WORK IN GOOD LIGHT
The most common mistake is trying to shoot beautiful food in bad light
Cameras see light, not subjects, even when that subject is delicious and glistening with calories. Food photography always begins with the light. The perfect light is soft, abundant and angled. You want lots of light to play with but you definitely don’t want direct sunlight streaming onto the scene. It’s too harsh and too contrasty. The best table in the restaurant has the window seat, with bright daylight outside and only filtered light coming through. This scenario turns the window into a very large softbox, filling the table with useful light that offers a range of shooting angles.
The starting point is to shoot at an angle across the light source. That angle gives sufficient contrast to reveal detail in the scene, and brings up the colours. You don’t have to fill in the opposite side of the scene with a bounce board, or fill-in flash, because you can brighten underexposed areas of the RAW image when you process the files. It’s quicker and more precise to fine-tune the RAW files than trying to get it perfect in-camera.
As you change your angle you create a different quality of light for the scene. The more you shoot into the light the more contrast and drama you build. Colour richness gets reduced, blacks are hardened and some areas might even blow out. That’s acceptable for the purpose of style, if drama is what you’re looking for. Alternatively, when you change your angle to have light coming a little more from behind you, the scene fills in more and the contrast flattens out.
By controlling the angle you shoot relative to the window, you control contrast and colour as well – even when the light is very, very soft. It won’t matter how amazing your food looks on a plate if the light is not working for you. Bad light and good food still make for failed photos. In the right light, almost any scene will inspire your compositions.