I am discovering, I think, my style in the food photography approach . I am laughing, because my style means mostly no tripod. The camera on tripod drives me nuts. I want to move around the table, trying different angles, from sides and from lower or higher. The tripod just limits my movements, even as convenient and easy to use as the last one we bought. Yes, in most cases you can adjust it really quickly, you can change the heights by quickly adjusting legs, but for example going from vertical to horizontal and back is major operation. The bottom line- we usually make first shot on tripod, carefully adjusting lights and focal length. When we are happy with this image, the camera goes in hand and everything is possible . That how I finally ended up with this image, when all the higher angle approches were just not working that well.

There are not many books on food photography. But when you think about, food photography is not different than any other studio-product type of photography. The trick is in knowing how to prepare food for shooting session. I picked up the book “Food photography and styling” by John F. Carafoli from university library. The book isn’t very recent, it was published in 1992. Most of the images in the book are heavily dated, dark lit, white balance is on the side yellowish cast. There are some simple scene lighting schemes presented, but they are not focus of the book. Maybe because the book not written by photographer – the author is an accomplished food stylist. The strength of the book lies in tips and techniques of making food look good on the photograph. Some techniques are already well established in the field, and can be found elsewhere (for example in another good read, Digital Food Photography by Lou Manna). But it is good to know how to make artificial ice cream, so it doesn’t melt on the set; to use margarine because it has better color than butter and to put salami on the pizza when it comes out of the oven, instead of before, because it tends to shrink and change color. The book is full of them, and there is a short glossary of additional advice at the end.
Because the book is written by food stylist, the food images were photographed by people other then author. I was able to find some of the names featured in the book on the Internet and learn more about their work. Jack Richmond seems to have the biggest food portfolio of all of them, it is really worth checking out. Karol Caplan work is more on fine art side, very subtle, but interesting. Brian Hagiwara is a stock photographer with large variety of images, many of them food.

There is a series of best National Geographic images photo books. “Wide angle” with photographs of places, “In focus” with most interesting portraits and “Through the lens” with general best images. We picked them up from the local library – it was a few pounds of books . They made for an interesting browsing for few evenings.
I am an avid reader of National Geographic magazine (although their marketing mail drives me nuts!), and I am really fond on their images. But when you really have a chance to look at them without the context of the story, you are going to be surprised. In the books, there are new and old images included, some are from digital era, some from film times, there are pictures as old as from 1910! They are often grainy, out of focus, technically not perfect at all. Although composition in most cases is sticking to the rules. Some of them work, some are … weird? Which makes you consider, that image does not to be technically perfect to do what it needs to do – illustrate the story. And then it is better to take high ISO image or no image at all .
Another observation I made was how often I do not pay attention to photographers name on the articles. I knew few names of the artistss included in the collections, I recognized Reza (I heard about him on some podcast in context of war photography), Annie Griffith Belt (I read her book some time ago) and Frans Lanting (from his column in Outdoor Photographer). But there are people I never heard of before, like Sam Abel, Jodi Cobb, or Gerd Ludwig, and these are people whose images are dominating in the series!

In food photography (or for that matter in almost any kind of photography) most of the times the difference between great and so so picture is in second plan. Total image experience is built not only by the main role player but also by all those props that are nicely blurred out by bokeh in the background.

The problem is that building nice second plan set can quickly add to quite an expense. In pursuit to save some green (and any other color for that matter) we decided to go and browse through local thrift stores. I was quite surprised actually how many there are. After spending better part of last Saturday shopping we brought home quite a collection of different things we intend to use in our shots. Here is just a sample (wine is ours ):

And here is the best part of it – all those things cost less than gas we burned to drive to all those stores!

