Location Food Photography Setup

Lighting: one Alien Bee 800 strobe in an umbrella + a couple reflectors around the food

Camera: Nikon D3S with Micro-Nikkor 55mm lens

White Balance: Incandescent

Note: I did not use the strobe itself, just the 150 Watt Halogena modeling light bulb so that I could have a selection of f-stops and shutter speeds. The food wasn't going anywhere! :-)

 

The flip-top tool box (Tray Box by Options #6102-86 from Joanne's Fabrics) contains:

* pair of high quality Fiskars small tip scissors (from Joanne's Fabrics)

* package of 6" wood skewers (to move bits of food around, prop buns open or food up, etc.)

* small butane torch (to scorch or char food, if needed) (Harbor Freight)

* 3 or 4 little cones of incense (use to create smoke or to imply the food is sizzling hot)

* pack of matches (to light the torch or incense)

* butane cigarette lighter " "

* set of six dental picks (from Micro Center computer store of all places)

* wood sticks with wads of cotton at the end (Big Lots store)

* floral wire (Dollar Tree; to hold items in place or attach/position a reflector)

* wire cutters (Dollar Tree; to cut the wire or the wooden skewers)

* 4 stainless steel spring clips - very useful (The Container Store @ USD $.50)

* small box of bottles of food coloring: red, green, blue, yellow (Dollar Tree / grocery stores)

* individually sealed packets of hand cleaner - very important (Kroger grocery or Dollar Tree)

* black Sharpie marker "Industrial version" (Micro Center)

* carpenter's glue applicator w' syringe tip (precisely place droplets of water) (hardware store)

* razor knife "Exacto" with refills

* pair of Enkay 5" angled-tip forceps (Micro Center)

* pair of Enkay 5" straight-tip forceps (Micro Center)

* ballpoint pen

* folding toothbrush (wet it then rub my thumb on bristles to randomly spray water on salads)

* several sets of tweezers (Micro Center computer store)

* meat syringe (place fluids where I want or take them away) (any grocery store)

* small pack of facial tissues (Dollar Tree)

* small pack of round cotton pads (Dollar Tree's makeup department)

* pair of kitchen shears/scissors (Dollar Tree)

* chopsticks ("borrowed" from a Chinese restaurant after lunch)

* plastic zip bag of cotton swabs "Q-Tips" (Dollar Tree)

* package of Dritz #126/27mm straight pins (Joanne's Fabrics)

* package of Dritz #100/38mm "T" pins (Joanne's Fabrics)

* a couple small extra zip-top plastic bags (Hobby Lobby)

* 2 small containers of coffee creamer: Irish Creme (to color beverages) (from my bank)

* 2 small containers of coffee creamer: Chocolate Cream " " " "

* 2 small containers of McDonald's coffee creamer " " " "

* .10oz/3g bottle of Super Glue (Big Lots store)

* several small sheets of aluminum foil (to use as reflectors) (my kitchen)

* recipe cards cut to make tiny supports (to put behind to hold up gift cards or loyalty cards)

* 30 ml Polycarbonate bottle with distilled water (The Container Store)

* 30 ml Polycarbonate bottle with 50% Denatured Alcohol

* 30 ml Polycarbonate bottle with 50% corn syrup / 50% water (spray on food or glassware)

* 30 ml Polycarbonate bottle with 50% pure glycerine / 50% water " "

The water evaporates but the corn syrup or glycerine remains.

Use on food such as salad greens they look "fresher" with little droplets of "water" catching the light or on cups/glassware it gives an appearance of "frost" implying the beverage is cold.

Believe it or not, there is still room for more.

 

The plastic tub (Sterilite #1894 from Joanne's Fabrics) contains:

* 2 small spray bottles whose spray tops fit the Polycarbonate bottles (a beauty supply store)

* long sticks of incense (use to waft over or hide behind food to imply smoke) (Dollar Tree)

* a hand mirror (bounce light precisely where I want it) (Dollar Tree)

* plastic mirrors (reflectors I can cut to shape) (Joanne's Fabrics or automobile parts stores)

* a red, green and white linen table napkin (add a touch of class or color) (Dollar Tree)

* 4 black 4" round rubber/plastic drink coasters (add friction to slippery surfaces) (Dollar Tree)

* 4 white 4" round rubber/plastic drink coasters " "

* 2 black rubber/plastic door stops (put under plates to tip toward the camera) (Dollar Tree)

* 2 white rubber/plastic door stops " "

* foam flower arranging blocks (put under plates of food to lift them off the table) (Dollar Tree)

* 12" long wood skewers (grocery stores)

* Chopstick Helpers (5 plastic devices that hold a pair of chopsticks open (Kroger grocery)

* turkey baster (add food to container prior to photo so as not to have a "slosh" line)

* two turkey lifters with very sharp points (insert into foam reflectors to position accurately)

* dispenser of plain toothpicks (Family Dollar or Dollar Tree)

* dispenser of colored toothpicks (Kroger grocery)

* package of plain wood sandwich picks (a little longer than toothpicks) (Dollar Tree)

* package of fancy sandwich picks with colored celephane "Frill Picks" (Dollar Tree)

* package of picks with little umbrellas "Parasol Picks" (Dollar Tree)

* individually-wrapped drinking straws of various sizes & colors (multiple sources)

* individually-wrapped sets of chopsticks

* small, medium & large clear Acrylic folding supports - to hold menus (H-Mart)

* small bottle of Elmer's white glue (position Sesame seeds on buns, etc.) (Joanne's Fabrics)

* package of 4 sticks of Tacky Wax (put things/food where I want; easily removed) (Big Lots)

That tub is fairly full now.

 

Since I took that setup photo I purchased more green and white floral foam (cubes, blocks, rings and truncated cones) from Dollar Tree. Because they are so bulky I now carry them in a fabric reusable grocery bag.

 

One problem with the white floral foam blocks is the color shows up under plates of food. So tomorrow I think I'm going to spray paint them black on half leaving the other side white.

 

Also in the bag of floral foam I have added two sizes of plastic round dog food dishes (Dollar Tree) that I use to lift plates up from the dining table when needed. When both are inverted, the smaller one stacks neatly atop the larger one.

 

BTW, Michael's Crafts has a wider selection of floral foam than Dollar Tree but at four to five times the cost. So unless I really need a particular shape or size I'm not buying any until they have a sale.

 

I purchased some sheets of solid color craft paper: red, blue, green & yellow (Dollar Tree). I want to see how they work when put behind or under plates of food to have a solid color background instead of whatever table the restaurant has or one of my placemats (Dollar Tree and Big Lots). The problem I am running into is the placemats are often not large enough. If I put them under the back of a plate there is not enough fabric and leaves a gap under the front of the plate. I feel this is making me shoot and compose an image that is too tight or close-up. What I also need to do is purchase more fabric remnants (Joanne's Fabrics or Hancock Fabrics).

 

Speaking of fabrics, one investment I made recently was to spend $15 on a handmade Mexican serape that is very colorful. I use this as a background on one or two photos per Mexican restaurant. (I will be adding some examples to my Food Set soon.)

 

Added January 2012:

I dropped by Hancock Fabrics looking for blue and white fabric because I had an upcoming assignment for a Greek restaurant and wanted a hint of their national flag in the background. I bought a yard each of two designs. One had narrow alternationg soft blue and white lines. The other was a blanket material that had soft white clouds on a blue background. I was thinking it might look like there is a view outside a window behind some of the Greek food and we were seeing sky and clouds. Both of the fabrics worked very well.

Done