Last week I received a couple of reminders that I promised a post on food photography tips for winter so I thought I better get cracking before it’s already spring (or at least before the days officially start getting longer!).
I have the great fortune of living in what may just be the gloomiest winter city in the world. Vancouver is located in the heart of the world’s largest temperate rainforest.
Good news? We don’t have the typical harsh winter that are associated with the rest of Canada. We rarely drop below freezing and the snow knows its place and sticks to the mountain tops.
Bad news? From November to March it rains all the time. All. The. Time. The joke is if you can’t see the mountains, it’s raining. If you can see the mountains, it’s going to rain.
So needless to say, even in the middle of the day, it can be dark enough that it feels like it’s 4pm. What’s a food photographer to do??
Get creative, that’s what. Here are my tips. They’re not professional, but they’re things that help me out.
** note: all the turnip images, excluding the one at the top of this post, are straight out of the camera. I haven’t changed the camera profile or even sharpened them. Each group of images were shot with the same camera settings.
Food Photography Tips for Winter
1. Buy a tripod.
It doesn’t have to be a skookum ball head Manfrotto that costs $300. An inexpensive one will do the job. You can even try using a little gorillapod – they’re amazingly strong and can help you get really creative with angles and tight spaces.
2. Actually USE the tripod.
uhhhh… yeah. This is sorta the key step. You have to use it. I’ll admit it, I prefer not to. I like to move around when I photograph. I shoot food with prime lenses, which means they can’t zoom in. In order to get closer or further away, I have to use my feet. With a tripod, I have to move everything and ummm… well… I’m a klutz. I bang it on stuff and forget to lock the head and it’s a Pain. In. The. Bum. And it slows me down.
But here’s the thing… it gives you light. You can set your exposure manually and keep that shutter open as long as you need to to get the light you need – even on a dark and gloomy winter day – and not worry about a blurry photo. You can keep your ISO low so you minimize the graininess of your shot. Most P&S cameras give you the ability to shoot manually so you’re going to have to bite the bullet, read your manual, and figure out how to make it work.
The other thing it does… it slows you down. I know, I already mentioned that. It can be a pain. But that forces you to think about the image you’re making. You become more aware of what’s in the frame, your angle, your shadows and your light. You will probably take fewer photos but the ones you do will be more thoughtful and deliberate. That’s a good thing.
3. Learn how to adjust your white balance.
White Balance with Natural Light:
When you shoot on a dark and gloomy day with natural light, the light can give your images a very cool cast. Try moving your white balance to daylight, shade, or even cloudy. This will warm up the photo’s tones. I usually find Daylight is perfect but now and then it’s so grey out, that cloudy will even work. I usually find shade is too orange. But experiment. If you shoot in RAW, you can manually adjust your white balance in post processing.
Group 1 Images: All shot at 50mm, f/2.5, 1/80, ISO 640 with natural light from the left. No reflectors were used – note how strong the shadows on the right are.
Note how cold the auto WB is in the first image and how it get progressively more orange as I cycled through the different white balances. None are wrong or right but they all change the mood of the photo.
Group 2 Images: All shot at 100mm, f/2.8, 1/200, ISO 1000 with natural light to the left. No reflectors were used causing very dark shadows on the right.
Note how using a macro lens changed the depth of field to give some nice background bokeh even though the f-stop is higher than the images shot with the 50mm lens. I’m standing the same distance from the subject as I was in the first group. The dark shadows make the turnips look much more dramatic.
White Balance with Artificial Light:
I’m not going to get into the ins and outs of shooting with off camera flash or studio lights here because I’m pretty sure that the vast majority of you don’t have a pro lighting setup in your kitchen. Sometimes, especially when you’re photographing dinner, it’s dark out and you have to use indoor light. Avoid using your on-camera flash. It will blow out the highlights of your food and give you a nasty orange glow. Turn it off.
Use your tripod and set your white balance to either flourescent or tungsten. Under normal natural light circumstances, these will give your photos a very blue cold cast. But with artificial light like you have in your kitchen, that blue neutralizes the orange cast the artificial light casts on the food. It’s not a perfect solution, but it will make a big difference to your photos.
For these images, I closed all my blinds, turned on the light over my dining room table (a normal 100w regular light bulb covered by the fixture). The tungsten works best for neutralizing the orange cast a regular light bulb gives off. If you have fluorescent lighting (I just noticed I spelled it wrong in the graphic!) or are using the newer compact fluorescent energy saving bulbs, you would switch to fluorescent. With a regular bulb it gives a bit of a magenta cast.
