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When I started out as a food photographer, I was just so excited to get started! Yet, I had no equipment for food photography. I was lucky, however, because my dad had a second-hand camera and lenses I could borrow. So that’s what I did.

I used borrowed or second-hand cameras for almost 8 years! You don’t need a lot to get started. What’s more important is having a camera that gives you control, software to process your images and your creativity.

Here’s an equipment list for beginner food photographers (in no particular order).

Table of Contents

1. Second hand DSLR Camera
2. 18-55mm kit lens
3. 50mm 1.8 lens (Full frame cameras)
4. 35mm 1.8 lens (cropped sensor cameras)
5. Lightroom CC with storage
6. 4” x 6” Diffuser
7. White & Black foam boards (2 of each)
8. Photo Clamps
9. Vinyl backdrops

Let’s take a look at each one of these in more detail. I’ve also got two bonus recommendations at the bottom of the list if you have a little bit more budget.

Thrifty Equipment for Food Photography: Second-hand DSLR Camera

Guess what? You don’t need a brand new, expensive camera to take great photos of food. If you’re just starting out, I would recommend buying (or borrowing) a second-hand DSLR. Either Canon, Sony or Nikon.

Either cropped sensor or full-frame, at the beginning of your food photography journey it doesn’t make too much difference. I suggest buying a second-hand DSLR because the way of the future is mirrorless cameras. Get a used DSLR now and save for a new mirrorless a few years down the line.

If you want to read more about what I recommend looking for in a camera, read these tips for buying a camera.

18-55mm Lens Kit

It’s very common for entry-level DSLRs to come with what is known as a ‘kit lens’. It’s a zoom lens that covers focal lengths of 18mm to 55mm.  If you find a deal that comes with this lens, it’s an inexpensive lens to get you started.

If you do have a little more budget for food photography equipment, there are two better lenses I recommend investing in.

Lens Quiz

Which Lens Matches Your Food Photography Style?

TAKE THE QUIZ

35mm 1.8 Lens (Cropped Sensor Cameras)

If you purchase a cropped sensor camera, you’ll want to get a 35mm focal length. You can read more about the difference between a cropped sensor and full-frame here.

On a cropped sensor camera, a 35mm lens is the equivalent of a 50mm. Which is a great focal length to get started. You’ll be able to capture flat lays (overhead) and 45-degree shots.

I recommend getting a lens that has a high aperture of 1.8 so that you can tackle low light conditions. In this post, I go through the two lenses I recommend for cropped sensor cameras.

TIP: make sure to buy a lens that will grow with you and can also work on a full-frame camera.

50mm 1.8 Lens (Full-frame Cameras)

If you’re looking to purchase a full-frame camera to add to your food photography equipment, the lens I recommend getting started with is the 50mm 1.8. It’s called a ’nifty fifty’ because it’s inexpensive and of great quality for the price point.

TIP: make sure to buy a lens that will grow with you and can also work on a full-frame camera.

A 50mm on a full-frame camera is a great all-rounder and is wonderful for capturing flatlays. Read more about the 50mm and food photography.

Lightroom CC With Storage

As soon as you can, I recommend shooting RAW files (over jpegs). RAW files obtain all the data of your image which allows you full control over your post-production.

If you shoot RAW files, you will need to edit them in a RAW editor like Lightroom. Lightroom CC is a great way to get started. With a simple and intuitive interface, you can easily get started with editing.

Adobe also offers storage plans with Lightroom CC to help you store your files in the cloud. Check out their Photography package rates for the latest details.

To learn more about post-processing in Lightroom, check out my masterclass Lightroom Magic.

4” x 6” Diffuser For Lighting

Using natural light is the easiest way to get started with food photography. It’s free, beautiful and readily available.

RELATED: Basic Lighting Setup For Food Photography

The one main piece of equipment for food photography I recommend to help you tame natural light is a diffuser. This will issue the light into something soft and pretty to photographing food.

I recommend a large 4” x 6” diffuser, this is the one I have, as it will provide you with better results. It will pack into a small(-ish) bag and is great to also use if you move to artificial light later on.

Get one that also has a black cover so you can block light when you need to.

Essential Food Photography Equipment: White & Black Foam Boards (2 of each)

A very cheap staple that you will use throughout your photography journey. Even as a professional, white and black foam boards are essential. You can use them to reflect and block light as you need. This will help you get better depth in your images.

They are super cheap and readily available at craft or stationery stores. I recommend getting two of each.

Help Shape Light with Photo Clamps

When it comes to food photography equipment, small plastic clamps are great for helping you fix and stand up foam boards so you can keep your hands free for taking photos. These are the ones I use.

If you attach them to the bottom edge of your foam boards, they can easily stand up to help you shape light.

Must Have for Food Photography Equipment: Vinyl backdrops

Backgrounds in food photography are a must. Using a backdrop with subtle colours and textures add depth and interest to our food story. 

If you’re just getting started, then you might not have a lot of space to store your new gear. Good quality vinyl can be a great choice because you can roll it up and store it. Not all vinyl is created equal though. You’ll encounter really great vinyl or poor quality.

The vinyl backdrops for food photography that I recommend checking out are:

• Bessie Bakes Backdrops
• Captured by Lucy
• MyLucie
• BackdropshopRS

Lens Quiz

Which Lens Matches Your Food Photography Style?

TAKE THE QUIZ

Now, if you have the budget or would like to add two items to your wish list, here are two things I recommend acquiring.

Seagate Slim Hard Drive 1TB

At some point, you will run out of space on your computer and entry-level cloud storage. You always want to have your photos backed up into two places.

I use these hard drives and always backup onto two external hard drives. To check out my backup and storage process, read this post I’ve just linked to.

Sturdy Tripod With Overhead Arm

Tripods are an essential piece of equipment for still life photography. You don’t need one immediately when you start taking photos of food, but as you progress and learn more composition skills, a tripod is a must.

Most people don’t want to spend the money a good quality tripod will cost. The mistake here is that you will end up spending just as much by getting two or three poor quality ones.

If you can, save up for a tripod that has some good height, is sturdy and can take a considerable payload, and also has an overhead arm.

To learn more about tripods, check out my Ultimate Tripod Guide for Food Photographers.

I hope this post was helpful and gave you some great options of food photography equipment to buy. If you’re curious, check out the food photography gear I have. There are also links throughout this post to learn more about the gear I recommend.

If this was helpful, let me know in the comments below.

Two Loves Studio was not paid to write this post, however, it may contain affiliate links. If you purchase an item from an affiliate link, we do get a commission on the sale which helps us run this site. Only affiliates for products/services we believe in appear on this site.

The post Simple & Affordable Must Have Food Photography Equipment for Beginners. appeared first on Two Loves Studio.

This post may contain affiliate links from products and services we love and trust.

Let’s discuss Mirrorless vs DSLR cameras. Mirrorless cameras are the way of the future. Camera companies are investing in this new technology, with the features available to photographers getting greater and greater. This doesn’t mean the DSLR camera is dead, (at least not yet anyway), but I do believe there will be a point where they will be obsolete.

