Plate to Pixel

by Helene Dujardin

  So remember that you don’t have to wait for the light to be in a specific position to start shooting. You are a mobile entity. Don’t be afraid to move around your subject or to move the subject itself to acquire a different relationship with the light … to get the angle/ direction that you want. If you have the time to wait for the right time of day, a time when you like how and where the sun splashes across your setup, then wait it out to get what you want. Otherwise, just make it happen by strategically placing yourself and your food.

  So while you may have a preferred lighting setup for your photography, your images will benefit if you can stay open-minded and ready to experiment once in awhile. Natural light is constantly moving and changing. Enjoy the variety of effects it offers and use it to your advantage by moving with it.

  In summary, when shooting with natural light, ask yourself these questions:

  • Do I want to be outdoors or indoors?

  • What mood/ feel am I going for? Do I want to bounce the light to minimize dark areas or do shadows add important visual interest to the shot?

  • Do I want lots of shadows and highlights (direct light), or do I want to keep the light soft and gentle (diffuse it)?

  • Do I want the light to come at my subject from the front, back or side?

  Can you tell that I love natural light?! It’s pretty amazing to me how much possibility it offers. There are so many ways to use what’s out there. Just remember that tools, such as bounces and diffusers, can help you manage light. And your camera settings, such as aperture and shutter speed, enable you to harness and use as much natural light as possible.

  There’s a never-ending combination of tools and camera settings that offer you an ability to make photographic magic. Practice … and explore the creative possibilities available with natural light.

  Chapter Four: Artificial Light Photography

  Despite my strong preference for working with natural light (versus the artificial variety), I must admit that I’ve found myself in places and circumstances that simply didn’t have enough of it to create a good picture. So rather than pack up and postpone a shoot until another day, I learned how—in a pinch—to supplement the available light with different artificial light sources and equipment.

  When it comes to collecting and using these tools, things can add up fast in terms of the amount of gear you’ll need and the skills needed to maneuver all the technical settings. But one of the great things about artificial light is that the possibilities are endless.

  Didn’t I say that about natural light? Yes. And here is why both offer possibilities: They provide light. So, to create photographs that you enjoy, what’s really important is that you know what to do with the light you get. And there’s a lot to consider—no matter what light source you have. This chapter covers the basics.

  TIP

  The photographs in this chapter illustrate different lighting situations. All were shot with studio light as the primary source. Various types of ceiling light (each with different luminosity) were used as well to ensure visibility during the shoot.

  Lighting Gear

  Equipment for artificial light can get pricey, and some options offer a slew of complicated settings and adjustments. So I suggest, especially if you’re just starting out on your photography adventure, that you start with some basic gear and work with them for awhile. You’ll see quickly that each new tool opens a whole world of possibilities when natural light is not available.

  Well, why not just use a table lamp and shade to light a food subject, you might ask. I encourage you to test this option. But I don’t think you’ll be completely happy with your results … because the quality and quantity of the light matter much more than the form in which it comes.

  See, photographers don’t walk around with artificial light setups because it’s cool. There are specific reasons for artificial light systems, and none of them are to make you spend more money on photography … or to make you to haul more gear. Rather, they exist because the quality and quantity of light matter so much to photography. And the right light for my work will never be created by my bedside table lamp … even if it holds the best bulb I can find.

  To select the best artificial lights for your particular setup, think about your budget, the time you are willing to spend on setting up your shots and the space in which you typically work. Talk to other photographers; do your research; and find a setup that makes sense for you.

  Studio Kit

  If you have a dedicated space for food photography, at home or at work, the basic studio kit is a nice setup to get started. It will include a light stand, halogen bulb and a lighting umbrella. This type of set is called a hot light system. Most people, when they begin working with studio light, find this kind of set easier to control than strobes, and it achieves lighting that’s close to natural light.

  Strobes offer one big source of light, often overpowering other light sources. Conversely, hot lights allow one to see where the light is directed, and they provide ample light for shooting in small spaces. This is ideal for most food bloggers, foodies and beginner photographers. Yet even as a pro, I love my hot light set as a supplemental source of light when needed.

  A bigger space will require more lights and umbrellas, but when you plug in a single bulb on a studio kit, your first reaction will likely be, “Wow! That thing is bright!” And yes it is! Depending on the intensity of your home lights, you may need dim them, especially if your home light is bright. This will help you avoid an added yellow/orange color in your photographs.

  Lights

  The umbrella lights that come with most kits on the market nowadays have strong halogen bulbs, commonly ranging from 500W to 750W. Depending on the angle of the umbrella, these bulbs can emit a very powerful light from far away. You can start with a 500W halogen bulb, but I recommend getting a 750W right away if your light kit does not come with it already. It makes a world of difference.

