Best Light Modifiers For Food Photography

By shutterstock january 20 2015.

Best light modifiers for food photography.

The westcott 35 deep parabolic zeppelin you can use it in the studio or on location for a gorgeous wraparound quality of light. How lighting modifiers can improve your food photography. This is more about using the dark colours of the food and its background and surroundings in combination with natural window lighting such as in the example below. In the video above i demonstrate my go to light modifier for shooting fashion portraits.

It is very effective in creating mood. So again like the speedlites you are very limited in power with monolights. Regardless of the light source that you regularly use in your photography daylight continuous or flash light modifiers can surely help you improve your work. Armed with information on the types of lights and modifiers and the most essential specs you can choose the right tool for the shot.

Lighting modifiers and tools. The following 5 modifiers are very reliable easy to use and they can bring dramatic results once you master the art of controlled lighting. As you can see the light sources are very similar in placement and both use the same lighting modifier. The best lighting for photography is going to to be the best lighting for your style of photography one photographer may swear by his flash while the next insists her battery powered strobes are the best.

The image to the left is of a small monolight made by godox that is only 400 watts. A softbox is the most common light modifier used in food and still life. However the most used modifier in my own arsenal is a dish reflector with a 20 or 30 degree honeycomb grid. The differences in this series are the white balance modes and color temperatures of the lights.

Learn about two of my favorite lighting techniques to make your food photography look even better. Dark food photography a growing trend in some food photography is to go the low light style and a dark setting. You need to use light modifiers for these as well as the bare head strobe has very harsh direct light. Yes you need to get enough light onto your set but you need to sculpt and shape that light to create the dimension that will show your food in the best way.

Having an artificial light source is not enough. The most commonly used modifier in food photography is the softbox. A honeycomb grid cuts off the light and narrows it which creates stunning contrasts in food photography.