Beyond Daylight - Using Artificial Light for Food Photography by Mike O’Toole

There are thousands of tips on how to do food photography on the Internet and they all teach the same thing - How to do Food Photography using Daylight. However , In a recent survey of Professional food photographers from all over the world about what kind of light they would choose to shoot with over 90% said artificial light.  

Daylight is for amateur photographers . Putting up a reflector or two is not going to help you shoot for real food clients on real jobs. Learning the actual art of Lighting Food using Photographic light takes time and a knowledge of different equipment from Flash to Tungsten to HMI.

Daylight is beautiful , it’s useful because it’s always there. It’s found everywhere so you don’t have to bring pesky lights with you -but it has its limits.

Daylight is 100% dependent on where you are shooting, the season and even time of day determine the light you will get to work with.

Daylight can bring two much contrast for food or in some cases offer only flat and lifeless light. Light in the natural environment can be controlled by not to the same level as artificial lights in the studio.

For example you can not control the angle that daylight enters your studio and as a photographer you don’t want to have to change the angle of your set every few hours as the daylight moves around your building. Photographing with Daylight outdoors is a disaster for food because you get no real direction to the light - its all over and makes for poor pictures. 

Good food photography requires an eye for detail, an ability to bring out the textures and create a sense of appetite appeal .

As a Photographer , you're going to want fro know how to light small areas of the subject without lighting the whole composition.

You should know how yo get depth with overhead shots because those flatter planes are more difficult than traditional still life angles. You might like to know how to manage reflections on glass, spoons etc.

Despite the emergence of digital photography the one thing hasn’t changed is the need for something to look good using lighting. That will never change .

If you want to be a professional or create looking professional results , you will want to control everything about picture making.

Using your own lights means you decide on the lighting effects you want .

Using your own lighting means your results are repeatable every time.

Using your own lighting means consistent results from shot to shot.

Using your own lighting means you can be more confident in any situation 

If you want to become a pro Photographer -controlling light is probably the most important skill you will need.

The lighting is not something you can change later in photoshop or retouching , it’s something you do at the time of making the image .

Lighting is something to control absolutely, but also something to experiment with , to become more creative with. Lighting is my favourite part of photography. If you can master light then you can take your photography to another level and you will be more in demand as a photographer.  

For Courses in Lighting for Food Photography, get in touch [email protected]