Photo finish.

From V., 28 April 2010, A question about food photography.

Q: hi from providence.
like your blog! i am or I should say have been trying to write a blog but my two toddlers take up a bunch of time so it is a project long in the upstart! I was wondering what camera you use to take your shots.

A: Thank you for reading! Believe me, I understand. I actually have a non-food day job and a commute that takes about three hours round trip, so it’s hard to find the strength sometimes to write. Sometimes, I just want to cook!

But I do enjoy writing about food and, as much as I can’t claim to be any kind of pro behind a camera, it has been useful to photograph my food. The need to photograph has forced md to think more about plate composition and visual appeal.

I shoot with a Canon SX-10. Straight up, no additional lenses or anything. I am working against numerous obstacles – our kitchen is in the basement (which does have windows and opens to the back garden, but still, it’s a bit short on natural light). I have a day job so I shoot only at night. Our kitchen is pretty industrial – all steel and Corian, no wood – so light tends to bounce everywhere. And we use halogen spotlighting, which casts patches of excess brightness and shadow. It’s not super flattering, either. The SX-10 has multiple settings for indoor light, as well as macro and super macro settings for close ups. I bought it for general use and am pretty happy.

Most food photographers recommend that you try to shoot outside, or indoors under natural light. If you have a ground floor kitchen with ample natural light, most decent cameras should yield good results.

Good luck and please let me know when you get that blog up and running!