SHOOT WITH A PRO

15

EXPERT INSIGHT

REFLECTORS

REFLECTORS are an

essential for JP’s food photos

to fill in shadows, although he’s

never actually purchased one!

Instead, he uses cheap and

lightweight foam board, which

is a bit more rigid than fabric

reflectors. He has even cut

holes out of some, so that he

can reflect light back on to the

food and poke his lens through

it to take the shot.

SHOOT FROM ABOVE

SHOOTING down on

to food from above

has become a trend

on social media,

because of how easy

it is to do on your

phone. Place your

food on a table or a

background, then

balance on a step

ladder, so you can

shoot down on to the food. You want to

be level so that your plate isn’t at an angle

and also be steady to avoid camera shake.

TOP GEAR #

Canon EOS

5DS R

SPORTING

a whopping

resolution of

50.6Mp, this is

Canon’s highest

resolution

consumer

camera. It may not boast rapid frame rates, just

5fps, but what it lacks in speed it more than

makes up for in incredibly rich, large and detailed

images. For food photography and landscapes,

where you have the luxury of time to compose

and take your shots and have the latest EF lenses,

the 5DS R is an excellent choice.

HOT

SHOT

Lens Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L USM

Exposure 1/80 sec, f/5.6, ISO

JP’S COMMENT

After

shooting the

pudding I knew the

next dessert would be

out soon. You have a

short window of time to get the shot

when working with foods that degrade

quickly, like ice cream. We reset, and

changed the table we were shooting on.

For this shot I placed it next to the large

window to light it, which created the

catchlights on the cherries and sauce.

I got up on my step ladder to shoot

down on the trio of chocolate delights,

and used the sharp right angle of the

table to juxtapose the rectangular

corner of the framing.