The pros of mirrorless cameras, they have very few drawbacks, along with their performance, makes them a great candidate for food photographers. In this post, I am going to talk to you about why I recommend investing in a mirrorless vs DSLR camera (and what to do if you can’t afford one just yet).

What is a Mirrorless vs DSLR Camera

The name ‘mirrorless’ comes from the lack of mirrors in the camera. With a DSLR, light comes through your lens and reflects off a mirror and into your viewfinder. To capture the shot, pressing the shutter will cause the mirror to flip up and the light is captured by the sensor producing the final image.

With a mirrorless camera, the light comes through the lens and straight onto the sensor to be processed. The image is then displayed on the electronic viewfinder.

Removing the mirror has allowed for a number of benefits and innovations in the digital camera space.

Lens Quiz

Which Lens Matches Your Food Photography Style?

TAKE THE QUIZ

Mirrorless VS DSLR: Mirrorless Advantages & DSLR Limitations

Mirrorless cameras bring a comprehensive, modern feature set where DSLRs were falling behind. Like superlative AF tracking performance, 4k video an IBIS (in-body image stabilisation).

By taking away the mirror, mirrorless cameras give you several advantages (and few disadvantages). Here’s a quick look at the mirrorless advantages over DSLR limitations.

If you’re interested in diving into more about each of these, Photography Life has a great article.

Best Mirrorless Camera Features for Food Photography

Mirrorless VS DSLR camera. The main thing I love about my mirrorless cameras is the workflow they allow and their size. For me, the best features and ones I’ve grown to love so much I don’t want to live without are:

Thinking back to when I first started learning photography, an EFV and live exposure/Histogram would have made so much more sense in terms of changing settings. I think everyone should learn on a mirrorless camera vs DSLR.

Lens Quiz

Which Lens Matches Your Food Photography Style?

TAKE THE QUIZ

Why invest in a Mirrorless Camera?

Mirrorless is really the way of the future. I like to buy the newest and best camera available at the time because I know it will last me a long time. The camera I had (a DSLR) before I upgraded to mirrorless lasted for 8 years.

I needed a new camera as the technology had improved so much. I decided to get a mirrorless for the benefits outlined in this table above. Also because camera companies are investing a lot of resources into mirrorless and I think it’s the best system.

I’m a small business owner and I think it makes the most sense at this point to get into mirrorless. Even for new or beginning photographers. But what happens if you can’t afford it?

For Tight Budgets: Buy a Second Hand DSLR and Save for a Mirrorless

Not everyone has the money to buy a new mirrorless camera. As they are relatively new it might be hard to find a second hand one. In that case, my advice has always been this:

Save for a mirrorless and get a second-hand DSLR (full-frame if possible) in the meantime.

Main Drawbacks of Mirrorless

Some of the drawbacks you might read are currently due to new technology. Experts say that drawbacks at time of writing are addressable and camera companies will work to eliminate any potential issues.

These include:

• Current Electronic View Finder (EVF) lag
• Continuous Autofocus/ Subject Tracking compared to some DSLR models
• Battery life is much worse on mirrorless due to powering the EVF (my main complaint)
• Strong EVF contrast

For food photography, the biggest drawback I face is the battery life. Especially as I tether. I go through batteries more often. However, some cameras can also USB charge when the camera is off. Which is a bonus.

Use an Lens Adaptor to Use your DSLR Lenses

It’s a major consideration when thinking about investing in a mirrorless camera vs DSLR camera. You’ve likely spent years, or your whole career investing in lenses that fit your DSLR and can’t afford to replace all of them.

No problem! Camera companies know this is a major deterrent so they have a solution, which I use.

The post Mirrorless VS DSLR Camera: Which is better for Food Photographers? appeared first on Two Loves Studio.

Want to know how you can create blurry backgrounds in food photography? You’re in the right place.

Background blur is a common technique in portrait photography, but it can work magic on food photos as well. This is because blurring the background removes any distracting elements, allowing the eye to focus solely on the clean, crisp in-focus subject.

But, exactly, how can you create a blurry background? It’s done using a combination of equipment, settings, and subject distance relative to the background.

What You’ll Need to Create a Blurred Background in Food Photography

• Wide Aperture Lens: The lens’ aperture is one factor that contributes to the background blur. Various lenses, however, have different aperture settings. If you want to blur a background, choose a lens with an aperture of at least f/2.8. If you want to get an even blurrier background, then a prime lens with a wide aperture will create a shallower depth of field. Pick one that opens up to f/2, f/1.8, f/1.4 or (if you want to go super shallow) f/1.2.

• Camera With a Larger Sensor: The larger the camera sensor, the more easily the background blur can be achieved. That’s why, in portrait modes, smartphone manufacturers use software to create a faux backdrop blur. Because the sensors are so small, creating such background blur in-camera is tough. Rachel uses a full frame sensor.

• Telephoto Lens (Optional): A greater focal length lens does not produce more blur, but it does magnify any blur that is occurring, making the background appear blurrier than one shot with a wider lens.

How To Take A Picture With A Blurred Background:

When you blur your backgrounds, the focus is drawn to the vital elements – the hero of your food photo! Here are some steps to get started:

1. Choose whether you’ll use your camera’s Aperture Priority (A or AV) or manual (M) mode. While manual mode gives you complete control, aperture priority mode is an automatic mode where you tell the camera what aperture you want, and the camera chooses the shutter speed.
2. Pick a lens that will give you’re the perspective you’re looking for. Longer telephoto lenses will magnify any blur that’s being created. That’s because you’ll only capture a smaller region of the backdrop, making the blur seem larger and less focused.
3. Make the aperture as large as possible by choosing a low f-stop number. Remember, the lower the f-stop number, the larger the aperture.
   Your lens’ aperture will be wide open at the lowest attainable f-stop number, such as f/2.8, giving you the shallowest depth of field. If that’s too much blur, then close your aperture down by increasing your f-stop to a larger number like f/4.0 or f/5.6. The aperture shrinks as the f-number rises, increasing the depth of field (that means more is in focus).
4. For a stronger blur, get closer to the subject than the subject is to the background. This can be done by moving closer to your subject, moving your background further away or both.
   Depth of field decreases with a short focus distance and increases when the thing you are focusing on is far away. If your subject is close to your background, then there won’t be enough difference in distance to create that look of separation.
5. Take the picture!

Step it up

If you find it hard to see the full effect of the blur using the small screen on the back of your camera, you might just be ready to upgrade to tethering during your photoshoot. Tethering allows you to more easily review the settings and make any required changes.  

Want to know more? Learn more about depth of field and the plane of focus here.

In Conclusion

Gear, aperture, and subject placement are all used to create a blurred background. To get the most backdrop blur, photographers might combine all three. Remember, its not just about getting the most blur, its actually about getting the right amount of blur to fulfil your vision.

That means your job is to mix and combine what you’ve learned from this post to get the shot you want.  Once you have the shot, then it’s time to edit your images using Lightroom or Capture One.