Group 3 Images: 50mm, f/2.5, 1/80, ISO 1000. Light from overhead (note how the shadows are now in front of the turnips!)
4. Reflectors, reflectors, reflectors.
Reflectors give you more light. They let you bounce light where you want it and minimize the dark shadows this time of year can bring. You don’ t need to buy a reflector. A couple of pieces of foarm board from Staples will work. Prop them up with a sturdy bowl or pot if you don’t have clamps. Mirrors will work as well. Use a combination of both. Move them around to the side, the front, hold them above the food at an angle. See how the light and shadows change with the different positions. I often hold a reflector above the food but on an angle and set the camera on a tripod and used the self-timer.
Group 4 Images: 50mm, f/2.5, 1/125, ISO 640. Natural light is coming in from the left and a white reflector is positioned to the right (held up by my trusty fruit bowl!).
The shadows on the right are much less pronounced then they were in the first group. And note that my shutter speed is faster here: 1/125. That’s because in order to keep my exposure the same as the first group of images, I had to increase it… that’s because I have more light!!
Group 5 Images: 100mm, f/2.8, 1/200, ISO 1000. Natural light is coming in from the left and a white reflector is positioned to the right.
Once again, the shadows on the right are much less pronounced then they were in the second group. Also note how much less drama there is! The contrast is more washed out. This is a great example of how you can get completely different looks with virtually the same camera settings just by manipulating your light sources.
5. Go outside
We think nothing about photographing food outdoors in summer. Try it in winter too. Maybe not in the pouring rain. But after a snowfall, it can work remarkably well. Snow gives you all kinds of light but it can give you a grey cast to your photos. I’ve found the trick to working with snow, is to actually overexpose the photo a few stops. I shot these cookies in the snow last year:
For this photo in the snow, I went up two stops to overexpose the image and make the whiteness of the snow brighter. I don’t think it washed out the cookies too badly and the whiteness on the candy canes turned out well too! Like I said, we don’t get a lot of snow so I don’t get a lot of opportunities to practice!
So, which image did I choose for the prime spot at the top of the page? Image 3 from Group 2. To post process it I changed the Camera Profile in Lightroom to Camera Standard, increased the contrast and clarity, sharpened it and then exported it to a .jpg. I liked the more dramatic shot without the reflector. Et voila! C’est beau! (at least, I like it!).
Remember, if you shoot in RAW, you can change the white balance easily in post processing. But, I do recommend you try changing it in camera so you get a feel for how they work and you can see the differences as you shoot!
Now, get your tripod and your foam board and get out there and take some photos after 4pm!
Oh yes. Best tip ever: Use the tripod.
I haven’t used it since I moved house. And that was back in September.
how did i not know you’d moved?? we need to catch up – I feel horrible about being so absent 🙁
I finally got my tripod out, and couldn’t believe the difference! Got my first photo into Tastespotting, but like you I resist it as I like to move around. Re: foam board, I use packaging that I found in the street from a fridge or some such (I know here in Provence everyone throws everything onto the street, because we have daily rubbish collectors, they know it will be taken away, down side of good urban services). Thanks for the post, I am fairly new to SLR photography and this is the most user friendly post I’ve come across! (I usually fall asleep after the first paragraph!)
ha! I love that you’re using all fridge packaging! that’s awesome. whatever works – it doesn’t have to be fancy. Sheets are good too
Ummmm yeah… USE the tripod. Best tip ever. LOL! Great post!
thx M. you know what?? shhhhh but… I didn’t use the tripod for any of the pics in this post. It really does make me grumpy most of the time!
#2 made me laugh out loud! I have one, it collects dust unless the kids are using it. Guess I’ll put that on my New Year’s resolution list 😉
i use to hang my reflector from!
Hey, this is so helpful. I wandered over here from Twitter and was so pleased to see a post on low light photographer. The photos you include are so helpful — great job! And I love your advice for shooting in snow.
glad you found it helpful 🙂
I love it, so much of this should be common sense, but how often do I really think about it.
Thanks so much for all the great tips on improving our images!
Thanks, Dennis! I just bookmarked and now I’ll have to go buy a tripod. 🙂 I’ve been only blogging on the weekends, since it’s dark when I leave for work and dark when I come home. Btw, I didn’t know about the white balance/manual settings on my point and shoot–just found them!
