Lighting Food?!?

Can anyone suggest a proper technique (or a good book or article) for lighting food? I have a shoot coming up this weekend where I have to do just that inside of a restaurant. I'm not that great with lighting in the 1st place, but from what I hear, food can be a real bear. JICIM (Just In Case It Matters - why use the acronym if you have to write it out in the first place, right Anyway, I'm shooting DV with XL2. Going to rent a light kit, but not quite sure what to rent. Will only be shooting one plate at a time, though. Any tips or precautionary pointers would be greatly appreciated.

Steven Gladney



Sometimes the obvious is hidden in plain view.

Yes...food is tough to shoot. How tough depends on what kind of food (specific)? Is it hot food or cold? Is it on a normal table setting or a photo booth? What is the time of day (Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner)? What kind of restaurant is it?

When I am brought in on a shoot, I tend to recommend as full a kit as possible when asked about product shooting. You can NEVER have too many lights because you NEVER know what you will run into. For lower budget projects, I love Lowel light kits like this:

[www.markertek.com]

Lowel Tota-lights & Omni lights are the best. As far as the "technique"...it's your eye & your project. I have no idea how you tend to frame the shot. You have to visualize how you want the food represented in your piece and play around with different light set-ups. Bring a P.A. and a bounce card too.

BEG / BORROW / STEAL A VERY GOOD FIELD REFERENCE MONITOR (larger than 8 inches). After the camera is set up, adjust the lights to the MONITOR (camera output). Just please remember to white balance and turn off any flourescents running overhead (overhead flourescents radiate a disgusting dead color).

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: DO NOT USE any In-Camera filters on the image. If you want to soften it up, give the whole thing a sexy glow, etc...don't put vaseline or panty hose on the lens... do it in post. Leave the shoot ftg clean. This way, you can always change your mind about the effect if you don't like it and you're not stuck with the in-camera effect.

You may want to avoid a regular table set-up and build a turntable with one of the restaurant table cloths on it. You could use this to slowly turn along with a slow camera push (beats dollying aound the table or just tilting & panning bigtime).

Food shooting is super-critical. I recommend having a P.A. there that has experience with product shot prep and can keep the product looking hot & fresh throughout the shoot. If you are doing it all yourself, good luck. Keep a water spritz bottle handy at all times - maybe even a microwave to heat the food & water so you can shoot the steam (don't shoot a T-Bone Steak that just sits there...it's gotta look HOT & FRESH). There's a lot to think about & prep for.

I have seen some pretty nice local restaraunt commercials take a dump when they cut to the nasty unappetizing food shots.

- Joey



Post Edited (07-25-06 18:17)

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

ive shot a ton of food over the years. and pretty much the only rule is avoid floursecents - beyond that, just suit your taste.

i have actually had a good deal of success using available light. of course that depends on the quality of the restaurants lighting.

if you are renting one of the lowell kits from our local folk. id say get the kit with the "pro lights" for a first timer, the bigger kits can be harder to control in small spaces.

in fact, you can actually get some decent results using normal incandescant lamps with a combo of those GE indoor spot/flood lights and a couple of inline dimmers. - guerilla video at its finest!

Joey,

Thanks for the input. To answer your question, this will be a shoot for a mexican restaurant. Nearly all of the shots will be close-ups of the particular dishes. The client wants to hi-light specific plates (like fresh, hot fajitas) and wants to capture the smoke coming off of the menu items. Frankly, it is undecided whether or not it will be a normal table setting or a booth. Much of the set-up will have to be determined the day of. I am planning to arrive at the restaurant on Sunday afternoon between 2pm and 3pm and shoot for about 4-5 hours. Fortunatley here in Houston this time of year, the sun doesn't even start setting until about 8pm, but I don't know how much of a factor ambient light will play a part on the setting.

I might take my wife to dinner there on Saturday night (and have the manager comp my meal so that I can start to get an idea of how I plan to set-up the shoots.

> BRING A VERY GOOD FIELD REFERENCE MONITOR. After the camera is
> set up, adjust the lights to the MONITOR (camera output). Just
> please remember to white balance and turn off any flourescents
> running overhead (disgusting color, overhead flourescents).

Thanks for the advise on this, Joey. This is a very small and tight budget production, and the Owner is nickling and diming me on the price I'm charging him. I want to give a good production, but within reason. I'M MAKING MONEY OFF OF THIS PROJECT COME HELL OR HIGH WATER. I say this because I would like to rent a good reference monitor, but my budget will not allow for it. Let me also state that this will only be a promotional video to be displayed on a flat screen in the restaurant and not for broadcast (If it were for broadcast then I think I would really be in over my head But, I use a small 14" RCA "TruFlat" CRT monitor in my office as a reference montitor right now for my small projects (which is pratically all of them). Do you think I could get away with this as a field monitor?

> HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: DO NOT USE any In-Camera filters on the
> image. If you want to soften it up, give the whole thing a sexy
> glow, etc... do it in post. Leave the shoot ftg clean. This
> way, you can always change your mind about the effect if you
> don't like it and you're not stuck with the in-camera effect.

I agree with you here totally, Joey. But I AM strongly considering shooting this in Progressive format (either 24P or 30P). Franklly, and I know this may upset a lot of people hear, but I HATE shooting interlaced. I mean, it is such a bland looking format. Don't get me wrong, I use it for shooting fast motion and church stuff, but I ache for projects that can give me an opportunity to shoot progressive. It can really make such a difference in the overall look of your project. And I know some guys, who's names I won't mention (Wayne, love ya dude believe that you can use stuff like Natress Effects to give footage a progressive look. But I've seen Greame himself post, "The software is good, but if you can shoot progressive, shoot progressive." But Joey, I'm not infering that that is what you are trying to say. Actually, I think you're implying more of that soft (I can't think of the name of the filter right now, polarizing? *I know that's not it*) filter type look. I use very little AE, eventhough I think it's a great app. I'm just not very well versed in it yet. Need to play with it more. But, what filters in FCP might be good suggestions to use to obtain that soft, glow slightly out of focus look? Is this achievalbe in FCP, or am I taking more out of my profits (by purchasing additional software and/or filters I mean)?

Sorry for such a long post. Just wanted to get as much info out there as possible. Any additional feedback is appreciated.

Steven Gladney



Sometimes the obvious is hidden in plain view.

Wayne,

Yeah, I'm renting from "our" local guy, Mario. Little concerned, though. Explained that I'm shooting just like one or two dishes at a time, and he suggested I just needed one, soft light (he's going to show it to me on Friday). Does this sound right? I was originally thinking like a 3-light kit (something for like a back key light, a soft light coming from one angle and maybe another [soft or hard] light coming from an alternate angle if the shot called for it). Is this overkill considering what I described the production as in the above post, or maybe too much of a good thing is never a bad idea (meaning you can never be too prepared)? Remember, lighting is still pretty foriegn for me. I'm going from a lot of theory and very little experience in this area.

Steven Gladney



Sometimes the obvious is hidden in plain view.

If you're shooting close ups, I might consider smaller lights to highlight the food and avoid washing it in light. A good combination of highlights and shadow will likely help it to look good (you'll want to see the grill marks on the fajitas). I would try to light it as to make it look like the light is coming from the natural table lighting. Small and intimate.

Also, if you have some warm cards, I might use them, especially for food that's supposed to be hot. Warm video will help give that impression.

Andy

Steve,

MEXICAN! YEAH...my favorite! I would be lining up those frozen margharitas on the bar rimmed with salt & fat lime wheels. Shoot some of THAT and add it into the video. THAT stuff SELLS, my boy! I like slow moving motion shots with food (look at Friday's & Papa Johns Pizza spots...GREAT product shots). Subtle lighting will work nicely with restaurant artifacts nearby in the bkgd.

You already know this, but 24p is not an effect...it's a format and by all means, shoot 24p! Just don't put panty hose over the lens to get that soft glow

There is an old (easy) trick you can use to get that sexy soft glow (I do it in AE all the time). Drag your ftg layer in the timeline. Drag the same layer again in a track over that one. Apply a Gaussian Blur to the top layer and turn the transparency down to 50%. That's it. You can tweak the blur & transparency to taste. Also if you want to tweak out the glowy bloom, add the 3-way CC filter and crank up the saturation (play with the settings). It's not airing anyway, so who cares if the colors aren't broadcast safe

I would NOT trust a CRT TV for a reference monitor on a client shoot. The image on that screen must match what the camera sees or you might as well shoot with your eyes closed. I would AT THE VERY LEAST get a monitor that can be calibrated to color bars with a Blue Gun Control.

- Joey



When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

Thanks a lot, Joey man,

I really appreciate all of the input. I'm really glad you mentioned the Papa John's shots! Didn't really think about, but I'm gonna try studying some stuff off of TV! It's really elementary and should have been the first thing I thought of. I'll get some good use out of that DVR I have now! Watch, and re-watch some of these television spots.

Will definately give the sexy soft glow trick a try. Thanks for that one as well.

And I'm glad to get the comments about the subtle lighting from everyone. I've gotten pretty good at learning how to use my available and ambient light, but it's the stuff I can actually control that has been the biggest challenge (go figure).

Again, appreciate all of the input and let you guys know how the shoot works out. Sure I'll learn a lot from it.

Steven Gladney



Sometimes the obvious is hidden in plain view.

[www.poweroflighting.com]

Steve,

Post up a couple of stills I would love to see the shoot & I LOVE Fajitas !!!