To learn more about food photography, visit twolovesstudio.com

The post Getting Blurry Backgrounds in Food Photography; A Beginner’s Guide appeared first on Two Loves Studio.

What are transparent backgrounds?

Transparent backgrounds are parts of an image where the pixels are “clear” and let anything below/behind them show through. They are often used by graphic designers for things like logos and other website elements.

Food photographers can make use of images with transparent backgrounds as well to both help in composition when you’re tethering or during retouching.

Here’s why:

Why use transparent backgrounds in food photography?

There are a variety of reasons why you might wish to use Photoshop to create a translucent background for food photography:

• Placing your food photo onto a different background. You’ll need to keep an eye on lighting, colour and perspective.
• Sometimes ecommerce clients will require transparent backgrounds or pure white backgrounds after the fact. So cutting out the product from the backgrounds means you can place it on whatever background colour you want.
• Often product packaging makes use of transparent backgrounds to layer together the food photographs and other graphic and text elements.
• When you’re compositing two images together, you’ll use it to layer different elements together.
• When you need to multiply an element in your frame.
• If you want your food photo to interact with a background element on your website in a responsive way.
• Creating and using compositional guides, magazine layouts and mock-ups in both Lightroom and Capture One is a great way of getting the best composition for your clients.

Making transparent backgrounds in Photoshop:

When in photoshop, transparent elements are made visible with a small grey and white checkerboard pattern.

If you’re starting a new document from scratch, you can make the background any colour you want, or make it transparent. This is great for creating compositional guides or mock magazine layouts.

New blank layers added to a Photoshop document are going to be transparent by default. These layers are often used for cleaning and healing your image during the retouching process. But they can also be used to paste elements when compositing.

You can also cut out your subject from a background in an existing image you have in Photoshop. This is a process that graphic designers often refer to as “punching out the background.”

Sometimes, it can be quick and easy. Especially if you plan ahead.

However, depending on the subject you’re seeking to isolate, it can be time-consuming and difficult. It all boils down to how much detail between the foreground and background overlaps.

There are many tools in Photoshop to help food photographers make the best selection of the subject to punch out the background.

Sometimes you can use a single tool like the Object Selection, Quick Selection or Magic Wand tools. If you need more precision, the Pen tool can be great.

For more complex selection, you’ll likely use a combination of tools and techniques to get the best results.

That’s something we cover in our Retouching Course for Food Photographers.

Best file format export transparent backgrounds

In Photoshop, your layered PSD or TIFF will support transparency. But how do you export this?

When you export your image, not all file types support transparency. For example JPEGs, which are the most popular image type, do not support transparency. If you export an image with transparency as a JPEG, the transparent area will turn solid white.

GIFs allow transparency, but only of one colour. That means you can sometimes get weird effects along the edges of gradients if you use transparent GIFs. They also only support 256 (8-bit) colours which can impact the quality. The only time we use GIFs is when we want to make a lightweight web-animation.

To get the best quality for transparent images then PNGs are your best export option. This is because they have a high quality, up to 16.7 million (24-bit) colours and allow for variable levels of transparency. That means that you can include transparent gradients.

Transparent Backgrounds in Food Photography

Now you know some of the different ways you can use transparency in food photography. How do you plan to use it? Let us know in the comments below.

If you want to learn how to take better photos, read the Two Loves Studio Blog, or take one of our courses on food photography.

The post Why use Transparent Backgrounds in Food Photography? appeared first on Two Loves Studio.

With so many photographers out there, what sets us apart is our style and personality. As a new photographer, it is often something you think about.

You most likely have taken up food photography as you’ve been inspired by images you’ve come across in your day to day life. Now, you’re asking yourself, what’s my food photography style?

Some people have a clear idea of what they want their style to be from other creative fields they’ve pursued in life. For others, this feels completely new!

Just remember that we all start from the same place and finding our style is something every photography needs to go through. In this post, I want to share 5 steps to take to discover your food photography style.

Discover Your Food Photography Style

At the point where you decide that you want to be a photographer, whether professional or as a hobby, something shifts within you and you’re eager to start creating imagery, stories, works of art.

Yet at the beginning, something is missing. You stare at the images and they don’t quite feel right.

Not to say that you aren’t proud of the work you’re producing or how you are progressing, but the images don’t quite feel like yours yet.

Finding your style in photography is like any worthwhile relationship. It takes time to build.

If I look back on my food photography journey I would say it took me a few years to work out what my style is. Some of that was because social media wasn’t huge for food photography when I started and there were nearly zero resources on it, (which is one of the reasons why I started this blog).

After shooting for 10 years, my food photography style has even evolved over that period of time. It’s like fashion, it’s never finished. I find that exciting because it means there are always new ideas for me to discover. Just like life, it is about the journey and not the destination.

One of the key things to remember is that you want to have fun discovering your style during that time.

Let’s take a look at the five steps to discover your food photography style.

STEP 1: Get Comfortable with Photography Technique

Food photographers have a tough gig. Creating an entire still life scene from nothing is hard! Not only that, but we have to cook and style the food too. Wearing four hats, photographer, stylist, chef and food stylist!

So that you can focus on finding your food photography style, I recommend getting comfortable with photography techniques so it becomes second nature.

Learn how to shoot on manual mode, understand the best aperture to use for food and what camera settings will get you to your creative vision. Until you have figured this out, your style won’t be able to fully develop.

Then you can focus your energy on playing with different compositions and styles.

If you need to brush up on your photography technique you can take my Photography Fundamentals Blog Series for free.

If shots you like, involve capturing movement then you will need to understand your camera settings and technique in order to capture them.

STEP 2: Find What Truly Inspires Your Food Photography Style

Inspiration is all around us, all the time. Yet, it can take a keen and well-trained eye to decipher what you actually find inspiring about an image. When you find that image that really moves you, gets that fire burning inside of you, that’s when you know you are on the right path to unleashing your food photography style.

What most new photographers don’t yet understand is it’s usually not the entire photo that inspires them, but elements within that photo.

If you find an image that you love, that doesn’t give you permission to copy that image and pass it off as your own. Your challenge instead is to break down that image and find what about the image is inspiring. This is where Step 3 comes in, but we will get there in a moment.

I suggest that you start a mood or inspiration board. You can use Pinterest or Instagram for this, but I like to use Bublup. One of the reasons that I like Bublup is that I can save anything from around the web or on my computer to a mood board folder. 

Check out the blog post I did on How to Create a Professional Moodboard.

If you start to look at images every day, your subconscious will start to absorb all sorts of things that your creative brain will come to use later.

STEP 3: Reading Images That Inspire You

Now that you have a bunch of images saved to a mood board that inspire you, we are ready to pinpoint ‘what’ it is about the image that intrigues you so much. These will be the elements that you’ll want to pursue on your journey to finding your food photography style, now that technique is becoming your second nature.

What exactly do I mean by ‘reading images’? Reading the image is a way to determine how the photographer captured and styled the shot. Ask yourself:

• What angle is this shot at? (Straight on, 45 degrees, overhead)
• What depth of field has been used?
• Where is the light coming from? (side light, backlight)
• Are there shadows and are they harsh or diffused?
• Is the image bright or dark?
• What props has the photographer used?
• Is the image highly stylised, or minimalist?
• What interesting details are present in the food?
• What textures are present in the props and background?