My favorite is also “use the tripod”. I have one but most of the time I’m too lazy to use it. Thanks for the tips. 🙂
Hmm good advice however, I own a tripod. But like you I hate it. I absolutely hate using a tripod. Of course that said My photos don;t always come out the way they are intended. hand Shake never helps and neither does Bilateral carpal Tunnel..
Thanks for the great tips. I will keep this handy next time i shoot my food I will put them to use. 🙂
Great tips! I use many of these tricks myself, but it’s great to see them laid out so simply. I love that you emphasize that you have to really *use* a tripod, not just own one… I’m always so reluctant to give up my mobility, but it really does help.
I also utilize studio lighting, from time to time, though I haven’t really mastered it yet… it’s unfortunate, but I often find myself just finishing cooking at 6 or 7pm, and my options are pretty limited.
I also notice that you use very similar lenses as I do – my two primary food lenses are a 50mm 1.8 f-stop lense and a 100mm macro 2.8 f-stop. It’s strange how comforting it is to know I’m not alone.
Oh, and your trusty fruit bowl? I do the same thing, but with a large vase. This vase moves around the house, showing up in whatever place I last decided to photograph in. I feel like MacGyver figuring out how to prop everything up!
Anyway, thanks again for a fantastic post, I really enjoyed reading it. 🙂
-Willow
MacGyver! Yes! love it. lol.
I used to shoot food only with the 50mm but I moved to a full frame camera earlier this year and the 50 is now usually too wide unless I do over head. I’d like to invest in a good 85mm. But I love my macro lens for food!
This is so helpful.Great tips! I use many of these tricks myself, but it’s great to see them laid out so simply. I love that you emphasize that you have to really *use* a tripod, not just own one. I will keep this handy next time i shoot my food I will put them to use
Fabulous post!!! You gave such wonderful, detailed information…thank you!!!!
PS…I lived in Vancouver for a year iduring high school when my dad did a sabbatical at UBC…LOVE your city!!!!
Thats a neatly written post with good amount of grab away information…
Thank u for sharing.
Great post! I know I can use lighting tips.
I used to feel that way about my tripod, until I took it outside and caught some amazing northern lights because of it.
That taught me patience and it is now a fixture in my kitchen.
I use it 95% of the time now.
Group 5 Images: 100mm, f/2.8, 1/200, ISO 1000
You mentioned this was faster than the first set (And the shutter speed is faster here again: 1/200), however:
Group 2 Images: All shot at 100mm, f/2.8, 1/200, ISO 1000
So, I am confused…what was the actual speed on whichever one is shown incorrectly?
Ah sorry Leslie you’re right! Group 4 was faster than Group 1 but group 5 and 2 were shot at the same shutter speed. The setting listed are all correct but when I was actually writing the post (it was late) I was comparing Group 4 and 5 – which was wrong. I’ll go correct it now. Thanks for the catch!
… sheepishly gets the dust collecting tripod out of the cupboard…
Great post Melissa, and I can’t wait to try out the tips. I also love how you photograph on a black surface fairly often. I’ve tried both white and black surfaces, and love how the black can offer a warmer picture.
Just got my first tripod 6 weeks ago, what a difference it makes…when I use it. However, I have found it to be somewhat limiting. I am still trying to get the hang of it (read: sits in the corner while I contemplate using it). Great tips!
Absolutely LOVE these. My biggest problem is that I work from sunup to sundown (and a little after) in the winter time so that cuts my photography down to a couple of hours on the weekend between the piles of laundry and about 5 million other things that pile up throughout the week. Any resolutions for that one? No? Dang….I was hopeful 😉
This is great – thank you so much. I’m not a food photographer but I do live in the north of Scotland and have been frustrated in the last couple of weeks at the lack of light and the quality of my photos because of it. I’m going to try a good few of these tips. I’m saving this post right now.
Thank you for those tips. Will come very handy in the future tackling those dark yellowish restaurant shots lol.
Well this was perfect. I googled looking for “rainy day natural light food photography” and yours was the first link that came up! I didn’t even notice it was yours until I saw the page :). Great post!! I need to shoot today….ughhhh. It’s so grey in my apartment right now, I’m hoping it brightens up a bit in the afternoon. I don’t have a tripod but I will mess around with the w/b and hope for the best!
oh that’s so great to hear! google keeps my blog alive when I’m absent for a while. I’m glad you found it useful!
Thank you so much for the tips it will help a lot improve my food blog!