The Food Photography Topic

[dcarch]

33 minutes ago, MokaPot said:

but if I'm taking a photo of a building that is symmetrical, I can see that the approach looks skewed.

 

In order not to have skewed picture of a building, you will need a parallax correction lens, or in the old days, a view camera with a bellow.

Something like this for a SLR camera:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/274523030543?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&itemid=274523030543&targetid=1068323853030&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9004223&poi=&campaignid=10459842387&mkgroupid=104612011100&rlsatarget=pla-1068323853030&abcId=2146002&merchantid=102008904&gclid=Cj0KCQiAv6yCBhCLARIsABqJTjbibJPL2LK4D3NXdzPvR0wonWpUErUREnTKKQ_NCi3OB6XUhtEk0p4aAsNkEALw_wcB

 

dcarch

Edited March 12, 2021 by dcarch (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

3 hours ago, AlaMoi said:

pssst:  it's not the camera . . .

 

I used a Canon F1 for my many of my film years.

almost any (of current crop) digital cameras will beat the socks off any ISO film speed - i.e. low light performance.

but low light or bright light - the light source (incandescent/florescence/LED 1 to 5K/etc etc etc) drastically affects color rendition as captured by the camera.

it is necessary to understand the light source issue - as it can be used to great advantage for "mood" shots.

 

the other lighting issue is 'distribution' and 'diffusion' - i.e. shadows, etc

 

 

Almost invariably I use a Kodak gray card for color balance.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

After an evening and afternoon of studying reviews I'm drawn to the Sony A7 III.  Does anyone here have one?  The A7 III is $300 over my stated budget price but what makes the A7 III look particularly attractive is that with reasonably priced adapters the A7 III will accommodate my stable of antique Leitz and Nikon optics.

 

And for that matter, my bellows!

 

I love my Leica because there is nothing electronic.  Even after the EMF weapon I can still record armageddon.  Or document 700F smash burger fires.

 

Putting two and two together I fear a Sony A7 IV is imminent.  Though probably not at the same price point as the A7 iii.  I can't really see many negatives to the A7 III.  And my fingers are getting itchy.  Dissuade me if you can.

 

 

[blue_dolphin]

1 hour ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

I can't really see many negatives to the A7 III.  And my fingers are getting itchy. 

Ooooh - can't wait to see the food photos!

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

3 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

Ooooh - can't wait to see the food photos!

 

 

Wait till after I click the "buy now" button.

 

A few years ago my son loaned me his DSLR and it got me into trouble.

https://forums.egullet.org/topic/91536-jack-rose/?do=findComment&comment=1967295

 

[gfweb]

4 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Wait till after I click the "buy now" button.

 

A few years ago my son loaned me his DSLR and it got me into trouble.

https://forums.egullet.org/topic/91536-jack-rose/?do=findComment&comment=1967295

 

Ha. I remember that photo!

[weinoo]

7 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

After an evening and afternoon of studying reviews I'm drawn to the Sony A7 III.  Does anyone here have one?  The A7 III is $300 over my stated budget price but what makes the A7 III look particularly attractive is that with reasonably priced adapters the A7 III will accommodate my stable of antique Leitz and Nikon optics.

 

And for that matter, my bellows!

 

I love my Leica because there is nothing electronic.  Even after the EMF weapon I can still record armageddon.  Or document 700F smash burger fires.

 

Putting two and two together I fear a Sony A7 IV is imminent.  Though probably not at the same price point as the A7 iii.  I can't really see many negatives to the A7 III.  And my fingers are getting itchy.  Dissuade me if you can.

 

 

 

I can only opine on Sony cameras in general; it's my most recent digital camera  purchase (their iconic A6000) and absolutely the best digital camera I've owned over the years. Don't judge it based on my food photos, by the way; I don't really put care into taking them. Be it splatters, lighting, positioning, framing, etc. etc., I just wanna eat by that point.

 

Coupled with the fact that it will accept your optics (that's huge), I think it's a no-brainer, and you won't be disappointed.