- Joey



When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

Actually, I'm terrified to do this (after seeing what happened to poor Vic , but I'll upload a couple of compressed segments to my server on Monday evening and let you guys critique from there.

Steven Gladney



Sometimes the obvious is hidden in plain view.

DO NOT use vic as an example. He was asking for soup-to-nuts input & instruction (editing / music / technical advise / compression / etc.). I just want to see your shot composition of the food You don't have to, but If you want to keep it private, I will shoot you an email.

- Joey



When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

Me? Even though I'm fairly talented as a Lighting tech., I'd hire a DP that specialized in this stuff. I think it'd be very hard to get the look you see in high end commercials w/o using someone that specialized in that knowledge.



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I'm getting hungry.

Vortex Media (www.vortexmedia.com) makes a nice mini-workshop focusing strictly on Interviews, as reviewed here by Steve Douglas--

[www.lafcpug.org]

This outlines a great, economical method to approach lighting organic subjects, like people (and why not food?), using primarily Lowel Tota and Pro lights with accessories.

But I hasten to add, steam rising from food is desirable. From people it is not. In fact, call a medic!!!

Lighting is part of pro food presentation -- there are also totally insane specialists called Food Stylists-- who do this for a living and just make us hungrier, dammit. Ironically, they sometimes use toxic ingredients like shellac, ehtyl glycol, mashed potatoes for ice cream, etc. as standins, for delicious looking results.

Hm, less hungry now.

Just add a dash of Key, Fill, Backlight. Classic 3-point lighting. Heat to warmth. Mix to nice interesting texture. No harsh shadows. Don't forget to white balance.

- Loren
Today's FCP 5 keytip:
Preview effects sections with Option-P or Option-Backslash!

The FCP 5 KeyGuide?: a professional placemat.
Now available at KeyGuide Central:
www.neotrondesign.com

"Ironically, they sometimes use toxic ingredients like shellac, ehtyl glycol, mashed potatoes for ice cream, etc."

TV station I worked for years ago did a shoot for a poultry company, including 'in the kitchen' shots of a grandmother & grandson getting a turkey out of the oven, cut to cu of lid coming off roast and steam pouring off well-browned turkey. The steam came from the handful of smokers on the crew, who puffed up like mad, then blew the smoke all at once into the roaster, slamming down the lid. Start recording, get actress to pull off lid, and viola; steaming turkey. I couldn't eat turkey for like a year with smelling cigarette smoke. If I have a point to this, it's be prepared to think diagonally at times; shooting food can be a pain, but getting results can be surprisingly simple and look really appetizing!

Any tips for "making condensation rolling done a cold margarita glass" or will that just happen naturally (like just waiting on it)?

Steven Gladney



Sometimes the obvious is hidden in plain view.

its houston in the summertime, the condensation beads will take care of themselves!

[viola; steaming turkey]

LOL. That's funny on several levels.

["making condensation rolling down a cold margarita glass"]

That would be the glycol or whatever it is they use. Or just have a spray bottle nearby. The lights will dry it out quick. Note: make the water room temperature or you could crack the talent.

Or you could have one of them dorm fridges or a small picnic cooler nearby filled with frosty "hero" glasses.

- Loren
Today's FCP 5 keytip:
Preview effects sections with Option-P or Option-Backslash!

The FCP 5 KeyGuide?: a professional placemat.
Now available at KeyGuide Central:
www.neotrondesign.com

Steve,

I worked with a few of those insane "food stylists" (elmer's glue for milk in cereal shoots, honey spread over a turkey to make it glisten on camera, crushed silica gel on a soda can to simulate ice, etc). They use everything from silica gel to real crushed ice & a spritz bottle for bottle / can / glass product shots. Since condensation NEVER takes care of itself and you always want to be in control of as many aspects of your shoot as possible, you will want to prep a bunch of glasses before shooting. Take a dozen or so and actually bury them in ice in a waitress station or behind the bar for 30 minutes before the shoot. This will give them a nice consistant frosty look with built-in condensation. Rotate them out as needed but always keep a few in the ice at all times. As I mentioned in earlier posts, keep a spritz bottle around at all times and hit the glasses as needed right before shooting or even while shooting a CU. Use coasters so there's no water trail / ring on the bar / table.

Good luck with the shoot, Steve.

- Joey



When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

Joey,

You've been great, man! Thanks for all of the good advise. I picked up a softbox today and I'm going to do some practice shots around the house before final production on Sunday. Going to keep watching and studing those commercials from TV as well. Got a couple of good one's on the DVR that I want to study really close, but some of those look like they use 3 point lighting, and I got only the one because many folks (and I agree) thought that a 3 piece lighting kit might be overkill for this production (and budget). But thanks again, Joey. Your advise has been invaluable.

Steven Gladney



Sometimes the obvious is hidden in plain view.