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THEAPPRENTICE
TOP GEAR #
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
ONE of JP’s workhorse
lenses. When shooting
handheld he’ll use the IS
to reduce camera-shake,
but switches it off when
shooting on a tripod as it
can try to fix movement
incorrectly. It’s a true
macro lens with a
reproduction ratio of 1:1,
so he can focus closer
to the food, making it
appear big in frame.MAKE YOUR PLATE LEVEL
INSIDE JP’s kit
bag you’ll find half
a wooden peg and
a ball of Blu-Tack,
he uses these to
prop up his plates
when they’re wobbling on an uneven
surface. This stops the plate looking like
it’s sinking down and also makes the
shadows look more even when shooting
from above. These two small accessories
are cheap and easily obtained, but can
make a big difference to your shots.TECHNIQUE
ASSESSMENT
Before taking stellar food photos you need to
gather the right technical ingredients
SETTINGS
SUE replicated JP’s camera settings and used a
similar macro lens for her photos. Making use of the
available daylight coming through the window, Sue
went into Aperture Priority (Av) mode and dialed in
an aperture of f/5.6 and an ISO of 500. JP
suggested achieving a shutter speed twice that of
the focal length of the lens to avoid camera-shake
- for example a shutter speed of 1/200 sec when
using a 100mm lens. This is because high resolution
sensors pick up camera-shake more easily.
BACK BUTTON FOCUS
JP USES ‘back-button’ focusing, a technique where
the focus function is removed from the front shutter
and is instead assigned to the AF-ON button on the
rear of the camera. This makes it much easier to
autofocus, then fine-tune the focus with the manual
focus ring. This means when you go to take the
picture with the shutter button you won’t
accidentally engage the AF again. It can be found
in the Custom Functions menu, just click on the
functions of the Shutter Button and change its
function from AF & Metering, to Metering only.
JP’S COMMENT
The first dish brought out was the
Fish Variation consisting of pickled
mackerel, cured salmon and smoked haddock
mousse. The head chef, Sandor, had arranged
the components in a straight line on the plate.
I turned the plate around so that the mackerel was closest to
the camera and chose to make this my focal point by getting in
close with a macro lens and focusing on it. A wide aperture of
f/3.5 then knocked the background out of focus.