[TicTac]

8 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

After an evening and afternoon of studying reviews I'm drawn to the Sony A7 III.  Does anyone here have one?  The A7 III is $300 over my stated budget price but what makes the A7 III look particularly attractive is that with reasonably priced adapters the A7 III will accommodate my stable of antique Leitz and Nikon optics.

 

And for that matter, my bellows!

 

I love my Leica because there is nothing electronic.  Even after the EMF weapon I can still record armageddon.  Or document 700F smash burger fires.

 

Putting two and two together I fear a Sony A7 IV is imminent.  Though probably not at the same price point as the A7 iii.  I can't really see many negatives to the A7 III.  And my fingers are getting itchy.  Dissuade me if you can.

 

 

As mentioned, my dad switched from a large Nikon DSLR to the above mentioned Sony a year or so ago, primarily because he found the Nikon + accompanying lenses too heavy/bulky.  While he is still getting used to the technology (it is very unique, when you look through the lens finder, you see a digital screen, as opposed to traditionally seeing the image through the lens) he is quite happy with his purchase.  I have seen some amazing shots from it.  It's solid technology, you can't go wrong with it.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

My last camera had a shutter button, lens aperture ring, shutter speed dial, and a lever to cock the shutter and advance the film.  This Sony comes with a 99 page instruction manual and a 668 page downloadable help guide.  So far I have figured how to charge the battery.

 

You'd think after half a century they'd have found a way to make things simpler.

 

[liuzhou]

9 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

This Sony comes with a 99 page instruction manual

 

My main camera comes with a 610 page instruction manual. Not sure how big the help pages are - massive.

 

Then there are the separate manuals for lenses!

Edited March 20, 2021 by liuzhou (log)

[nickrey]

This was taken with an iPhone 5. In my kitchen, hand held, natural light. I'm finding composition and framing most important for presenting food. Here, for example, I've cropped it such that there is enough space for you to want to slide your hand under the oyster from the front to pick it up and eat it.

Edited March 20, 2021 by nickrey
typo (log)

[liuzhou]

I have a fair number of cameras. They range from a top of the range DSLR (one of four DSLRs I have) to an ancient manual camera I bought in Mocow in the communist era.

But that said, I take all my food photos with an old Samsung cell phone. It is a bit battered and out of date, but has a great camera, when it comes to taking food pictures. Less so for other applications.

Edited March 20, 2021 by liuzhou (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Earlier I posted this picture in the dinner thread:

 

https://forums.egullet.org/topic/161954-dinner-2021/?do=findComment&comment=2292357

 

 

On my home color corrected monitor the image looks OK.  At work on a less than perfect LCD the image has a decided orange cast.  I know better than to trust my eye rather than the numbers when image editing but I was in a rush to get to work.

 

Do others see this image as orange or is it only me?

 

 

 

[blue_dolphin]

22 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Earlier I posted this picture in the dinner thread:

 

https://forums.egullet.org/topic/161954-dinner-2021/?do=findComment&comment=2292357

 

 

On my home color corrected monitor the image looks OK.  At work on a less than perfect LCD the image has a decided orange cast.  I know better than to trust my eye rather than the numbers when image editing but I was in a rush to get to work.

 

Do others see this image as orange or is it only me?

 

 

 

Viewed on my iPad, the shadows in the rice are warm rather than neutral but I'd stop short of calling the whole image orange.

[MokaPot]

48 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Earlier I posted this picture in the dinner thread:

 

https://forums.egullet.org/topic/161954-dinner-2021/?do=findComment&comment=2292357

 

 

On my home color corrected monitor the image looks OK.  At work on a less than perfect LCD the image has a decided orange cast.  I know better than to trust my eye rather than the numbers when image editing but I was in a rush to get to work.

 

Do others see this image as orange or is it only me?

 

 

 

 

IMO, the chicken thigh looks orange. The rice looks maybe a tiny bit orange. Peas look OK. You didn't ask, but the chicken thigh looks almost superimposed onto the rest of the photo (no offense intended). I still like it as a photo, though.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

28 minutes ago, MokaPot said:

 

IMO, the chicken thigh looks orange. The rice looks maybe a tiny bit orange. Peas look OK. You didn't ask, but the chicken thigh looks almost superimposed onto the rest of the photo (no offense intended). I still like it as a photo, though.