I want to come back to writing my impressions and experiences with stock photography. It is a month or so since I last mentioned it on blog. Mostly because it is how long it took me to come back to submitting anything there. The current count: iStock portfolio has 6 images, BigStockPhoto has 14. Shutterstock liked 4 out of 10, but they need to accept 7 on first submission and you need to wait a month before another try. It expired this week. The count should change through the week, as I just uploaded a bunch to each stock. Which leads me to my first observation- I have a month worth of images, and I was barely able to pick up 10 for submission. Some of them were shot with stock in mind, some with learning to shoot food in mind, not very successful, it seems. But I loaded up on books, read a lot on the Web- hopefully it will get better soon.
Meantime, I discovered how to avoid apple problem in BigStockPhoto- if you have an apple (as in fruit) in your title, description and keyword, you can just ignore the red alert on copyrighted brands . The submission goes through. Anyway, what I want to focus on today is image management and software. At the beginning, I did not have a habit of putting titles and descriptions on my images in Lightroom. Bad decision. The first batch of images I edited 3 times, for each stock separately. What a waste of time. Now, when I pick images to submit, I will post-process them, keyword again with stock in mind (mostly remove technical keywords like flashes and stuff), put titles and descriptions. It plainly saves time.
The next step is submission, and both BigStockPhoto and Shutterstock allow ftp uploads. With well prepared files in Lightroom, it takes minutes to process 10 or 15 images, as all you need to do is pick up categories from pull-down menus and submit batch. I am perfectly satisfied with my workflow here. But iStock has rather unfriendly submission process, the web-page based interface makes you submit large file one at the time, which is tedious. You really wish you had better tools. I tried to search solutions on iStock forums, which are rather famous for their usefulness and loaded with information. Probably, but I was not impressed with my ability of finding the relevant answer. Google search for software was more successful. The first program I downloaded was Image Manager. It allows you to manage first 15 images for free (it is important, not to upload 15 images at the time, but manage portfolio of 15 images!). I used it for two uploads, run out of space, didn’t like the interface much (although it was doing its job) and decided to look for more money worth before spending $20. The ProStockMaster was a second hit. It allows to submit images too many stock agencies, but with iStock allows you to just upload them on site, you need to keyword and categorize on the page (no two-way communication), and they have subscription based pricing (per month or per year, either not cheap). And then my husband came with the idea of looking for Lightroom plug-in. I wish I figured it earlier. It takes some intelligence to figure out how to keyword image, but it takes keywords from metadata and checks them with iStock database. You still need to go through one image at the time, but you can keyword and categorize all of them before upload. If you need to, there is a field to add model releases as well! Same functionality as in Image Manager, but far better fitting in my workflow. It is also a donnationware.

Like probably most of you, every time I want to buy something I start up with the dilemma ’shop locally vs. buy on the net’. There are several pros and cons of each solution. Buying locally not only supports your local camera store (which needs your business to survive) but also allows you to touch before you buy, saves you time and shipping costs and provides (usually) better after sale care. On the other hand, the net gives you almost unlimited supply of anything you may want to buy at the very attractive prices.

So up until recently the way I was doing it was that I was shopping at the local camera store for low priced, small gadgets and then, after deciding on what I’d like to finally buy from the bigger items, I was shopping over the internet for the lowest possible price. It probably isn’t the way I should be the most proud of but I did it this way and it worked.

Recently though something started to change. Several time when I was looking at the prices it turns out that our local camera store has prices that are at the same level or only slightly higher that those on the net. This is especially true when it comes to higher quality well known ‘brand’ items. Here either the MSRP is the price or if the street price is lower, it’s similar everywhere. Local stores learned that they have to be competitive to keep clients while internet stores can’t keep dumping prices forever. Current eBay’s pricing policy that makes selling there less and less attractive (read: you have to charge more to stay above the water). Even B&H or Adorama aren’t ‘the source’ anymore. Plus you still have to pay for shipping. Local stores, like my favorite, are a great option.

So right now when I look for something the main decision point is ‘how fast I can get the thing I want’. And in many cases it turns out that your local camera store is ‘the one’.

So next time when you look for something give your locals stores another chance. They may have nice surprise ready for you.

Recently we were thinking about pros and cons of various lens renting services and solutions so I’ve decided to describe our experiences here.

As probably most of the photographers around we can’t afford to buy most of the lenses we would like to have. Many new lenses are simply beyond our reach and even the used ones often hold on to their value very well. And even if you already have bought some of them there is always that one more that will definitely make great images on it’s own the very moment it ends up on our camera. So to fulfill that need several businesses offer lens rental service allowing you to borrow the glass you really need for this weekend event or that vacation-of-a-lifetime. Borrowing lenses is also a great way to test one if you plan to buy it. Not sure if the Nikon 24-70 f/2.8 is really worth the money? Borrow one and play with it for a week – that will help you make and informed decision.

