Here is the food photography gear I use to sucessfully shoot food, drinks, interiors and exteriors for restaurants in Orange County and Los Angeles.
I've been a commercial photographer and filmmaker now for several years specializing in mostly nature and natural history assignments. I fell into food photography by accident after a good friend simply asked me if I could shoot some food photography for her restaurant. Thinking this couldn't be too difficult, I agreed and the next thing I knew, I was lighting, styling and shooting several plates in one day. What I found was that this was not an easy task! My first few attempts looked aweful and I quickly realized that food photography is not only an art form but also very very technical requiring specialized equipment.
So, if you are an inspiring food photographer or you just want to know more about how this process works, I would like to share some information about my equipment and how I use it. Every photographer uses different equipment and different technics. But having the RIGHT equipment is a must. Here is what I use.
Camera
I use a full-frame Canon 1Ds Mark II DSL camera, with an assortment of top-of-the-line Canon L-Series lenses: Canon 700-200mm IS 2.8, Canon 28-70mm 2.8 and a Canon 16-35mm 2.8 wide angle. There is no better camera on the market. I always shoot in manual mode where I have full control and can make minor adjustments including focusing and exposure. This amazing camera shoots an impressive 16.7 mega pixels. Want to make a full size advertising poster for your restaurant window? This camera was made for that!
An update to the tremendously popular EOS-1Ds, the EOS-1Ds Mark II is a must have for those seeking to capture huge, beautiful images, fast. With an all new, full frame 16.7 megapixel CMOS image sensor, combined with Canon's blazing DIGIC II Image Processor, the EOS-1Ds Mark II captures up to 32 consecutive shots at speeds up to 4 frames-per-second, and has dramatically decreased startup and card-writing times in comparison to the EOS-1Ds. These improvements are complemented by Canon's renowned build quality for reliability in even the most rugged conditions. Compatibility with over 50 EF Lenses, in addition to the entire line of EOS
Lenses
Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L USM Lens
The Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens is my favorite and most-used lens.
Combining a very popular and very useful focal length range with excellent image quality, professional build quality, superb autofocus performance, a fast aperture and one of my favorite features - Canon's valuable 3-stop Image Stabilization - makes the 70-200 IS one of Canon's most desired lenses. When I really need to make every shot count, the 70-200 IS is one of the first lenses I will include in my bag. It is one of the most-professionally-used lenses available and finds a home in the kit of many, many serious amateurs as well.
Weighing 3.24 lbs (1470g) and measuring 3.4" x 7.8" (86.2mm x 197mm), the 70-200 IS will not be mistaken for a light or small lens. However, I can carry this lens for long periods of time without feeling it is a burden. This is a weather sealed lens that is ready to take professional use (or should I say "abuse").
The Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens balances out great build quality with excellent image quality. Images are sharp wide open (f/2.8) - corner performance is remarkable even with a Full Frame body. Stopping down to f/4 delivers even sharper results with better contrast.
I have received some comments on the ISO 12233 resolution chart samples for this lens - some think they are too soft at f/2.8. As I get time, I retest questionable results - Or even buy another copy of the lens to insure accurate but expectable results. I re-tested this lens and the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L non-IS USM Lens at the 200mm focal length using AF, MF and bracketing - obtained results were identical. The chart is tough on optical performance, and real life images do seem sharper. I use this lens wide open much of the time - the results are quite satisfactory to me. Stopping down from f/2.8 to f/4 will show a difference - and will make this lens very close in performance to the remarkable Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 L IS USM Lens at the same aperture.
Color and contrast are good. Some CA is present (especially in the upper focal lengths). Vignetting is well controlled, basically only showing in the corners at f/2.8 and encroaching the most at 200mm. I notice slight barrel distortion at the 70-200's widest focal lengths full frame body. Distortion is not an issue with a 1.3x or 1.6x FOVCF body.
Utilizing an 8-blade circular aperture, the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens delivers foreground/background blur quality that is renowned. It doesn't get much better than this. The longer included focal lengths will create a diffuse background blur as well.
The Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens delivers fixed focal length lens performance in a much more versatile (in my opinion) package. Use the included ISO 12233 Resolution Test Chart sample crops to compare the 70-200 IS with some of the fixed focal length lenses in this focal length range such as the Canon EF 135mm f/2.0 L Lens and the Canon EF 85mm f/1.2 L II USM Lens. The primes have some advantages (a wider aperture is one of the biggest) and I use them, but the versatility of 130 other instantly-available focal lengths causes me to far more frequently use the 70-200 IS. Having zoom versatility can mean the difference between getting the shot and getting nothing with a young, energetic child. Any cropping required on a picture shot with the prime will quickly negate any image quality advantage it has.
The Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens' internal focusing is very fast, quiet and accurate thanks in part to Canon's excellent Ring USM (Ultrasonic Motor). An autofocus range limitation switch enables enhanced autofocus performance. Aside from a very slight amount of play in the focus ring (not enough to impede manual focusing), the zoom and focus rings are very smooth and nicely sized. The objective lens does not rotate or extend with focusing (or with focal length changes).
Canon EF 28-70mm f/2.8 L USM Lens
The Canon EF 28-70mm f/2.8 L USM Lens is a very impressive lens.
Pictures from the Canon EF 28-70mm f/2.8 L USM Lens are very sharp - The contrast and saturation are quite impressive. As with the newer 24-70, very little contrast and saturation post-processing is necessary.
A fixed f/2.8 minimum aperture makes this lens as fast as any Canon EOS zoom lens made. The wide aperture also produces nice bokeh (background blur).
The biggest downside of the Canon EF 28-70mm f/2.8 L USM Lens (in my opinion) is it's size and weight. This lens is not small or light when used as a walk-around lens. I minded the weight much less after reviewing my pictures.
The Canon EF 28-70mm f/2.8 L USM Lens is a part of Canon's L Series Lenses. See that page for more information.
The Canon EF 28-70mm f/2.8 L USM Lens extends down to 28mm which is not real wide on a 1.6x FOVCF body, but is still wide enough to for landscape or group pictures.
At 70mm, the Canon EF 28-70mm f/2.8 L USM Lens becomes a nice portrait lens. The zoom functionality allows capturing those quick frame-and-shoot situations (have any kids?).
All that said, I regard the Canon EF 28-70mm f/2.8 L USM Lens is the second-best walk-around lens (the Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 L Lens being the best).
Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L USM Lens
Until it was replaced by the
Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L II USM Lens, the Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L USM Lens was
my first choice for a full-frame, wide field of view, low light lens.
Measuring 3.3" x 4.1" (83.5 x 103mm)(DxL) and weighing 1.3lb (600g), the Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L USM Lens is
relatively small and
light. Build
quality is very high - indicative of its
Canon L Series heritage. This is a very nice handling and carrying lens. It is easy to take this lens with you - mounted or in a case.
"In a case" has special merit as a
short focal length range (inhibited primarily on the long end) is one of the downsides for this lens. The Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L USM Lens works great by itself, but it is
especially useful in a kit with a 24-XXmm and/or 70-XXXmm or similar focal length range lens(es).
Utilizing Ring USM, the 16-35 L
focuses very fast,
quietly and
accurately. The focus and zoom rings are nicely sized, turn smoothly and are nicely damped. This lens does not extend with a very small exception - the objective end lens elements move in/out slightly inside the lens barrel during focusing. All movement takes place behind the filter threads. If you have a filter installed, you will not have any external movement. Since the filter attaches to the lens barrel - which does not move, the filter also does not rotate. This matters when using a
Circular Polarizing Filter or split neutral density filter. The common 77mm filter threads make sharing filters with Canon's complementing lenses easy.
The Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L USM Lens is
weather-sealed but I suspect that this lens requires a
UV Filter to complete the sealing. The
Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0 L USM Lens shares the 16-35's small lens element extension feature, and the 17-40's manual indicates that a filter completes the sealing. The 16-35 manual does not specify this.