 

 

I affirm the chicken thigh was on the same plate with the rice and peas.

 

[kayb]

Now that I look at it again, the chicken thigh has a bit of an orange tone, and if I look hard, I see an orange cast to the rice. I did not think "orange" until you said it, though.

[heidih]

When I saw it in Dinner i thought tandoori style - so yes orange to me and rice yellowish. Sure looks tasty

[Toliver]

49 minutes ago, kayb said:

Now that I look at it again, the chicken thigh has a bit of an orange tone, and if I look hard, I see an orange cast to the rice. I did not think "orange" until you said it, though.

Yes, this. The peas look very green...no orange tint on them. The chicken, quite orange...reminded me of Butter Chicken. And the white rice definitely has an orange tone in the shadows. 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Thanks everyone.  I posted that dinner picture in a hurry as I was in a rush to leave for work.  I boosted the orange (just a bit) in Photoshop for a warmer tone.  The image looked OK on the screen but I did not measure.  I know better.  Lesson learned.

 

[gfweb]

On 3/19/2021 at 11:42 PM, JoNorvelleWalker said:

My last camera had a shutter button, lens aperture ring, shutter speed dial, and a lever to cock the shutter and advance the film.  This Sony comes with a 99 page instruction manual and a 668 page downloadable help guide.  So far I have figured how to charge the battery.

 

You'd think after half a century they'd have found a way to make things simpler.

 

 

They were simpler 40 years ago. And outside of not needing film, were as useful.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

While it looks like an accident about to happen, the bellows on a boom is the anticipated setup for dinner.  Now, do I have the energy to cook?

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Update:  after the above pictured over extended boom collapsed I returned to shooting hand held.  Someday, someday I may again have a proper tripod.  I lost a tripod* in 2006 when the camera company I worked for went out of business.  Before that I lost another tripod at another job.  Life is hard on tripods.

 

By default the Sony chooses to expose my food for 1/30 second, however I can't see any camera shake in the result.  Possibly due to good rum but more likely due to fancy image stabilization hardware.

 

Since last posting I swapped out my dining room 40 watt halogen bulbs for 100 watt halogen bulbs.  For a total of 300 watts.  Very pleasing light.  And the bulbs are on a dimmer, so pseudo candlelight is still possible.  Halogen bulbs dimmed are particularly beautiful in my opinion.

 

My current dinner photography setup is a Leica 50mm lens head, mounted on a Leica close focusing adapter (DIN A6).  Unfortunately there is no focus adjustment for this.  DIN A6 is what you see and DIN A6 is what you get.

 

https://forums.egullet.org/topic/161954-dinner-2021/?do=findComment&comment=2293536

 

Thankfully with DIN A6 the focus distance and field of view is about perfect for how I like to portray my dinners.  Tonight I found the polarizing filter and lens hood for my Summicron,  Good times are ahead.

 

 

 

*as well as a cardigan and a pair of shoes.

 

 

 

[MokaPot]

@JoNorvelleWalker, I'll be interested to see some food photos from the Sony camera. Hopefully, you find a good tripod soon. I'm sure you'll figure out how to override the 1/30 second exposure.

 

The halogen light bulbs in the dining room are shining down from the ceiling?

[JoNorvelleWalker]

7 minutes ago, MokaPot said:

@JoNorvelleWalker, I'll be interested to see some food photos from the Sony camera. Hopefully, you find a good tripod soon. I'm sure you'll figure out how to override the 1/30 second exposure.

 

The halogen light bulbs in the dining room are shining down from the ceiling?

 

Last night's dinner thread picture I linked above is from the Sony Camera.  Overriding the the 1/30 second exposure setting is not an issue.  In this case the camera seems to know what's best.  If I wanted to change the exposure time I could.  Sony advertises 5.5 stops of hardware shake reduction, so 1/30 is the equivalent of better than 1/1000 of a second with no compensation.

 

The three dining room halogen bulbs are in a chandelier that gives a pleasant mix of diffused light and reflected light from the white walls and ceiling.

 

One of the issues with my iPad food photography was iPad shadows on the subject.  Another was excessive noise in shadow areas.  So far the Sony setup solves both problems.