Herman Au Photography

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Welcome to my blog! I'm a professional wedding photographer based in Los Angeles California. Follow my footsteps in turning my life long hobby into a career I love, and check out my latest work, newest products, teasers, and photography tutorials. I shoot in an unobtrusive photojournalistic style with an emphasis on natural and genuine emotions. You can find my portfolio on my website - http://www.hermanau.com.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Lighting for Food Photography

I've been trying to improve the lighting on my food photography for a while. A big part of what I enjoy about photography is the reverse engineering on the shots I enjoy, and that includes both technical and artistic aspects. In this shot particularly, most of the hurdle for me was the lighting setup and the fine adjustment in post-processing that added the final touch that made it look natural.

Two Nikon Speedlights (flash) were used in this shot:
The first is ahead of the camera positioned slightly higher pointing down shooting through a small softbox; and the second on the right of the camera reflecting from a silver umbrella. A white reflector was used on the opposite side to fill some of the shadows. I'm sure this can be further improved with a little more fill light for the front of the cupcakes. I'll probably try another reflector above the camera next time and see if that helps. I guess I found more things to buy... again... reflector(s), reflector holder, light meter... argh this nonstop purchase list never seems to end. :) At this rate, I'll never be able to save enough photography budget to get a D300 I suppose.