Personally we used two of those businesses. Borrow lenses and Lens Pro to Go. Both of them offer a wide variety of lenses for both Canon and Nikon cameras. Both of them also offer some additional supporting accessories like tripods, heads, battery packs, even flashes and camera bodies. As a matter of fact if you had big enough budget you could equip yourself with very professional high grade hardware kit allowing you to shoot whatever you want. They also have quite similar prices and rules. As a standard you pay for two way shipping, your rental period starts on the day you receive your package and on you are supposed to pack the items in the same box and ship them back using prepaid label on the last day of your rental period. Easy isn’t it? Lens Pro to Go has been referred to us by someone else (I can’t remember by who right now), the prices were OK and we were using it without actually shopping around for other companies offering this service. Until at one point we wanted to borrow more than one piece of glass for 2009 Airventure trip. It was almost too late in the ordering process when I started to think (yes, that happens to me sometimes) and I actually canceled the process with Lens Pro. Why?

Lens Pro to Go utilizes a business model of all-inclusive prices. That basically means that if you go to their website and look for a Nikon 400 f/2.8 lens and see that it costs $460 for week (including insurance) that’s exactly how much your card will be charged for if you order this lens. Easy, isn’t it? But wait a minute – what if you want to borrow two of those (or anything else in addition to the lens)? Yes you’ve guessed it right – the total price will be twice that high. And here is the catch. As we all know shipping two items rarely is as expensive as shipping just one of them. Even more – shipping flash in bundle with relatively heavy lens will probably cost them nothing. So Lens Pro’s business model gives them huge additional profit every time you rent more than one piece. Not willing to pay that ‘wholesale penalty’ I started to look around and we found Borrow lenses.

At first glance Borrow lenses is a little bit more expensive than Lens Pro. But they are using traditional pricing model, meaning that the shipping cost is being calculated in the cart when you finish choosing all the items you need. So despite the fact that their prices for single item are a little bit higher than their competition when you select two or three items the total amount quickly makes them preferred choice…

Unless you consider the third route I’ve actually chosen in the end. Somewhere between looking at one or another lens borrowing company I’ve looked at the price of used lenses on the market. And the fact that they are holding the value so well got me thinking. Let’s see – weekly/10 days rental usually goes for more or less 10% of the price you’d have to pay for new item. That can quickly add up to nice change when you borrow two or three pieces. The though that hit me was – and how much exactly can such lens loose in value over the course of this week or two? Not much probably. So how about buying a used lens you need and then after using it for the assignment selling it again. Yes that has some risks involved too. You can got the lens stolen or it can break. But the same can happen to the rental and even if you are insured you usually have to pay not-so small deductible price anyway making your rental even more expensive. And if you break your own lens you can got it fixed ans still sell it while you won’t have anything whatsoever after paying for fixing rental. And there is of course that other problem – you have to put upfront quite big amount of money with only vague promise of return.

Nevertheless that’s what we did. I have found very nice lens I wanted to borrow and I bought it for about half the price of new on eBay. We used it for about two weeks (! count the rental fee here) around our Airventure trip and then I’ve put it back on the marked and sold for amount very similar to what I paid. And the buyer of course paid for shipping. So in the end I have the lens I wanted for two weeks and all it cost me was one way shipping, fees paid to eBay and PayPal after selling it again and few sleepless nights spent on thinking ‘what have you done stupid’ . Huge savings in total. From now on I will explore this option first every time I need some piece of equipment. And this way has also one more advantage- you’ve already spent the money, haven’t you? So the glass can stay at home if it turns out to make oh-sooo-good images …..

Several weeks ago, I was lucky winner of a signed copy of Jeff Revell “Nikon D5000 From snapshots to great shots” in Twitter contest. My husband was giving me hard time about it, as I do not have and probably will never have Nikon 5000. As an excuse, let me just mention that his brother got Nikon 5000 not so long ago. But since I  had a book at hand, I decided to read it and review it. Interestingly, I really enjoyed it, even though I new most of the stuff.  Additionally, I learned some stuff I could use in my D300 and some stuff I could use in my D40x (I know, but I am such no-read-manuals person).