  A basic studio light kit includes a stand, umbrella and halogen bulb.

  f/4.5, ISO 250, 24-70mm, L

  But be careful! These tiny halogen lights are really powerful … and extremely fragile. It just takes one little bump against the wall to knock out your bulb. And if you’re on a deadline …well, that could be a real problem. Consider purchasing a few extras each time you replace a bulb. They’re reasonably priced, so this shouldn’t be too painful.

  Another thing about halogen bulbs is that they get very hot … very fast. There are special types of umbrellas/light modifiers made specifically for hot lights. Normal strobe umbrellas should not be used, because they are not made for the higher temperatures. And I know this well. One time, I failed to secure my umbrella tightly in the open position, and it slowly started to close as I was busy taking pictures. I didn’t realize what was going on, until … Yeah, the smell of burning fabric can be quite distracting. I now have a silver umbrella with a hole in it that took only seconds to form. Lesson learned.

  To avoid the heat issue, think about using “cool lights” instead. These are fluorescent bulbs that don’t get hot. They put off a color that’s similar to daylight, so they can be used while there is still natural light in the room as an added light boost. Like halogen lights, the strength of fluorescent bulbs is determined by the number of watts they have.

  The Halogen Option

  If you don’t want to mess with studio kit lights, you can purchase halogen construction lights that are either mounted on a stand or easily attachable to one with sturdy clamp. These have the same quality of the kit studio lights and are very sturdy, but they’re a bit on the heavy side if you need to move them around.

  When it comes to fluorescent light bulbs, there are many variations in color temperature, which will affect the look of your photo if you shoot in Auto or Fluorescent white balance. If you opt to use fluorescent light, consider doing a custom white balance on your camera (which is well-explained in all camera manuals) before you take the picture. In my opinion, these work great as a l
ight supplement but less well as a dominant source of light.

  Umbrellas

  A photography umbrella looks no different from a regular rain umbrella, but of course it has an entirely different purpose. It opens and closes like a regular umbrella, but a photography umbrella has a reflective inner lining. Yes, even white photo umbrellas have a reflective quality to them.

  These umbrellas are used to diffuse light. To use a photography umbrella, shine the halogen bulb directly through it, and then position the umbrella to point toward or away from the subject to obtain different effects of shadows and highlights. Moving the umbrella closer to the subject will broaden the light source, allowing it to reach more places in the frame. Moving it away from the subject has the opposite effect.

  Different types of umbrellas will produce different effects.

  • A white umbrella generates a soft diffused light, but since these are not 100% opaque, some light is lost. These umbrellas generate a flattering light.

  • An umbrella with a black coating on the outside allows virtually no light to pass through, which means that all of the light is bounced back onto the subject.

  • Umbrellas with a silver lining are similar to the white ones, but they are a bit more reflective and can put off strong shadows.

  As with nearly every piece of photography equipment, best is a matter of preference. The nice thing about umbrellas is that they are relatively inexpensive (starting around $20-30), which makes it do-able to get a few to use for various types of projects.

  Scrims

  Diffusing is key when it comes to artificial lighting, and if you have an umbrella with your studio kit, chances are you already have good diffusion. (For a closer look at diffusing, please refer to the Diffuse and Reflect section in Chapter 3.) But there might be instances that call for another diffusing tool, like a scrim, which is a translucent gauzy type of material that’s fastened onto a frame. Scrims can be hand-held, if small enough, or attached onto a stand.

  Scrims both diffuse and reflect light without changing its color or quality. They come in different strengths, which depends on the tightness of the fabric weave on a unit. Scrims are available in single and double strengths, which means they can reduce light by a half (single) or a full (double) f/stop.

  Professional-grade scrims are not cheap, but you can mimic the effect at home by stacking sheets of vellum together or using different thicknesses of opaque papers that you can pick up at a craft store. The opaque diffusers that come with reflector kits (like the one that came with my 40 x 60 reflector or the little 22-inch round) also work really well with studio lights.

  Stand Down

  An important thing to know when using a studio kit: stands fall. Because these kits are designed for indoor use, the stands are not very sturdy. They can easily fall to the floor, but they won’t usually break from these falls. Consider weighing down your light stand with bags of sand, and keep children and pets out of the area when your stand is set up and in use. Upgrading to a sturdier stand may be a good idea, especially if you use your system more than a few times a year and/ or outdoors.

  The studio system I use at home is nothing grand or outrageous, but it’s proven to be reliable in situations that require artificial lights. I use the studio kit a few times per year—to photograph something on a deadline when it’s dark outside or to comply with the art direction on a specific project.

  And I still use the first system I bought: a Lowel Tota Pak that runs about $210. Setup is simple, and the kit is easy to operate and store. Most importantly though, it gives me reliable light for my work when natural light is insufficient. There are hundreds of studio lighting kits available, so take your time to study and compare different models to find the one that’s best for you.