Look at all the images that really speak to you and work out if there is a trend in these elements you are seeing.

STEP 4: Do it Better – Make it Your Food Photography Style

In The Passionate Photographer by Steve Simon, Steve made an interesting point that there are very limited new ideas out there in photography that haven’t already been explored, (maybe that saddens you?), but the greatest thing is that there is only one you and no one can do it as you can.

Once you have read a bunch of images that you connect with, pick some of the elements to play around with – do it better. The point is not to necessarily be groundbreaking, but to create something better by letting the process be true to you. Make it yours, in other words.

Stick with exploring the elements that interest you, not all of the image features, and over time you’ll start to see a pattern with how you execute those elements. This will be your food photography style, finally.

Trust is also a huge element. Trust that with time and practice you will find your style. How long it will take is unique and personal to each photographer.

Bea Lubas is a huge inspiration for me. I am always taking elements from her photos and making them my own. Here are some examples.

I was so inspired by the colours in this image, that I embarked on creating a photo that included pink, yellow and blue for a completely different subject. Also, I like the moody lighting, so kept that idea with the image I created. Being inspired doesn’t mean that you should re-create the entire image as is.

Please note: There is a fine line between copying another photographers work and using the elements of an image as a base to explore. I think all honest and passionate photographers know the difference. If you copy an image for educational purposes, don’t pass it off as your own. Maybe you won’t be publicly sharing this image. Use it as an educational exercise only.

STEP 5: Act, Practice and Enjoy

It does take time to find your style, but it doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy this time!

If you’re like me and a lot of other humans, we just want to read something, take something or have a magic wand and boom. We are better or proficient at something.

Finding your style doesn’t happen that way. The good news is that photography is a journey and there will be many hours with your camera and editing that you will simply just enjoy. The bad news is that your first 10,000-15,000 images will be your worst. So you’ll want to get cracking on chipping away at that number.

Practising photography should be enjoyable and the best way to do this is to find or create a project you are not only passionate about but one that is going to challenge you.

I think the turning point for me in terms of finding what style I really wanted to shoot was when I shot an entire cookbook with 55+ recipes every weekend for a month.

With almost no budget and little time, I created some great images, but deep down I knew they weren’t exactly what made my heart sing. It was through this challenging project I worked out what it was I really wanted to create.

Since then I’ve sought creative projects to explore ideas, learn and evolve my food photography style.

I set out to discover texture by undertaking a black and white food photography project.

5 Actions to Discover Your Food Photography Style

1 – Read a Food Photography Book Plate to Pixel by Helene Dujardan

There are a number of great books you can read on food photography (in addition to this blog!). My top three recommendations are:

• How to Photograph Food by Bea Lubas
• Picture Perfect Food by Joanie Simon
• Plate to Pixel by Helene Dujardin.

2 – Create a Free Mood Board on Bublup

Save anything from around the web into one place so you can find images that you love. Make sure to add images you aspire to create. Click this post to learn more about Mood Boards.

3 – Find elements in images that interest you

Once you have your Mood Board set up, pick a couple of similar images and find out what those elements are. Write them down in order of difficulty (if you can) and interest.

4 – Put those elements into practice

Put regular time aside to practice those elements that you wrote down. This might include doing a bit of research online and practising. Get your hands on some delicious baked goods, cakes, cupcakes, sourdough loaves, they make for simple and beautiful subjects so you can focus on exploring the elements.

5 – Create a project to practice those elements

Once you have put some time aside to explore those elements, create yourself a project for you to practice and build upon. This might look like working on an image for your Instagram daily, a 365 day project on your blog or an A-Z project undertaken each week.

Remember to have fun and frustration is a sign that you are challenging yourself. So make sure not to be too hard on yourself.

The post 5 Steps to Discover Your Unique Food Photography Style. appeared first on Two Loves Studio.

Learning new software can be overwhelming and every brand does things a little differently. If you’re used to using Adobe products, you’ll probably find there are things you do that are second nature that don’t translate to other editing software like Capture One.

If you’re a new Capture One user, here are 18 tips that will help you navigate the program, speed up your workflow and get the most out of your edits.

#1 Use The Migration Workspace to Resemble Lightroom’s Workspace

You might have just started using Capture One but are used to navigating Lightroom’s interface. If this is the case, I’d suggest using the Migration Workspace while you adjust. This Workspace preset resembles Lightroom’s workspace and can help make the adjustment easier for those coming from Lightroom.

#2 Capture One Calls Styles Presets

Does your workflow contain a lot of preset use? The good news is that Capture One also has presets, although they call them ‘Styles’ (A Style is a pre-defined adjustment of multiple tools used to create a look). You can find them in the ‘Adjustment Tool Tab’.

If you’re looking for adjustment presets, Capture One has those too with the ability to save them directly into each tool.

#3 The HSL Panel & Color Grading Panel Are Located in Basic Color Editor Tool

Capture One has a number of colour adjustment tools. If you like to use Lightroom’s HSL Panel, then you can find an equivalent in Capture One in the Basic Color Editor in the Color Tool Tab.

The interface looks the same and the function and use of the tool are the same too.

In 2020, Lightroom scrapped the Split Toning Tool and introduced Color Grading. While Capture One is well known for this tool they, however, call it ‘Color Balance‘. You can also find it in the Color Tool Tab.

The ideas of colour grading are the same but the interface is slightly different in Capture One.

#4 Keyboard Shortcuts or Hotkeys is Simple in Capture One Pro

Capture One makes it very easy to customise your keyboard shortcuts. You can do it straight in the software itself with a simple and easy to use interface. No going through the backend and changing settings that seem impossible to understand.

You can also click ‘List Shortcuts’ or ‘Summarize’ (depending on your version) at the bottom of those screens to get a list of your customised shortcuts.

#5 Use Key ‘V’ to Exit Out of Any Cursor Tools.

Capture One has a range of Cursor Tools that you will use to make adjustments. It’s more in line with how Photoshop works, in that you’ll be changing your cursor to use certain tools like cropping, masks, spot removal, rotation, overlays, erasing and the eyedropper tool.

If you accidentally use a cursor tool you didn’t intend to, you can’t always press ‘Enter’ or ‘Esc’ to get out of the tool.

The simplest way to exit out of unwanted cursor tools is to press ‘V’ to get back to the main Selector Cursor Tool.

#6 Quickly Return to Original Crop

To quickly return back to the original crop, press the ‘C’ key to select the cropping cursor and however it outside the cropped area until you see a ‘plus’ sign. Click it to return to the original crop.

#7 Capture One Pro Feature Enable ‘Edit Selected’

Capture One gives you the flexibility to ‘edit selected’ images. Meaning that if you have two or more images selected at the same time, you can either choose to edit them separately or together (depending on what you’re trying to do). For example, you can export multiple selected images individually by making sure ‘edit selected’ is disabled.

