3 Food Photography Lightings everyone should know

It doesn’t matter if you are a Food Blogger, Food Photographer, or just a Foodie with an interest in food photography, lighting is one of the most important factors that will determine how your photos turn out. In this blog post we’ll cover:

Why food photography lighting is so important?

For a photo to really truly work, it needs to be able to connect with its viewer. When you think about photography light you probably think about the basic fundamentals of exposure: do you have enough light or too much light to capture the details. There’s so much more about light – brightness, contrast, direction, and so on. Each of these light qualities connect with us on an emotional level, and it’s your responsibility to match up your subject, your story and your light. So make sure you plan the type of light you want to achieve. 

How to describe food photography lighting?

You should be able to describe the food photography lighting you want to achieve.

The easiest way to learn this is to practice with other people’s food photos.

Try these:

How to light food photography?

Now you know the basics of soft light, here are some quick tips on how to set up photography lighting.

This is a basic setup from which you can start to expand your light skills.

The soft natural light that is common in the food photography niche, usually from the side with the source of light next to your scene.

1. Put the camera next to the window, and make sure that it is near the light.
2. Place a diffuser between the light source (your window) and your subject, if needed.
3. To make the subject in a photo brighter, you should put a reflector on the other side of your scene to fill in the shadows.

This will be your foundational setup. Once you get the hang of this setup, you can then start to explore more light manipulation.

Food Photography Lighting Techniques:

There are three main food photography lighting techniques:

Food photography side lighting is used when you want to show off the shape or texture of the food. It produces long, dramatic diagonal shadows that can hide imperfections and emphasise texture, by positioning the main light source on one side. This is the easiest food lighting to start with.

Food photography backlighting is used for high-key shots. Backlighting, as a general rule, should be used for foods with a light colour or low contrast pattern. The light source is behind your subject, which will produce hard highlights on one side and deep shadows on the other.

Food photography front lighting is flat light that will highlight even minor flaws such as texture or droplets of oil smeared onto the surface of your dish. Some find this lighting boring because it’ll create less dramatic shadows, however there’s a time and place for this type of lighting.

Food Photography Lighting Equipment

This is where people go overboard. You really only need a couple of key basic lighting equipment, if you’re looking for that natural light food photography you only need three things:

• 5 in 1 Reflector / Diffuser
• A Grey Card
• White Card

Best Food Photography Light Box

A food photography light box or diffuser will help take some of that harshness out of your lighting.

The best food photography light box is Samtian Photobox, they are best for when the natural lighting conditions are too harsh and can really help with your exposure. The Samtian Photobox Food Photography Softbox Kit comes with everything inside of it so that you don’t need to worry about what you’re missing.

Best Food Photography Ring Light

This is best for food photography front lighting and side lighting because you want the light to be as close as possible without touching any surfaces. It’s also perfect for set up in low light condition such as outdoors. The best ring light for Food Photography is the Westcott Flex Kit, which comes with a photo/video head and an LED Ring Light

Food photography setup examples

Natural light food photography

Natural window light works for all types of food photography.

Artificial food lighting

When it comes to food photography artificial lighting you need to:

– consider the type of light you want to use: LED or flash?

– consider the size of your subject – will a light box be appropriate?

– calculate how much power you need to make sure that it’s not too bright or too dark.

DIY Food Photography Lighting

If you have no other option then there are some DIY options. If all else fails, just put on an overhead lamp and bounce it off a wall or try cooking on an overhead projector.

Here are some DIY Food Photography Lighting Ideas:

All you need is white paper, white card/foam and a light (window).

Food photography lighting can be the difference between a professional looking photo and something that needs to be scrapped. Food photographers spend hours setting up their shots for just one shot, but it doesn’t have to take much time or effort if you understand how your food works with regards to food photography light. By using these tips on what types of lights work best in different situations, like backlighting when photographing meat products, or creating an even exposure by bouncing off surfaces such as walls with natural light, you’ll get great photos every single time! If all else fails there are plenty of DIY home options available too so don’t give up hope yet.