Shooting
steps
1
Get started Put up a black
background behind a table.
Carefully place the surrounding
props, such as pieces of cheese,
onions and kitchen appliances, in
the background. Adding bits of
colour and objects helps the overall
effect. Take a test shot using natural
light to check everything looks
correctly placed in the frame.4
Fill in See if you need additional
light. As we’ve created harsh
shadows, use a second flashgun as
a fill in to pick these up. This is set
to the camera’s right. If you don’t
have a second light you can use a
reflector or piece of white card to
bounce light back in.2
Tripod and settings Mount the
camera on a tripod. This frees up
your hands and also makes it easier
to blend multiple images together at
the editing stage. Put the camera in
Manual mode and the shutter speed
to around 1/200sec to sync with the
flashlights. We also set the ISO to
100 and the aperture to f/8.5
Keep testing After a few test
shots our key light is set to 1/4
power on the Manual mode and the
fill in light is 1/16 power. What yours
is will depend on factors like the
aperture and ISO setting and the
position of the lights and camera.
Take our settings as a starting point,
so you can tweak and play with them.3
Key light Set up your key light.
This will provide the main look
and feel of your image. We want this
image to be moody and intense, so
place it to the camera’s left, where it
will create shadows and not light the
background. Use a diffuser panel in
front of the flashlight to soften and
spread the light more evenly.6
Start dropping Now drop
food into the frame. Position
your hand near the top without it
creeping into the composition. Take
a handful of the food and drop it at
the same moment as releasing the
shutter each time. It’s trial and error,
but you’ll get better at knowing
when the key moment will be.1
3 4
6
2
5
SHOOTING SKILLS
Shooting
steps
1
GetstartedPutupablack
backgroundbehindatable.
Carefullyplacethesurrounding
props,suchaspiecesofcheese,
onionsandkitchenappliances,in
thebackground.Addingbitsof
colourandobjectshelpstheoverall
effect.Takeatestshotusingnatural
lighttocheckeverythinglooks
correctlyplacedintheframe.4
FillinSeeifyouneedadditional
light.Aswe’vecreatedharsh
shadows,useasecondflashgunas
afillintopicktheseup.Thisisset
tothecamera’sright.Ifyoudon’t
haveasecondlightyoucanusea
reflectororpieceofwhitecardto
bouncelightbackin.2
TripodandsettingsMountthe
cameraonatripod.Thisfreesup
yourhandsandalsomakesiteasier
toblendmultipleimagestogetherat
theeditingstage.Putthecamerain
Manualmodeandtheshutterspeed
toaround1/200sectosyncwiththe
flashlights.WealsosettheISOto
100 andtheaperturetof/8.5
KeeptestingAfterafewtest
shotsourkeylightissetto1/4
powerontheManualmodeandthe
fillinlightis1/16power.Whatyours
iswilldependonfactorslikethe
apertureandISOsettingandthe
positionofthelightsandcamera.
Takeoursettingsasastartingpoint,
soyoucantweakandplaywiththem.
3
KeylightSetupyourkeylight.
Thiswillprovidethemainlook
andfeelofyourimage.Wewantthis
imagetobemoodyandintense,so
placeittothecamera’sleft,whereit
willcreateshadowsandnotlightthe
background.Useadiffuserpanelin
frontoftheflashlighttosoftenand
spreadthelightmoreevenly.6
StartdroppingNowdrop
foodintotheframe.Position
yourhandnearthetopwithoutit
creepingintothecomposition.Take
ahandfulofthefoodanddropitat
thesamemomentasreleasingthe
shuttereachtime.It’strialanderror,
butyou’llgetbetteratknowing
whenthekeymomentwillbe.1
3 4
6
2
5
SHOOTING SKILLS