Blog | 69 - (Day) Lights, Action
| Freelance Photographer in St Ives Cambridgeshire: Food & Drink Photography; Commercial Photography, Product Photography & Packshot Photography; Event Photography; Portrait Photography; Corporate Photography & PR Photography; Engagement Photography & Wedding Photography and Photography Training Courses in Cambridge, Huntingdon, Peterborough, Bedford, Ely, St Neots, St Ives and London. Professional Photography Services in St Ives, St Neots, Huntingdon, Bedford, Peterborough, Ely & Cambridge. | |||
 
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Alistair Grant Freelance Photographer Cambridge & London |
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bokeh photographic: Blog No: 69 → TIP: Click any image to view in LightBox |
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(Day) Lights, Action There is a school of thought in food & drink photography, widely subscribed to, that products should only be photographed in natural ambient light i.e. daylight. This has always puzzled me. In purely practical terms it seems unduly limiting. In the dreary UK winter daylight luminance may not be bright enough to achieve an adequate working exposure meaning a higher ISO and/or longer shutter need to be employed which both increase digital noise. And when the forecast is for sunny intervals the benefits of shooting in daylight may be completely outweighed by the time and effort required to modify the setup each time the sun disappears behind a cloud only to reappear a couple of minutes later. And I’ve lost count of the number of jobs where I’ve covered an evening restaurant service when there is no daylight! Whilst the temptation for naïve photographers is to shoot under the restaurant’s fittings this is a recipe – pun intended – for disaster as restaurant lights are generally awful. Whilst we are on the subject I’ve also on too many occasions than I would care to remember had to work in a kitchen basement where there are no windows again rendering any proposal to shoot ambient obsolete. Don’t get me wrong. I shoot daylight Food & Drink Photography whenever I can after making a judgment whether the ambient light is of adequate quality and whether it is sufficiently predictable. However, more often than not when working as a Food & Drink Photographer I will use dedicated artificial light. Back in Blog 39 I explained how I pick from the four different types of strobes that I own (excluding my Speedlites, my ‘ancillary’ strobe heads and my continuous lights) depending upon whether the light is to be used as a key (main), fill (secondary) or accent (highlight) light in addition to considering the size of the product relative to the environment in which it is to be photographed. I often opt for dedicated artificial light even when the ambient light is good as this opens up more creative options. For example, strobes can accentuate colour and texture, freeze motion and help isolate product from background. However, let’s consider a common scenario. The brief for this gastropub shoot was to create light and airy images showcasing the upcoming spring menu. Soft, diffused window light springs to mind. Unfortunately it was absolutely grotty on the day of the shoot. Ironically, I had the perfect window for food photography were it not for the poor weather and the fact that a truck parked outside threw everything into further shadow. In lieu of window illuminance a single strobe in an extra-large (150cm) soft box provided the required look NB: the key principle here being making the light source as large as possible proportional to the subject being photographed. There is however an alternative that most photographers don’t even think about. I would argue in most cases, as here, the use of flash is be indiscernible except perhaps to an expert eye. This is because contemporary style more-or-less dictates eliminating any evidence of flash unless, for instance, light reflections are used to emphasise dimensionality. Excuse the crude generalisation but in a poorly-executed image discernible flash generally means a photographer not proficient in strobe photography whilst in a well-executed image, discernible flash marks a proficient photographer who deliberately decided to emphasise the use of strobes. In my opinion the latter is more exciting and dramatic but rather disappointingly is rarely seen commercially as food and drink photography tends to be ‘small-c’ conservative. |
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Call Alistair Grant on 07775 365507, Email [email protected] or click Booking Enquiries if you have any questions or would like to make a booking. |
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bokeh: "the aesthetic quality of the blur produced in the out-of-focus parts of an image produced by a lens" Freelance Photographer offering Food & Drink Photography Cambridge; Commercial Photography Cambridge, Product Photography Cambridge & Packshot Photography Cambridge; Event Photography Cambridge; Portrait Photography Cambridge; Corporate Photography Cambridge & PR Photography Cambridge; Engagement Photography Cambridge & Wedding Photography Cambridge and Photography Training Courses in Cambridge. Also covering: Huntingdon, St. Ives, Ramsey, St. Neots, Peterborough, Bedford, Stamford, Newmarket, Sawtry, Alconbury Weston, Brampton, Hartford, Warboys, Houghton, Wyton, Godmanchester, Hilton, Hemingford Grey, Hemingford Abbots, Fenstanton, Whittesley, Yaxley, Needingworth, Somersham, Chatteris, Ely, Bar Hill, Grafham and Buckden. |
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bokeh photographic - Alistair Grant | Freelance Photographer | Cambridge, London, UK - Creative Natural Photography And Outstanding Customer Service At Competitive Prices - Food & Drink Photography | Commercial Photography & Product Photography | Corporate Photography & PR Photography | Portrait Photography (inc. 'Active Portraiture', 'Naturally You' & 'Poptraits') | Event Photography | Engagement & Wedding Photography | Photography Training Courses & Camera Tuition | Videography & Film Production Tel: 07775 365507 | Email: [email protected] |
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