#8 Copy/Paste or Sync Adjustments with the Copy/Paste Tool

You can easily copy and paste entire edits between photo(s) easily without having to navigate away from the main interface. Simply use the Copy/Paste Tool in the top right-hand corner of the screen.

It’ll automatically apply the adjustments you’ve selected in the Adjustment Clipboard Tool.

#9 Capture One Pro’s Workaround For No ‘History of Edits Tool’

Capture One doesn’t have a History of Edits Tool like Lightroom does. While there is no equivalent tool, Capture One’s workaround for this feature allows you to see which edits were made to a tool, all in one place.

To see what edits were made to a particular image:

• Head to the Adjustment Clipboard in the Adjustment Tool Tab > select the ‘additional adjustment menu’ (three dots icon) > Autoselect > Adjusted.
• Then click Select Adjusted.

#10 Capture One Export Function Known as Export Recipes

As a food photographer, I love that Capture One calls its export function, ‘Export Recipes’.

Depending on which version you use, they might be located in different places, however, it’s a powerful export tool with lots of customisation options to streamline your workflow.

#11 Easily Find Your Session Location By Right-Clicking on Session Name

If you’re unsure where your Sessions are saved, or if you’re new to Capture One and need to get your head around the file management system, you can easily find where your Session is located.

Simply right-click on the Session name and then select the folder for the Session. It’ll open up a Finder Window (Mac) and show you where the Session is located.

#12 Sessions Can be Imported to Catalogues in Capture One

The great thing about using Capture One Sessions is that they can integrate with Catalogues. You can import any finalised Session into the desired catalogue. I show how to manage this workflow in my Capture One Magic course.

Changes you make to a Session imported into a catalogue, will be reflected in the catalogue, but NOT vice versa.

Note: Changes made in a catalogue will not be reflected in a Session.

#13 You Can Open & Edit Multiple Session at Once

If you need to, you can open multiple sessions and even edit them at one time. I often do this when I need to match a recent shoot to an older shoot. This works well if you have a large photo monitor like mine.

Press ‘Option Key’ when hovering over the ‘Full Screen’ Icon in the top left-hand corner you can split the screen between the two Sessions.

#14 Camera Not Selected in Tethering: Unselect & Reselect

If you find you can’t connect your camera or another session when using the camera connecting, I find the simplest way to get it to connect to your current session is to unselect and reselect in the Camera Tool.

#15 Enabale Auto-Hide Mode for Tools, Viewer or Broswer

Sometimes it’s nice to just be with your image and have auto-hide mode on for the Tool menu, the Browser or Viewer. By selecting ‘View’ in the menu, you can enable auto-hide mode for each of these tool functions.

These also have keyboard shortcuts that you can customise as well if that’s your preference.

#16 Use ‘F’ for Full Screen Mode. Even Edit in Full Screen Mode

On occasion, I edit in Full-Screen Mode. If you drag any tool into the View then hit ‘F’, you can then use that tool in Full-Screen Mode without any distractions. I find this useful for editing colours with the Advanced Color Editor.

#17 Change the Colour of the View by Right-Clicking

To change the colour of the Viewer, from white through grey to black, simply right-click anywhere in the Viewer area and select the tone you want to use.

#18 Quickly Find Client Selected Image Using The Select By Function

Clients will usually give me a list of images from a contact sheet I provide them. To quickly find these images, you can use the ‘Select By’ function rather than scrolling through hundreds of individual images.

Go to Select > Select By > File Name List. Type the name of the files then click OK. This will bring up, on the screen the selects which you can then rate, flag or star.

Interested in learning more? Here are some other articles you can read on moving to Capture One.

Lightroom vs Capture One: Important Differences You Need to Know

My 2-year Experiment: From Lightroom to Capture One

Why I Started Using Capture One Pro: What You Need to Know

Got questions? Let me know in the comments below.

Two Loves Studio was not paid to write this post, however, it may contain affiliate links. If you purchase an item from an affiliate link, we do get a commission on the sale which helps us run this site. Only affiliates for products/services we believe in appear on this site.

The post 18 Top Tips New Capture One Pro Users Need to Know. appeared first on Two Loves Studio.

Blacklight, often known as ultraviolet light, is invisible to the human eye. Light from the sun and light from a light bulb are included in the visible light spectrum. On the other hand, UV light is not included in this range. An unremarkable landscape or photograph can be converted into a vibrant visual full of neon colors using black lights. If you love to take food photographs, your studio may be transformed into a rave or a spacecraft with just a few black light accessories. Here are six tips on how to use blacklights for food photography.

Choose Your Lights Carefully: Standard desk or ceiling lamps can employ UV bulbs with bayonet or screw connectors, although larger strip lights or LED lamps perform better. Two 20W bulbs are required for a better effect. There are blacklight bulbs that fit into standard light fixtures. Replace the white light bulb in your nightstand lamp with a UV light bulb. Two black light bulbs can give your photos a surprising new look. And you can accomplish a lot with just a few pieces of equipment.

Make A Photography Studio In The Dark: If there is another light source present, your black lights will not fulfill their task. The white light will blind them. If you want to get the most out of your UV lights, you’ll need to operate in a dark environment. You may have access to light-blocking screens and blinds if you work in a photography studio.

Select A Shutter Speed That Is Slow: When photographing food images in the sun, the natural light will overpower the black light. It means you’ll have to shoot your food photography under black light in a studio. It’s necessary to have manual shutter speed options. Due to the low light levels from UV illumination, you’ll require a slow shutter speed. The exposure time could be from a fraction of a second to several minutes. You may have to use the manual shutter option on your camera. It’s best to use a DSLR or mirrorless camera. A tripod is also required. You incur the risk of camera shake and motion blur when using a slow shutter speed.

Set The Sharpness: Because the lights are low, you’ll need to increase the ISO to at least 800 and open the aperture to f/4 or broader in a blacked-out room. Exposures are typically half a second to a second long. Obtain a large number of frames to obtain some that are sharp. To double-check your work, zoom in on the LCD.

Experiment With Different Equipment: To ensure that your food photographs are well lit, set reflector lights near the food. A white or silver reflector can be used to bounce some light back. You may get a variety of equipment at home or in the studio to help you take better photographs. So begin your search.

Experiment With Different Materials: Because it’s impossible to predict which material will react best to UV rays, it’s worth trying out a few different items. Some artificial fabrics light up in blacklight (some do not), which can help if placed near food items. As an outcome, you must continue to experiment.

Blacklight food photography is a lot of fun and requires a lot of experimentation. You can generate distinctive images full of color with some essential digital camera equipment and a few accessories. Follow the food photography suggestions above to capture a moment in time that you’ll remember for years to come. For more information, contact us.

The post How to Use a Blacklight to Create a Wow Effect in Your Food Images appeared first on Two Loves Studio.

A tripod is an essential piece of photography equipment for any food photographer. It helps you get sharp photos and is a game-changer when it comes to building your composition. It is especially helpful when taking overhead photos. With a tripod, you can create professional food photographs.

So, in this article, we’ll go over how to photograph food with a tripod step by step. Let’s get started.

