Let’s speak about modifiers or extra particularly gentle modifiers for meals images that will help you take unimaginable images which can be adequate to eat.
I’m going to discover the six modifiers that I take advantage of in my images and share a little bit perception into how and once I would use them for my meals images.
Now I don’t need you to get too caught up on the particular manufacturers that I’m utilizing, as a result of a few of them are secondhand and might not be out there anymore.
On this put up, I’ll hyperlink to the modifiers that I’m utilizing. Ranging from the smallest and dealing all the way in which as much as the biggest. Those I take advantage of to create moody gentle, but additionally brilliant gentle and lastly I’ll end with my favorite modifiers.
Your solely job is to seek out the particular modifier that you simply want in your sort of sunshine or the model of sunshine that you simply shoot with!
6 Delicate Lighting Modifiers for Meals Pictures
On this put up, we’re wanting on the following 6 gentle modifiers:
- Micro Field
- Small Octa 2’
- Delicate Field 2’ x 3’
- Strip Field 1’ x 4’
- Diffuser 4’ x 6’
- Giant Octa 69”
Concentrate on The Dimension and The Form of Your Modifier
Your focus must be on the scale and form of the modifier. It’s vital to deal with the scale, form and kind of sunshine that you simply get out of your gentle modifier. The explanations will range relying on:
- The dimensions of your meals
- The dimensions of the scene that you’re lighting
- The place of your gentle and the space out of your topic
The primary modifier is a micro field and it’s a extremely small, softbox. That’s going to go on one thing like a velocity gentle that you will use as an off-camera flash.
Whereas I haven’t used this for a while, I do have a little bit little bit of a gentle spot for it. I feel it will probably create one thing actually dramatic and moody, similar to I’ve accomplished right here on this chocolate cake shot.
What I like about this modifier is it has lots of fall off so it permits me to create one thing actually low-key. It helps if we’ve got highlights and shine inside our meals to spotlight these textures.
One of many issues I cherished about utilizing this with my velocity gentle to start with was I might simply hand-hold it and I might truly transfer it across the meals and see what I used to be creating. It helped open so much up for me.
The second modifier known as an Octa field. This gentle modifier is a step up from the micro field we simply coated. Whereas it’s nonetheless on the smaller aspect, the beauty of this one is I can use it with my strobe gentle. It’s roughly 2ft extensive (or 60cms) and it’s spherical in form.
This modifier is primarily utilized in portrait images, however I like to include it in my meals images to gentle meals portraits. I like to have the ability to use this once I want the background to transition into darkish shadows.
The basic softbox is a quite common starter synthetic gentle modifier and an amazing all-rounder. Generally it’s 2ft by 3ft (or 60cm by 90cm ). Having that additional foot in peak can actually assist when you’ve got an average-sized meals images scene.
I take advantage of it for my moody work the place I must gentle a little bit bit of a bigger scene and the place I would like rather less fall-off. When taking pictures this Empress 75 cocktail, together with the cocktail shaker I wanted to gentle a little bit little bit of the background.
Utilizing the basic softbox helped me get a little bit extra gentle on my scene than the earlier Octa field would.
The following one we’re gonna take a look at is what’s known as a strip field. The one I’ve is 1ft by 4ft (or 30cm by 120cm). So it’s a tall and skinny modifier.
Now, technically area-wise, it’s truly smaller than the basic softbox, however as a result of it’s such a tall modifier, it may be bigger to work with, so hold that in thoughts in your taking pictures house. It’s additionally vital to notice, it’s bigger to retailer.
One purpose I really like this modifier is it provides me a little bit of a artistic edge as not many individuals use it. I like that I can obtain completely different seems to be for my shoots due to its peak. It additionally permits me to create each brilliant and moody work.
If I take advantage of it in a tall sense, I can create extra gentle throughout the scene or I can flip it to be horizontal and create one thing that feels completely different.
On this macro rhubarb shot, I’ve used the modify in a tall sense to create gentle throughout the scene and really feel actually brilliant. There’s gentle coming from the highest of the scene and might unfold over my scene otherwise than the others that I’ve beforehand shared.
Additionally, I can use it in a moody sense with this apple shot, and having it in that tall trend is creating extra gentle throughout the desk. I truly used a grid to assist me get these moodier shadows. Then I can use it to tilt it at an angle. So it’s not fairly horizontal and it’s not fairly tall.
It permits me to create one thing that’s very dramatic that has lots of shadows and is simply lighting the foreground.
That is my absolute favorite gentle modifier that I take advantage of in like 80% of my images and is one thing we truly use for pure gentle is a big diffuser that’s 4ft by 6ft (or 120cm by 180cm).
I have a tendency to make use of this to create stunning, brilliant work that replicates pure window gentle. You’ll be able to see in these photographs that I’ve used this massive modifier setup to gentle the largest scene. This creates a number of stunning gentle and shadows.
In case you’d wish to see how I take advantage of this modifier and the way I arrange a scene, take a look at my go-to synthetic gentle setup video.
The final one is a brilliant massive Octa field. It’s 69” throughout (additionally 175cm). Now this isn’t one thing I take advantage of on a regular basis, however I hold it with for once I’m on location or I’m working in studios and I must gentle a extremely massive scene or set.
After I do images in my little studio at my home, it’s approach too massive to make use of. I can’t even match it within the room! So if I must gentle one thing at house, I’ll use a smaller modifier. However if you’re pondering of doing lots of studio work and are taking pictures massive desk scenes to gentle, that is one thing value contemplating.
Being a minimalist in terms of gear and wanting the perfect bang for my buck, my two favourites are the strip field and the 4’ x 6’diffuser. I really like these two probably the most as a result of they permit me to create each brilliant and moody work. They’re very easy to retailer and arrange and permit me to create completely different scenes.
I do know lighting gear is de facto private to every of us, and I might like to know what your go-to gentle modifiers are for meals phtography. Let me know within the feedback beneath.
In case you’re desirous about testing extra of my gear and the way I take advantage of it, take a look at these posts:
Meals Pictures Gear: The Gear You Want
