Food Photography Lighting at Home, Part 1: Natural Light
Lighting is an integral part of food photography. Whether you’re a professional or an amateur photographer, having the right kind of lighting setup is essential for making your food photography come alive. And when shooting from home, natural light is the way to go! Here, we’ll take a look at some tips on how to use natural light for food photography.
Lighting Source
The best natural light for food photography comes from the sun. If you can, try to get your food in places where you can shoot during the day. This will help you capture the best quality of light during what photographers call “the golden hour” — typically the hour before and after sunset — when the light is its brightest.
Direction of Light
In natural light photography, the direction of light is key. You want to ensure that the light is coming in from the side (or even from behind) and not directly from above, which can cause unflattering and harsh shadowing. For best results, try to find window light coming in from your side and use that to backlight your dish, as it’ll help you capture some beautiful shadows.
Window Coverings
Window coverings can be extremely helpful when shooting with natural light. Curtains, shades, and other window coverings can help block out direct sunlight and diffuse the light coming into the space. This will help you avoid shadows and overexposed highlights when taking photos, as well as create a softer, more even lighting.
Further Improvements
For an even better result, you can use reflectors. Reflectors are designed to bounce and reflect light, and they can be put to great use in food photography. Simply place them opposite the light source to create even lighting and fill in any shadows you may be having trouble with.
These are just a few tips for getting the best lighting for your food photography using natural light. In the next article, we’ll show you how to create your own artificial lighting setup for food photography.