At 16mm, the 16-35 L is very sharp in the center even wide open (f/2.8) and improves little when stopped down. The 16mm full-frame corners are soft wide open (with a flat target - because of field curvature) and improve noticeably at f/5.6. At 16mm with a close subject distance, strong
barrel distortion is noticeable even on a
FOVCF body. Barrel distortion enlarges the center portion of the frame and shrinks the corners. This effect makes the center performance at 16mm seem especially good when in direct comparisons with lenses exhibiting less barrel distortion. You will likely notice this when comparing the 16-35 L's 16mm ISO 12233 resolution chart sample crops with other lenses and focal lengths. Distortion is much less of an issue with longer subject distances - I seldom find it to be a big issue in my real-life images.
While on the ISO 12233 chart sample crop subject, I should note that the 16mm samples require a relatively close subject distance. It is very hard to eliminate light reflection from the chart in the edge sample crops at this distance. You will notice lower contrast in the bottom 16mm ISO 12233 chart sample crops because of this.
By 20mm, the Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L USM Lens' barrel distortion is dramatically lower and corners sharpness approaches center sharpness. Sharpness wide open is very good across the focal length range with the longer end being slightly weaker than the wide end. By f/4, this lens is very sharp across the frame.
One of the most notable negative features of my Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L USM Lens is a
tendency to overexpose. As long as I do not clip highlights (because of this tendency), color and contrast from this lens are superb. CA (Chromatic Aberration) is very well controlled. A 7-blade circular aperture delivers excellent OOF (Out of Focus) blur quality. Of course, it takes a close subject and a wide aperture to get a significantly OOF background with this ultra-wide angle focal length range. Flare resistance is very good - very important as it is easy to get the sun in a 16mm image.
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Lens
The Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Lens delivers very sharp images as lenses get.
Build quality of the 50 f/1.8 is very basic. This lens feels more like a toy than a piece of optics. It utilizes plastic contruction right down to the lens mount (the lenses are glass of course). This light material combined with the small size (2.7" x 1.6"/68.2mm x 41.0mm - WxL) puts this lens in the featherweight class - 4.6 oz (130g). The 50 f/1.8 is currently Canon's lightest and shortest lens. Considering how light the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Lens is, I think the plastic lens mount is adequate for strength. You might get more wear than you wish if you are changing the lens frequently.
There is not much to this lens. There is no distance window or markings. There is barely even a focus ring - and the tiny ring that is there is barely usable.
Autofocus is driven by a micro motor. Focus speed is not stellar, but fine in good light with subjects that are not moving too quickly. The Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Lens is one of Canon's louder/buzzier lenses - you know when it is focusing. But this is not a wildlife lens - and the noise probably won't bother most people. I suppose a positive aspect of the sound is that you know when it is working - and when focus is locked. FTM (Full Time Manual) focusing is not included. The 50 f/1.8 extends up to 5/16" during focusing - the very small 52mm filter does not rotate.
The Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Lens' strongest quality is its sharpness. Sharpness performance wide open (f/1.8) is decent, but the Canon 50 f/1.8 is very sharp at f/2.8 and beyond. It is slightly sharper than even then Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM Lens.
With an f/1.8 maximum aperture, this is a fast lens.
Strobes
Calumet Genesis 400
Enter the world of studio lighting with these extremely affordable, and yet sophisticated self-contained flash units. The Genesis 400 monolight provides you with all the power and lighting control that you will need to create professional-looking portraits and great still-life tabletop photographs. They will provide you with recycling times as low as one second. The Genesis flash units’ 5-volt sync voltage is even safe for today’s digital cameras.
Flash operation has never been easier. The convenient rear control panel of each Genesis puts their full range of flash controls at your finger tips. Each model features digital, variable flash-output controls that allow you to adjust power levels over a 5-stop range. You can switch from full to proportional modeling with the press of a button. A built-in optical photo cell provides wireless flash syncronization and it is adjustable to increase or decrease sensitivity, depending upon the environment you are working in. An audible flash-ready alarm lets you know when your Genesis is fully charged and ready to go.
Angle of Coverage of standard 8.25” reflector – 65 degrees.
Food Photo Links:
How to photograph foodA comprehensive look at the whole process of shooting for a restaurant of other food clients.
My food blogThis is where I talk more about my work and the restaurants that I shoot.
My food photography portfolioHere you find several examples of my work.
My Food Photography Gear