Make a Mood Board & Gather Your Props

Step 1: Make a mood board to figure out what you want to photograph before you start shooting.

Step 2: Set up your shooting surface/background. Marble is always a beautiful choice! For an overhead shot, if you don’t have a tripod that can go high, you can shoot on saw horses or a much lower surface.

Step 3: Start arranging your props in rough order — no food yet, just dishware and supporting props.

Step 4: Work out a rough composition — no food is on set yet, so simply figure out where you want your camera to be. Take test shots, or even better, use tethering to find that perfect angle.

Choose Your Angle & Setup Your Tripod

Step 5: Place your camera on your tripod once you’ve determined the angle from which you’ll be shooting.

Step 6: Set your camera’s shooting mode to “manual” and figure out the best settings for your food photo. See some general guidelines below.

Step 7: If you’re using beautiful natural light, set your white balance to open shade, overcast day, or daylight to get the approximate coolness or warmth you’re looking for. Remember that if you shoot RAW, you’ll be able to easily change the white balance in either Lightroom or Capture One.

Step 8: Set your aperture to the f-stop that corresponds to the depth of field you desire; to get more or less in focus. It’ll depend on a number of factors, including the angle and plane of focus. In general You’ll need a wide aperture (lower f-stop number) like f/2.8 or f/4.0 if you want your background out of focus. If you want a lot of objects in focus, you’ll need an f-stop with a higher number, such as f/8 or f/11, which makes the aperture smaller.

Set Your ISO and Shutter Speed

Step 9: The magic of using a tripod is that you can choose a very low ISO to minimize any digital noise if there is nothing moving in the frame. So set your ISO to 100 or the lowest setting on your camera to being with. If you do have something moving in the frame, then you’ll have to adjust your shutter speed and then correct your exposure by increasing ISO.

Step 10: Now, if nothing is moving in the frame, all you have to do is set your shutter speed to whatever it takes to achieve the desired exposure. The fact the camera isn’t moving means you’ll get sharp results even with long shutter speeds. If something is moving, like icing being dusted on a cake, or something being poured, you may need to choose a faster shutter speed and adjust your ISO to get the exposure you’re looking for.

Tips for Reducing Camera Shake When Using a Tripod in Food Photography

*PRO TIPS – if you’re still getting some motion blur when you’re shooting on a tripod, here are some ways to trouble shoot:

• Make sure you don’t bump into the tripod or your scene.
• Be still while the shutter is open. Walking around might create vibrations that travel up the tripod legs.
• Use a remote shutter release so that you’re not causing vibrations when you trigger the shutter. You can also do this when tethering, or if you don’t have either of these, use a delayed self-timer so that any vibrations have dissipated by the time the shutter opens.

Step 11: Continue to take test images until you’ve found the proper exposure with the depth of field and shutter speed that achieves your vision. If shooting natural light, the light will fluctuate while you take shots, as the sun and clouds move through the sky, so adjust your exposure accordingly.

Play With Composition & Change The Position of Your Tripod

Step 12: Once you’ve got your exposure set up, begin putting your food in and take pictures as you go. For great composition, there are over 30 different composition + styling tools and techniques you can play with. Focus on the most important part of your subject that you want to draw the viewer’s eyes to.

Step 13: Work with your food, props, reflectors and negative fill in small steps. Then take a photo in between each little change, to determine what has to be improved in your shot. If you’re shooting tethered, it’s ten times easier.

Step 14: If you’re feeling stuck on the tripod and want to try another angle, feel free to take the camera off the tripod to play around. Once you find a new angle you like, build the tripod up to this new camera position to get the highest quality results.

Step 15: Keep shooting until you get the image you want!

Now you do not need to purchase a new tripod, but if you’re in the market, read the Ultimate guide to tripods for food photography. If that’s out of your budget range, you might be able to buy a nice used tripod for a much cheaper price.

It may take some time to get used to using a tripod. But if you practice on a regular basis, It will help you enhance your food photography so quickly that you’ll wonder why you didn’t get one sooner.

For more information, visit twolovesstudio.com

The post How to Photograph Food with a Tripod – Step by Step Guide appeared first on Two Loves Studio.

This post may contain affiliate links from products and services we love and trust.

Lighting, natural or artificial. Arguably the single most significant component of a photograph. The word photograph, comes from the two Greek words, “photo” meaning light and “graphe” meaning to draw.

This literally translates to “drawing with light,” which encapsulates the essence of photography as an art form and one of my personal favourites is the chiaroscuro effect.

The Chiaroscuro Effect in Food Photography

Lighting should be more than a source of illumination for the subject in an image. It should be worked in as part of the subject and the composition itself assisting the subject and composition in eliciting emotions. This is why I favour natural light over artificial light in photography.

Sunlight is as much the star as the subject you are photographing. (When it comes down to it, it is a star by definition). It’s atmospheric, emotive and always dynamic. Changing the narrative as the minutes, hours and days pass. A midday sunbeam exudes joy. A dark overcast sky, melancholy.  

My personal favourite, overcast days with a hint of sun fighting to break through, shows us hope. Natural light shows us many personalities and stories.  Elements that are in my humble opinion, challenging to extract from artificial lights.

My Natural Light Shooting List:

• Natural light window facing South / South-West (North equivalent in the Southern Hemisphere)
• Distance from window within 1-2m (3 to 6 ft) will help achieve a chiaroscuro effect
• Overcast days for soft light preferred
• Manfrotto 290 Dual Tripod
• C-stand
• Reflector and mirrors for reflecting and bouncing light

Tips for Shooting With Natural Light During Short Winter Days

From my experience, in the winter months, I find the light to be stronger and more atmospheric during the earlier hours of the day. On bright sunny days when sunlight reflects off the snow outside, don’t fight it! Instead, work with those strong rays of sunshine.

1. Shoot morning or midday.
2. Dial down your exposure and correct when editing.
3. Use reflectors and/or mirrors to help brighten up areas that have dark shadows.
4. For overcast days, try moving your subject to a south-facing window and place the subject slightly beyond the window frame for some dramatic contrast and shadows. This helps achieve the light fall-off needed for the chiaroscuro effect. See the reference picture below.

I am still grateful for artificial light for commercial product shots for clients, on-location shoots, and when I’m in a pinch with a looming deadline shooting at midnight.

Most of the images on my own digital channels have been shot with sunlight and will probably continue to be my main source to “draw with light.”

For further reading: Check out the below for more articles about Lighting tips:

Simple One Light Photography Setup: Moody Black Forest Cupcake

How Learning Low Key Product Photography Improved My Creativity

Create Dappled Light Using a Speedlite: How to Guide.

Photography Flags: Add Stunning Dimension & Contrast to Your Food Photos.

Softboxes For Product Photography: What You Need to Know.

Betty Shin Binon wrote this post. Thank you Betty for sharing your tips on the chiaroscuro effect using natural light.

Betty Shin Binon

Food Photographer | Stems & Forks

Betty Shin Binon is a freelance photographer and videographer based in Canada. She is known for her distinct chiaroscuro style and visual storytelling.

