The pandemic lockdown was a trying time for us all, but my experiments in food photography kept me in high spirits
The one thing that fills my heart with joy is photography. So, when the lockdown guidelines during the pandemic urged us not to step out of our homes, I had to find a way to explore my passion... and I chose to do it with food photography.
It is my good fortune to have a wife who is a wonderful cook, who is happy to experiment in the kitchen and try out a variety of cuisines. With her able assistance, I took to my shooting floor, rather the centre table, and happily clicked... and ate!
These pancakes were the first of the lot. We garnished these with slices of mango and raisins... and a snowy sprinkling of powdered sugar.
The idea was to keep things simple, so the subject was shot with a single source of light to create a dark food photo effect or in other words, low-key photography.
To give you a clearer idea, here's a layout of the set-up.
The lighting equipment used was Elinchrom FRX 400 with a 1m x 1m Rotalux diffuser box, also using the bounce of a blackboard to cut the light rays and a white board - at a distance of approximately two feet - to add a slight fill from the front of the subject.
The camera settings were f-11 at the shutter speed of 200 at ISO 100 in RAW file. I used the 105 macro Nikkor lens.
Needless to say, we gulped down the rest of the pancakes soon after the shoot.
Photography is an enriching experience, but food photography is double the joy!