A Beginner's Guide to Choosing Artificial Light for Food Photography

Food photography takes a lot of nuanced artistry and technical know-how to make the product look delectable and appetizing, and because of that, you might decide that taking more control with artificial light is the way to go. This great video will tell you what you need to know when purchasing lights for food photography.

Coming to you from The Bite Shot, this helpful video will guide you through some of the things to think about when you're considering purchasing an artificial light for food photography work. Although food photography is frequently done with natural light, you might find that the control and freedom (particularly with when you shoot) you gain from an artificial source is worth the investment. As the video mentions, you can get quite a bit done with just a speedlight, and if you're a beginner, I recommend starting there. I personally love the Yongnuo YN600EX-RT II; I bought four for the price of one of my more expensive speedlights, and when you include the wireless transmitter, you have a complete wireless flash system for under $200. I'm not anywhere near as afraid to break one of them as I am the Canon version. Check out the video above for everything you need to know. 

Alex Cooke's picture

Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.

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2 Comments

Never too proud to listen to a new video on the subject. I do like Joanie's style of information sharing. Very easy to follow. I shoot flowers in the middle of the night and Joanie is very accurate in her assessment of using both continuous light and speedlites.

Don’t shoot with hot lights otherwise the food will be overcooked...