  Equipment Setups

  Balance!

  Don’t forget to adjust your white balance settings before using artificial light. Since different types of bulbs have different color temperatures, you need to be sure to select the appropriate white balance for your setup. In my experience, the Tungsten setting is most reliable when shooting food with artificial light. It tends to require minimal adjustments in post processing. But don’t take my word for it. Play around with the options each time you shoot, and find the one(s) that work best for the effect you’re trying to achieve. Refer back to Chapter 2 for more information on Camera Settings and Modes.

  The photo on the left was shot with Auto white balance, a common setting for natural light conditions. Notice the orange/ sepia color. For the second picture, I changed the white balance to Tungsten. This reduced the sepia tone. There is still a pink cast to the image, but this can be fixed in post processing. See Chapter 8 (After Capture) for more information on photo editing.

  Auto WB, f/3.5, ISO 640, 100mm, Macro L

  Tungsten WB, f/3.5, ISO 640, 100mm, Macro L

  Once plugged in, you can position your lights and umbrellas in different ways to achieve different effects. When working on your setup, notice how the position of each element affects the softness of the light as well as shadows and dark areas. Note, too, how the use of a bounce changes the light in an image.

  Keep in mind that I work from RAW files, so the only post processing that was required for these photos is a bit of sharpening and contrast enhancement. No editing was performed on the lighting, exposure or white balance of these images.

  Studio Lights and Umbrellas

  When it comes to light, one thing you must do is take charge! It’s much easier to do with artificial lighting, since you move the light sources yourself. But as shown on the next page, there are as many ways to approach the same item as there are results.

  The photo on the right shows the setup for shining the light source through the umbrella, and both are pointing toward the ceiling. One thing to appreciate about directing light to the ceiling is that it takes away a good bit of the glare coming off the white porcelain plate. This positioning is also referred to as bouncing light off the ceiling. It’s something to consider if you shoot in artificial light for scenes that include regular china. Glare can be quite distracting, and it takes away focus from the food.

  Setup: The light is shining through the umbrella, and both the light and the umbrella are pointed toward the ceiling with a bounce.

  f/8.0, ISO 800, 24-70mm L

  This image was shot with a setup like the one shown above. Notice the soft even light and minimal shadows in the scene.

  Tungsten WB, f/3.5, ISO 640, 100mm, Macro L

  Here, the white ceiling onto which the light is directed bounces the light back onto the cupcakes, adding a bit more power to the light as it falls down and over the subject. In addition, a white board bounces the light coming down on the cupcakes. This fills in what would have been dark shadows on the left. Adding a silver reflector to this setup would have further diminished these shadows.

  This is the setup to use to reduce as matny dark areas as possible while using as much of the light as you can.

  Keep in mind that the size of the board has very little effect in this situation, because the subject is relatively small. When shooting a whole table composition, a larger board would better cover the larger scene.

  The Versatile Umbrella

  Most umbrellas in basic lighting kits are best used as shot into umbrellas—rather than shot through ones. Shoot into the umbrella by directing the light and umbrella away from your subject. This way, you use the umbrella as a reflector. When you shoot through an umbrella, you use it as a diffuser.

  To achieve the same level of lighting in the pictures on the next page, which were shot with the umbrella directed at the food (and the light shining through it) as I got for the images on the previous page (shot with the umbrella directed away from the food to reflect the light), I bumped up my exposure compensation by a half stop in Aperture mode before pressing the shutter button. Be quite sure to check your camera settings and modes to verify they are set appropriately for your shooting situation.

  In the p
hotograph on the lower left (next page), the light is soft, because it’s been diffused through the umbrella. However, shadows and dark areas remain because the light was not bounced. This soft feel works great to emphasize the creaminess of the frosting.

  Distance Matters

  When setting up your lighting equipment, pay attention to the different effects of various distances between your light(s) and your subject. When using bulb lights to supplement natural light, the light stand can be set further away from the subject. When your bulb lights are the dominant source, it may be better to close this gap. Check your setup and take a few test shots to determine how far away from your subject to position your lights.

  Set up your equipment based on the food you’re shooting. This soft look of the cupcakes may not work as well for a bowl of beef stew or a pizza, which may turn out better if the umbrella and light are pointing at the ceiling for extra light. Test out a few different setups to see what works best for your dish.

  Diffuse with Scrims

  I admit that one of my favorite ways to shoot with a studio kit is the one shown in this last set of pictures (on the next spread): through a scrim without an umbrella. I like it because the light is diffused softly but remains powerful. I tend to use either the diffuser of my 40 x 60 reflector kit or, if working on small items, the one that came with my 22-inch one. I find that these scrims do a great job at diffusing the light without being pro-graded units. This is very similar to my method of diffusing natural light coming through my window with a bed sheet, as described in Chapter 3.