Check out her work on Stem & Fork or stop by on Instagram!

Two Loves Studio was not paid to write this post, however, it may contain affiliate links. If you purchase an item from an affiliate link, we do get a commission on the sale which helps us run this site. Only affiliates for products/services we believe in appear on this site.

The post Natural Lighting Food Photo Tips You Need To Know For Chiaroscuro Effect. appeared first on Two Loves Studio.

You’ve lit your subject perfectly, but there are areas of the image that are distracting and pulling the focus away from the hero. Has this ever happened to you?

As photographers, we find ourselves in an endless pursuit of light, however, it’s important to recognize when unwanted light falls on areas of the scene around our focal point, creating a distraction. By taking away light, we can create more intentional contrast in our images, resulting in increased depth and dimension to make your hero shine–naturally.

Regardless of the light source and modifier, I’m using, there is one widely available and very affordable tool that I continually reach for to create beautiful dimension, depth, and contrast to an image and that’s photography flags.

In this post, I’ll share with you how I use photography flags to create a strong image with beautiful contrast that still looks natural. 

What Are Photography Flags?

Flags are most often made from inexpensive black foam core and can be positioned around your scene to block the light from falling on areas where you don’t want it.

Foamcore can be easily cut down to any shape. It comes in a range of sizes and thicknesses from an art supply or dollar stores.

Pro Tip:

Depending on the size and placement of your flags, you’ll need clamps or tape to keep them in place. Alternatively, simply fold to create a slight V-shape so it will stand on its own if you’re placing it directly on the surface.

When Should Photography Flags Be Used?

• When your subject is lit well, but other areas of the scene are either too bright and distracting.
• If there is a lack in contrast resulting in a dull appearance. (This is common when the light source is larger than necessary and too much light falls onto the set).
• If there is ambient light affecting the scene. (This scenario can happen with natural or artificial light, by placing flags to control the light, we can draw the focus back to the hero).

Before I Started Using Flags in Photography:

Frequently in my process, I relied more on editing software (Lightroom and Photoshop) to make local adjustments to the scene exposure with linear or radial gradient filters.

The difference I found is the results from that software didn’t look as natural or have the same impact as when I manipulated the light itself.

Add Interest and Depth to an Image Using Flags in Photography

First, we build our scene. Here, I have a medium grey surface with a black background which already adds contrast since the subject is meringues. The meringues are arranged on a slight angle to the back of the set.

The camera is also on an angle to the back of the set, directly facing the meringues. This angle of the subject and camera to the horizon line of the set also creates depth and visual interest. The light is coming from the side, positioned slightly to the front of the set.

List of Gear Used:

• Camera: Canon 6D Mark II
• Lens: Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
• Tripod: Manfrotto MT190
• Light Source: Godox SK300
• Modifier: Godox Octabox with Grid – 120cm
• Light Stands: Neewer
• Foam core: Black foam core
• Clamps

The Next Shot: Setting Up The Photography Flags

In this next shot, I placed a photography flag at the back of the set to block some of the light falling on the black background. By adding this flag, a strong shadow was created that helped frame the edges of the two stacked meringues.

I then placed another flag at the front left corner of the scene to control some of the light falling on the surface at the bottom of the image. Now, the opening between these two flags narrows the path for the light to fall on the subject, with the shadows essentially framing the meringues.

Adding Negative Fill For Enhanced Contrast

While the exposure on the meringues themselves hasn’t changed, they seem more defined and the texture more pronounced. If I had stopped shooting at this point, the shadows created make the scene appear more interesting and have also added visual hierarchy.

In the final step, I added a third piece of black foam core on the set, positioned opposite the light source to act as a negative fill for the scene instead of using it as a photography flag.

As you can see in the image below, the light now appears as though it’s glancing across the front of the meringues. We are drawn into the texture of the delicate cracks and swirls of chocolate and caramel. We can still sense there is a background and a foreground, yet neither of which are distracting.

Contrast is an important visual element. It helps us perceive dimension and create interest in two-dimensional images (a.k.a. make your images POP!)

By using photography flags to subtract light from your scene you can easily construct compelling images in-camera rather than at post-production. Practice different placements, experiment with shadows, and HAVE FUN!

Further reading: Check out the below for more articles about Lighting tips:

Simple One Light Photography Setup: Moody Black Forest Cupcake

How Learning Low Key Product Photography Improved My Creativity

Create Dappled Light Using a Speedlite: How to Guide.

Gayle McLeod wrote this post. Thank you Gayle for sharing your tips on dimension and contrast.

Gayle McLeod

Food Photographer

Hi! I’m Gayle McLeod, a professional food stylist and food photographer based in Vancouver, Canada. I love the art of bringing food to life by visually communicating the textures, flavours, and details in a way that is relatable and compelling to the viewer. Check out my website or stop by on Instagram!

Two Loves Studio was not paid to write this post, however, it may contain affiliate links. If you purchase an item from an affiliate link, we do get a commission on the sale which helps us run this site. Only affiliates for products/services we believe in appear on this site.

The post Photography Flags: Add Stunning Dimension & Contrast to Your Food Photos. appeared first on Two Loves Studio.

This post may contain affiliate links. Only affiliates for products/services we believe in appear on this site.

The Lightroom Before And After comparison tool is one of the most important photo editing tools you should learn how to use. It will instantly show you how much your original image has changed after you’ve made edits in Lightroom. This will help you in determining what else has to be edited in your shot to make it a masterpiece.

RELATED: Ultimate Guide: Best Tripod For Food Photography

3 Piece Professional Studio Tripod Setup

For my go-to studio photography tripod, I use a tall Manfrotto tripod with a geared head and overhead arm. This setup allows me to do all of my in-studio work seamlessly. I couldn’t be happier with this setup.

1. Manfrotto 058B Triaut Tripod
2. Manfrotto 131DB Overhead Arm
3. Manfrotto 410 Junior Geared Head

Natural Light Guide

Take the guesswork out of natural light!

GRAB THE EBOOK

Lightweight On-Location Food Photography Tripod

This tripod has been in our photography family for some time and was originally purchased as a tripod for nature photography. Whereas both my husband and I have moved into different niches, we still use it for on-location shoots.

The exact model we used is discontinued, I have recommended the newer alternative below.

• Gitzo GT2542 Mountaineer Tripod Series 2
• Acratech Ultimate GP Ball Head
• Acratech 1138 Universal L Bracket

A word of advice is to spend a little more money and get the best (or right!) tripod from the get-go. For example, buying a $300 tripod probably won’t get you what you need and you’ll end up spending more money in the long run. That was my mistake.

If you want to be empowered to know all the ins and outs of which tripod to buy for your photography, read the Ultimate Guide: Best Tripod For Food Photography that I have put together.

If you have a question about how I use my tripod, drop me a comment below.

The post How To Compare Using The Lightroom Before And After Tool appeared first on Two Loves Studio.

This post may contain affiliate links. Only affiliates for products/services we believe in appear on this site.

It’s true, photographers can achieve a lot with natural light! I do think, however, that artificial light is something every photographer should have a base level understanding of.

