Quote:
Originally Posted by PartyGirlUK
How do you photograph your food so well (suggestions for a $100 camera are very welcome). Also, a cooking forum would have lot of traffic/great info.
My setup was pretty simple for my early photos:
Canon T3 (mine was $399 new - cheapest DSLR out there)
50mm Lens ($100)
18% Gray Cards ($10)
Lightroom ($$$$$$$ = free for everyone but parents who don't seem to like stealing software)
I wasn't sure I'd like photography, so I went with this baseline setup figuring I could always sell everything for a 30% haircut at worst. The two keys that friends have told me are
1) Natural full spectrum sunlight is your friend - best light you can get, so use it
2) Use the custom white balance feature on your camera - that's where the 18% gray card comes in. When you set the white balance, you avoid the ****ty yellow / brown pics that are unappetizing and common with tungsten (standard) light bulbs.
That will get you 90% there. I also do some light post processing if the color in the pic isn't quite right, or I'm losing detail in the shadows, but they really don't change the elements of the pic - just my mistakes as a dude who didn't light a shot properly.
Since then, I've done a bunch of diy stuff. Bought some vellum (tracing paper) and put it on a frame as a scrim to diffuse light. Bought 3 $10 metal reflector lights and some full spectrum bulbs (4 for $25), along with a piece of white foam core to bounce light off of. Pretty budget setup, but seems to work ok so far. Well, except for my wonderful gf who bought me a Canon 100mm macro lens for my birthday (which allows me to take pics like these)
Fwiw - those are just pics of vacuum pickled shallots I made with a little thyme and red wine vinegar. They literally took 30 seconds as part of the fried eggplant with habanero aioli dish I made. Interesting to see the effects of pulling -25mm hg vacuum on plant cells as they break down and take up the surrounding liquid.
As far a $100 cameras, I couldn't tell ya. I know what I've done and why, but I don't generally know much about photography (though I'm learning).
Quote:
Originally Posted by bearz
I wish I wasn't so used to using my comically large chinese cleaver for every task in the kitchen. I look completely awkward whenever I'm at anyone's house and I'm forced to use a regular knife.
Chinese cleavers are balling!!! I don't currently use one, but know that a lot of good cooks don't need anything else. Embrace that thing!!! I'm going to pick one up one of these days.