What makes the book such a good read is the fact that it is written in plain English, easily understandable. Important for somebody who is not a native speaker. Plus, it is certainly not a manual. It is so much more. What the book does, is introduces you to all the basics concepts of digital photography, at the same time familiarizing you with how to set your camera (in this case Nikon D5000) to try doing those things yourself. It talks about exposure, shutter speed and aperture, and how they effect action and depth of field in your images, while pointing you at the settings in your camera. It also talks about more advanced stuff, like Hyperfocal Distance, shows how to make HDR images or panoramas. The pointers for taking sports, landscape and portraits are given in detail. Some basic composition tips are included, as well as using on camera flash. And the video feature is discussed in bonus chapter . As far as I can tell, nothing is missing!

The book is something I had available when I got my first dSLR. I was not familiar with any of the photo lingo, like Exposure Compensation or Rule of Thirds . I was reading the handbooks for the beginners, learning the basics, while at the same time having to consult the manual how to set things in my Nikon D40x (and learning what is possible and what is not). “From snapshots to great shots” provides both at the same time. It brings you up to speed with the secrets of good photography at now time.

My favorite part of the book were “Poring over the picture”. I enjoy this type of teaching experience, where the photograph is explained, how was it taken and why this way, plus the images were great as well (and large, large!). I think that the paper quality or texture did not do them the justice, sometimes the colors were not properly rendered.

Overall- good idea for beginners getting their new DSLR – not only D5000. The series includes Canon 50D,Canon Rebel T1i/500D, and Nikon 3000 is already in writing.

Taking quite a number of studio food images recently, we constantly stumble upon need of macro lens. Neither of our lenses are macro model nor can we afford new one just for fun. So I started exploring topic of extension tubes. All comes to three choices. Use the Nikon original ones that preserve full functionality of your lenses but cost pretty much similar amount of money to some used macro lenses. Or you can buy cheap extension tubes from eBay that cost next to nothing but provide no connection connection what so ever. That pretty much rules out all those newer lenses that don’t have aperture ring. There is a company called Kenko that makes cheaper versions of those tubes that work but they ain’t cheap either.

For quite some time I was planning to buy the Kenko but one day something got me thinking. Sometwhere deep in the back of my mind there was a thought that we have a teleconverter bought on eBay about 2 years ago that we pretty much never use due to it’s lousy performance:

How about trying to take the glass elements out of it and use it as a macro extension tube?

Looking closer at the lens I noticed that the glass is held in the converter by small nut-like ring:

You can barely see on above picture. 10 seconds with screw driver and the glass elements (yes, there are three glass elements inside) were out:

The results? Working macro extension tube providing both electrical connection between body and lens as well as mechanical coupling for the aperture and auto focus. I tried it with our 18-200 zoom and here is one quick and dirty picture taken with the tube on:

This picture was taken from the distance about 5 inches from the ring. And imagine that – both autofocus and TTL worked as there was noting there.

There is only one slight problem with the extension tube – it’s quite thick, meaning that it’s a really macro-macro tube. But for $40 (that’s what I recall we paid for the converter we never used) you can’t really complain.

January was my months of stock submissions. I was trying 3 agencies, although I am not sure if I will continue this way, or just decide on one. I think this article really made me think a bit more about what business plan I want to pursue with my stock submissions. Having same image in different agencies at different price probably won’t do me any good….
Meantime, a week after my first 3 images were not worm received, I submitted another 3 images for initial approval in iStock. They were accepted, now I have a green light to submit. I was a bit afraid to submit any more, for I thought about their high standards, but hey, I need to try. I submitted first batch of 12 photos. Almost a week passed from my submission, I expect to hear from them any day now. On the side note,
I also signed up and submitted initial 10 images for Shutterstock. All but three were found acceptable (they rejected for example my favorite “White breakfast“, due to poor light, interestingly, this image was found acceptable in both iStock and BigStockPhoto!). You need to submit at least seven good in your first ten before they let you start for real. Bottom line? I can try again after 30 days. I have those 3 ready for then .
Meantime, I was continuing more or less regular submission to BigStockPhoto, with changing luck. Some submissions were perfect (5/5), some far less (4/10). Overall, I have a growing portfolio with them.

All in all, this is still just a submit/get accepted game, but I have to start thinking what to shoot to actually get somebody to buy my images.