I like food photography assignments… although at times they can be nerve racking. Black Bass Dartmouth Mass was different, for the most part It all depends on the Chef and the staff as to how well organized they are. The trick is to shoot the food while its hot- to me it seems to bring out the color and of course the steam radiating from the food helps. You don’t always see it in the shot but overall I like to shoot right out of the kitchen.
I shoot food with all kinds of lighting systems, I have a portable Hensel lighting kit/strobes that are high output. And I also have a large kit by Arri, hot lights, and various florescent kits. If I’m shooting near windows I prefer to shoot with 5000K florescent lights. If I’m shooting inside of an elegant restaurant with candle light then I’m inclined to use 300 watt Arri tungsten at about 3K kelvin.
In all cases I use a tripod and camera remote with my Nikon D3’s. And while I do use toothpicks, hand-towels microwaved wet for steam ( at times ) I don’t get into the motor oil, glue, shoe polish and all that stuff. I try to keep things as natural as possible.
I photographed this session at the Black Bass Restaurant in Padanaram Village in South Dartmouth, MA. The staff was great- and so was the food, or so I hear. Actually it looked so good I went back on the weekend!
