ever Backdrops by using the promo code PTalk15. Head over to Best Ever Backdrops today to get outfitted with the best backdrop for food photography!

Use All the Lenses on Your iPhone

Photo by Vanja Matijevic on Unsplash (license)

In most situations, you’ll probably find that the wide lens is the best option for iPhone food photography.

However, just because it is likely to be the best option most of the time doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try the other lenses on your phone.

If you have an iPhone model with two lenses, you also have the use of an ultra-wide lens. If you have a model with three lenses, you get a telephoto lens as well.

Each lens has its uses…

Photo by Pablo Merchán Montes on Unsplash (license)

The ultra-wide lens might be a good choice for images of large spreads. The wide lens might be your best bet for “typical” food images like the one above that highlights a single dish. The telephoto lens might be the best choice for detailed shots.

This is just a rough guide, of course. Experimentation is key! You might find that the ultra-wide lens is too distorted for capturing the best images. You might also not like the noise introduced with the telephoto lens. 

Fortunately, experimenting with your iPhone is easy to do – no switching out lenses, just a couple of taps on the screen!

Leave Negative Space in Your iPhone Food Photography

Photo by Jordane Mathieu on Unsplash (license)

There are a couple of important functions of negative space in photography.

First, it prevents an image from looking too cluttered. In the image above, for example, you can see that there’s negative space occupying the top of the shot.

Since there’s already a lot going on in this image, those areas don’t need more stuff – the photo would be overwhelmed with detail. Less is definitely more in food photography!

Photo by Kura Tregenza on Unsplash (license)

The second function of negative space is that it allows the end-user to add text or a logo if they want.

For example, a photo like the one above offers space at the top of the image for adding text for advertising purposes.

When implementing negative space, it doesn’t need to be completely blank. As you can see above, the backdrop offers some color variation and texture that gives the negative space some visual appeal, but not so much that it would take away from text that’s added to the image.

Shoot at Different Angles

Photo by Mae Mu on Unsplash (license)

As I mentioned earlier, the primary advantage of iPhone food photography is that you can easily move around and be mobile when taking photos of food. This enables you to quickly and easily take photos from different angles.

Again, experimentation is key. In some situations, shooting from directly above the food (as shown above) will get you the best results. Sometimes, though, shooting from a 45-degree angle, as shown above, makes the most sense. In other situations, you might shoot from a very low angle, perhaps to highlight props in the foreground of the shot.

It’s good to have variety, too. Whether you’re taking iPhone food photography for yourself or for a client, you don’t want every single image to be from the same vantage point. Give people some variety, and that allows you to tell a more complete story about the food you’re photographing.

Incorporate People or Processes

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash (license)

A final tip for your iPhone food photography is to incorporate people or cooking processes into your shots, as appropriate.

Now, sometimes you just need a photo of the finished product, and that’s okay. But other times, it might be valuable to include images of people preparing food or enjoying food.

Including images of these processes helps viewers imagine themselves cooking or eating the food you’ve photographed. And that’s exactly what we want to happen with food photography – get people excited about the food in your photos.

With that, you have a few critical tips for improving your iPhone food photography for 2022. Now all you need to do is is practice!

Friendly disclaimer: Our articles may contain affiliate links that support us without costing you more, and sometimes we spice things up with sponsored content—but only for products we truly stand behind!

Learn More:

• The Best Backdrop for Food Photography
• Simple Food Photography Composition Techniques

The post iPhone Food Photography Tips for 2022 appeared first on Photography Talk.

There’s an old adage in photography that the best camera is the one you have with you…

Well, the same goes for the best backdrop for food photography!

In a sea of options, there are many food photography backdrops that are simply not user-friendly. They might be too big or too bulky. They might require too much storage space, so you have to keep them in the basement or your storage shed, far away from where you actually need them. Yet others might have the most durable materials, so you might find that they fall apart over time.

In other words, the best backdrop for food photography is something that’s well-made, durable, lightweight and easily portable, and easily stored, too.

The question is, where can you get them? Read on to find out!

Table of Contents

The Best Backdrop for Food Photography

Image Credit: Best Ever Backdrops

In my opinion, the best backdrop for food photography is found in the Mix and Match Collection from Best Ever Backdrops.

I’ve been using these backdrops for several months now, and I couldn’t be happier with them. I’ll get into the specifics of why I think these are such great backdrops in a moment. But first, a little context…

I’m a landscape photographer by trade, so food and product photography is something that I’ve only dabbled in for most of my career.

However, the pandemic has changed that to some degree, so I wanted to expand my skillset into food and product photography because both can be done from home quite easily (if you have the best backdrops, of course!).

I’ve tried various backdrops from various companies, but the ones I’ve gotten from Best Ever Backdrops are definitely at the top of the heap, which is why I think they’re the best backdrop for food photography.

