First food photo

[pittbug]

I went to a local store (World Foods) and bought some cakes home so I could try out my new 105mm f2.8 Nikkor micro lens, (purchased today from mpex.com - thanks guys!).

I know there are small blemishes on the food, but what I'm most interested in is the lighting, because that's an area that I really need to learn more about.

For this shot, I placed the cake on a white plate, which was a piece of red velvet on my dining room table. Camera left around 45 degrees is the late afternoon sun coming in through some white fabric blinds, which acts like a softbox. Then I used the on-camera flash and held a white napkin in front of it to soften it a bit.

Should I have lit the right side of the cake with a reflector or another light source?



Camera Nikon D90
Exposure 0.1 sec (1/10)
Aperture f/3.0
Focal Length 105 mm
ISO Speed 200
Exposure Bias 0 EV
Flash On, Return detected

[jsklinger@yahoo.com]

Pittbug,
You are gonna love the 105, I have had mine for a couple of years and is my favorite lens.

A couple of things I notice about the shot:
1.) It is a little hard to tell, but I think the yellow on the flower is a tad bit overexposed, seems there is a little bit of lost detail in the left side.
2.) You are right, the right side should be lit a little more for this kind of a shot.
3.) The shadows are distracting to me. The shadow of the cake runs in two directions - one to the right of the cake and the other towards the camera (one is the light from a window and is the other from a room light?). I would try to light it so the shadows are reduced or eliminated. A light box would help with this.
4.) Did you have the on camera flash turned way down? It is hard to tell if there is any illumination coming from the camera.
5.) I am a fan of shots being square to the camera, this is a personal preference. This shot is tilted a bit down to the right. Again, this is a personal preference, and squared up is mine. And my wife will tell you I like things squared up because I am a square :-)

Keep shooting and enjoy the 105!!
Jim

[pittbug]

Hi Jim

Thanks for the detailed critique. I did use the on camera flash but it ws too harsh and created a lot of highlights which I didn't like, so I softened it by holding a napkin in front of it. Perhaps I softened it a bit too much. Sunlight was my primary light source, no additional roomlights, although the walls of the room are painted white. So perhaps some light bounced off the wall (about 5 feet away from the subject) which caused the forward shadow, I'll try and look out for that.

I didn't even notice that the subject is tilted down, thanks for pointing this out.

Yes the 105 is amazing quality. Now I need to sell a kidney and start upgrading lenses

[edbayani]

jsklinger said it all: the only thing i can add is to correct the yellowish cast by using levels, clicking the rightmost eyedropper and click on the lightest part of the plate to correct the color balance.

[pittbug]

Hi edbayani

I actually warmed the light using lightroom because I wanted to give it that almost candlelit desert in a restaurant feel. When I correct the white, the chocolate looks a little too stark and not as inviting to me somehow, but maybe that's just my personal preference, since I tend to prefer warmer lighting. Is that a big no no?