The two food photographers Sebastian and Mabel, in cooperation with us, organized the launch of the Lumen Studio 150 LED steady light and des C5i Macro Aluminum Tripod have the opportunity to subject the products to a practical test. Both products completely convinced the amateur cooks and made it easier for them Taking their photos and videos enormously. Aesthetic and artistically arranged food photos are essential, especially for Instagram!
The love of food photography
The hobby cooks have always had a love of photography. With their many years of photographic experience, the two then increasingly focused on the food photography focused. Why the two of them chose food photography In their eyes, they are particularly attracted by the diverse colors and contrasts of the resulting dishes. In addition, they love to play with the different and constantly changing textures on the plate and face the new challenge that Dish at the perfect angle to scan. The greatest feature in the eyes of both photographers is that all motifs are not prepared with additives, but should still be edible afterwards.
For the perfect food shots veteran food photographers recommend that you think about how to do it before you start cooking photo and the image composition should look like. A food photographer should therefore be aware of the answers to the following questions in advance:
- Which motif is used with which colors
- What light is used and how should the light setup be positioned
- What will the exact image structure and the corresponding composition look like
- Which decorative elements should be visible in the picture
- What can be prepared in advance in order to have enough time for the actual pictures afterwards?
The resulting answers can then save important time. You will find out later in this article why this is so important. For these shots, Sebastian and Mabel have alongside the Macro aluminum tripod and the Lumen Studio 150 LED steady light rather up Macro Photography Equipment set.
In detail, they used the following equipment:
- A Nikon D600 full-frame DSLR camera with Nikon AF-S 50mm f/1.8, Nikon AF-S 35mm f/1.8 and Tamron 90mm f/2.8 macro lenses
- The C5i Macro Aluminum Tripod and the C5i carbon tripod
- Various clip-on flashes
- In combination with that Lumen Studio 150 one Deep softbox with a diameter of 90 centimeters
- Different reflectors
All of this was designed around this flatlay from the bird's eye view to illuminate well and take the hunger-inducing pictures.
Colorful dishes: pictured perfectly, despite difficult lighting conditions!
The rapidly changing daylight is a well-known problem for amateur photographers, especially in the cold season. The few hours that offer perfect daylight fly by, what a additional light source essential for photography. Especially in the area of food photography is a even and natural light of great importance. The colors of the food and the contrast between dishes and food must look natural and genuine. Artificial light often leads to this distorted colors, which are also difficult to retouch in post-processing. The Lumen Studio 150 convinced the two through the neutral color rendering and allowed them to work without having to make major color corrections.
So that the pumpkin soup and the surrounding decoration are as good as possible with the light setup illuminated, the photographers positioned the light to the left of the camera. for one directional lighting they also had at that Lumen Studio 150 the Deep softbox attached. Opposite was a white reflector. Together with the reflector and the light, which at 100 percent performance was used, the two aimed for bright lighting as that is the style in which they mainly shoot.
| focal length | cover | ISO | exposure | Settings Lumens studio 150 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50mm | f/5 | 200 | 1/20 seconds | Brightness 100% Color temperature 5,500K |
Time – a crucial factor in food photography!
Another very important point of food photography is the temporal aspect. As often with food photographers macro shots arise, which individual highlights of the courts in the should shift focus, the duration of the shoot is crucial. Especially when it comes to hot food, it is difficult to catch it before it cools down or before individual ingredients wilt or melt due to the heat. The two photographers had through that LED permanent light a significant one Advantage, since time-consuming changing of clip-on flashes was no longer necessary. You could already see the light and shadow cast by the Lumen Studio 150 on the subject before the recording began. The test shots that they would normally have to take when using studio flashes were therefore no longer necessary. So she could lighting set quickly and easily and directly using the connected computer be adjusted.
In order to save as much time as possible, the two rely on the same thing light setup at their shoots. The same setup as before was used for the cabbage roll motif. The light source was to the left of the camera and the softbox on the Lumen Studio 150 and the white reflector positioned opposite provided the appropriate direction and reflection. For the „dinner mood“ they also made sure that there was a reflection on the edge of the plate during the recordings.
| focal length | cover | ISO | exposure | Settings Lumens studio 150 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35mm | f/5 | 200 | 1/13 seconds | Brightness 100% Color temperature 5,500K |
Flexible use thanks to the Bowens bayonet
By the Bowens bayonet is the Lumen Studio 150 LED permanent light with different light forms very flexible to use. The food photographers used the Lumen Studio 150 with a deep softbox measuring 90 centimeters in diameter to create a nice soft light to obtain. The two also have the combination of the softbox with inner diffuser and the LED permanent light in theirs Test convinced.
Another big advantage is the continuous light for video recordings, as it creates a beautiful and uniform illumination the backdrop allowed. The built-in fans remains quiet even after prolonged use and does not attract attention with loud humming during video recordings. In addition, the brightness of the light can be adjusted by convenient app control easily changed, preventing image blur caused by manual operation.
Bird's eye view of food photography
One is particularly popular with foodies Shot from above, since a court so in its all its glory can be illuminated. The C5i Macro Aluminum allows a Folding the center column and such a photographing from the bird's eye view. The heavy full-frame DSLR camera (Nikon D600), which was used for the two food photographers, including the lenses, could also be held by the stable yet light tripod without any problems. Thanks to the hook on the center column counterweights be attached and also the rubber feet of the C5i Makro secure the stand and protect the equipment from fall damage.
The two amateur chefs have found a small disadvantage of the tripod in their work. The counterweight hook is rotatable, so attached counterweights could fall off – Of course we're happy to record that, to share it with the product development to note.
However, none of this plays a decisive role in their conclusion. Mabel and Sebastian are very happy with the equipment and can add more “foodie” the C5i Macro Aluminum and the Lumen Studio 150 LED steady light just recommend. Recordings can be made available as soon as possible bird's eye view be ingested before the food is finally eaten.
You too have taken a food photo with our tripods or LED permanent lights. Then please tag us Instagram and Facebook with the hashtag #rolling moment.