Let’s get into the specifics…

Editor’s Note: Right now, you can get 15% off your order from the Backdrop Collection or the Mix and Match Collection at Best Ever Backdrops by using the promo code PTalk15. Head over to Best Ever Backdrops today to get outfitted with the best backdrop for food photography!

The Best Backdrop for Food Photography Offers You Utility

Image Credit: Best Ever Backdrops

If you’re taking photos of food and products for clients or to sell as stock images, you want to have backdrops that offer you lots of utility.

By that, I mean that you want a collection of backdrops that give you the versatility to use them as backdrops or floors, and you want a variety of textures, colors, and patterns to give your images different looks and feels.

You get just that with the Mix and Match collection from Best Ever Backdrops.

Image Credit: Best Ever Backdrops

These backdrops have two sides, so you get a texture on one side and a different texture on the other.

Not only does this double the utility of the backdrop, but it does so without increasing the footprint of the backdrop – they start at 24×24 inches (or, if you get the oversized version, 46 x 36 inches).

As I noted earlier, the best backdrop for food photography is the one you have with you, and with these backdrops sized perfectly for sliding under your bed or in the closet when not in use, they are easy to fetch when your photoshoot needs arise.

Image Credit: Best Ever Backdrops

The different sizing options that Best Ever Backdrops now offers enhance the utility of these backdrops as well.

You can use the standard-sized backdrops for smaller vignettes – like a single plate of food, shown above – and use the oversized backdrops for images that have more elements, like a larger table setting.

In other words, you can tailor which backdrops you use to the specific needs of each photoshoot, all without having an overwhelmingly large collection of backdrops that take up precious space in your home or office.

The Best Backdrop for Food Photography is the One That’s Made to Last

Image Credit: Best Ever Backdrops

We’ve all had the experience of hopping on Amazon to buy a specific product, only to see a similar, cheaper version that catches our eye. When you buy a cheaper product, more often than not, it disappoints.

In my experience, going for the bargain-basement option has seldom worked out in my favor. Cheap items are cheap because their construction is poor and use materials that simply won’t last.

So, when you’re thinking about the best backdrop for food photography, you should think of something that offers long-term durability.

Again, this is where Best Ever Backdrops shines.

These backdrops are 100 percent waterproof and stain-resistant, which is precisely what you want when you’re photographing food.

Invest in a Durable Backdrop

Image Credit: Best Ever Backdrops

But more than that, they are virtually indestructible. The ⅛-inch thick substrate is both non-glare and rigid, so you get a backdrop that is not only well-made but one that looks great at the same time.

And while some products that have the moniker of “durable” are also bulky and heavy, that’s just not the case with these backdrops.

At around one pound each, they’re virtually light as a feather. That combination of durability and being lightweight is certainly a primary reason why I think this is the best backdrop for food photography.

On top of that, these backdrops are made in the USA. As a small business owner and a veteran of the armed forces, it’s enormously important for me to showcase products that are valuable to you but that are also come from here at home.

Image Credit: Best Ever Backdrops

Editor’s Note: Best Ever Backdrops has a new collection of backdrops specifically with portability in mind. At 24×24 inches, these backdrops (shown above) are ideal for photographers that are on the go. Like the Mix and Match Collection, these smaller backdrops have two sides, are lightweight, completely stain resistant, and 100% waterproof. Stay tuned for a full feature on these backdrops in the coming weeks! In the meantime, head over to Best Ever Backdrops to check them out!

The Best Backdrop for Food Photography Should Look Good Without Being Distracting

Image Credit: Best Ever Backdrops

When you’re photographing food, the food is the star of the show, not the background.

But that doesn’t mean that you can throw anything in the background and call it good. That’s what makes high-quality backdrops so valuable – they look great but do so without stealing the show from the food in the shot.

The backdrops from Best Ever Backdrops are non-glare, so you don’t have to worry about bothersome artifacts from your lights bouncing off of the backdrop.

Additionally, there are many subtle and subdued color and texture options that add depth and interest to the shot while setting the stage for highlighting the food or drinks you’re photographing.

In many cases, you want a backdrop that has cool tones that complements the warm tones of many foods. Again, Best Ever Backdrops has your back with a wide array of neutral, cool-toned backdrops to fit your needs.

Which Backdrop is Best for You?

Image Credit: Best Ever Backdrops

Every food photographer is a little different, so the specific backdrops that I use might not be what you need or want.

But the beauty of discussing the best backdrop for food photography is that there are loads of options right at your fingertips.

From brick to concrete, wood to abstract, and many different options in between, you can find the right backdrop for your needs at Best Ever Backdrops. Remember, you can get 15% off your order by using the promo code PTalk15!

Just so you know, some of the cool stuff we mention comes with affiliate links, meaning we earn a commission if you buy (no extra charge to you!). Plus, we occasionally feature sponsored content, but rest assured, we only shout out products we genuinely stand behind.

Learn More:

• iPhone Food Photography Tips for 2022
• Simple Food Photography Composition Techniques

The post The Best Backdrop for Food Photography appeared first on Photography Talk.