In this post, I’m going to show you the simple softbox set up for product photography that I use.

The key to mastering artificial light is simply having a better understanding of various lighting conditions so you can have the confidence to get the shot in any condition.

Softboxes are suitable for all types of photography, including product photography, and they can be a game-changer for your workflow!

Why I Love Softboxes for Product Photography:

Natural light can be tricky. It can change by the second and can make the consistency of images a challenge of their own. In the winter months in New York, where I am from, the sunset can set as early as 4 pm. This makes it crucial to have this skill set in your toolkit.

The first thing I grab, when soft window light isn’t available or I need to shoot a series of images is my softbox setup.

The best part of mastering artificial light is that it unlocks the ability to get the shot you want anytime you’re available to pick up your camera!

The Perks of Using a Softbox for Product Photography:

For my work, the bigger the softbox better. Below are my favourite reasons for using a softbox for product photography:

• Softboxes are an incredibly versatile tool to create artifical light in photoshoots as key or fill light.
• Most softboxes come with two layers of diffusion which reduces harsh shadows.
• Softboxes come in all sizes. My advice is you should choose the biggest one you can comfortably work within your space.

Softbox for Photography Gear List

This is a studio setup that requires a few lights (and some space!). Here are the key lighting pieces I used in this set up.

• Multiple Broncolor Siros 800 S lights for both key lights and fill lights.
• Broncolor Softbox 120 x 180 cm for the main key light.
• LEE Filters White Diffusion to create soft light
• Red Gel on the back Broncolor Siros 800 S
• Plexiglass used at the back of the shot for the ‘warm’ glow

Would love to hear about your experiences using artificial light and softboxes in the comments below!

Further reading: if you’re interested in reading more about Lighting tips –

Simple One Light Photography Setup: Moody Black Forest Cupcake

Create Dappled Light Using a Speedlite: How to Guide.

Photography Flags: Add Stunning Dimension & Contrast to Your Food Photos.

This post was written by Justin Sisson. Thank you Justin for sharing your insights on lighting.

Justin Sisson

Commercial Photographer – Justin Sisson

Justin Sisson is a New-York based photographer specializing in food, beverage and portraiture. Justin draws inspiration from minimalism, quiet scenes, & everyday French living. His fine art and commercial work are often interlaced as he explores beauty in simple moments. Check out my website or come say hi on Instagram.

Two Loves Studio was not paid to write this post, however, it may contain affiliate links. If you purchase an item from an affiliate link, we do get a commission on the sale which helps us run this site. Only affiliates for products/services we believe in appear on this site.

The post Softboxes For Product Photography: What You Need to Know. appeared first on Two Loves Studio.

This post may contain affiliate links. Only affiliates for products/services we believe in appear on this site.

I’m excited to share my experience in flash for low key product photography with you in this post. At the beginning of my photographic journey, I was entranced by using natural light, shaping and controlling it. As I progressed, I believed it was the more noble, honest approach.

In complete truth, I admit that I was absolutely intimidated by the thought of using artificial light – the technical gear, cost of it, everything about it. My mind was closed. I felt anxious that I still had so much to learn in those early stages and that learning something new seemed almost arrogant to me.

Learning is linear, you don’t need to be perfect in one field before trying another.

After my first paid shoot, my mindset changed. The brief was ‘Summer Salads’ with a light and airy mood – it was the middle of winter.

I quoted for a half-day shoot and it ended up taking me a week of chasing light around my house in the dullest, stormiest weather ever. It was a nightmare. I found the situation to be so stressful that I decided I couldn’t let that happen again.

My busy family life with kids in high school and shortened daylight hours in winter meant that I had brief time slots for shooting, whilst my growing passion meant my frustration was off the scale. Has this ever happened to you?

A Few Tips to Remember on Low Key Flash for Product Photography:

Finally, I decided to take the plunge after having a look at Joanie’s The Biteshot, free online tutorials. I highly recommend her reasonably priced online course – Artificial Academy. You can start learning flash photography with quite cheap gear. Who knew!

After I completed the course and practised A LOT with personal projects, I found I could shoot anytime, in any weather! Yay!

Of course, there were times where I did still make rookie mistakes and while they were not disastrous, they did cause stress and cost time.

If you are struggling with the same things, here are a few of my tips:

The Importance of an Equipment List

I’m fearful of forgetting something, looking unprofessional or delaying a shoot. While this hasn’t happened to me yet there have been a few close calls. Below are my tips on how to combat this.

1. Make a checklist of all required equipment for a shoot, then tick them off every time you go out on location.
2. Organize carry cases before you go to a shoot.
3. Invest in extra batteries.
4. Don’t underestimate the amount and weight of equipment.
5. Remember to bring chargers and power cables on shoots.

My Equpiment List for Low Key Product Photography

1. Canon EOS1DX camera
2. Canon Speedlite 430EX II
3. Godox Speedlight V860 II
4. Xlite 25x100cm Strip Softbox
5. Canon EF100mm f/2.8 Macro lens – ISO 100 f/11 1/200s
6. Sigma Art Series 50mm f/1.4 lens – ISO 100 f/6.3 1/200s

Using Rim Light to Pick Dark Objects Off a Dark Background

Let’s check out below, how I used what I learned shooting skincare products to create this dramatic wine shot with exactly the same setup. I learned this kind of lighting after accepting a job to create website imagery for the launch of a new skincare brand.

The packaging was black and shiny. The client brief was to shoot the product with a black background on a black reflective surface.

Because I had not done this kind of low key product photography with flash before, I worked out how to light the product using a mix of YouTube tutorials and inventiveness.

I achieved these results by using 2 speedlights along with black and white foam core boards, as well as using 1 light behind and either side of the subject for the rim light and 1 light to the left side/front to illuminate the subject.

A total of 3 light sources. At the time I had only 2 speedlights. 

Practice Brings Confidence

Practice a lot, don’t underrate how putting in the hours will make you a better photographer. Putting together my flash equipment has become second nature now, and as my confidence has grown, my equipment has been upgraded. This has allowed me to carry out test shoots beforehand, rather than rolling with whatever light presents itself on the day.

I absolutely love planning how to achieve the light I want for the shot and knowing how it will look without the uncertainty shooting with natural light brings.

For example a series of dishes, I had shot over several days, with the continuity of light required for the client’s online menu left me loving the control I had which then led to more freedom and creativity in my work.

This newfound confidence and creativity led to opportunities in product photography. In conjunction with Rachel’s fantastic Retouching Food Photography course, learning to use flash for product photography has helped land me these high-end beauty product jobs where I have achieved those slick effects you see in magazines.

I would never have dreamt I’d produce work at this level, and it’s been liberating. Now my mind is wide open, and I am excited to learn and push myself more.

I now use flash in probably 90% of my work and this newfound creativity has spilled over into my food photography practice.

Further reading: if you’re interested in reading more about Lighting tips –

Simple One Light Photography Setup: Moody Black Forest Cupcake

Create Dappled Light Using a Speedlite: How to Guide.

Photography Flags: Add Stunning Dimension & Contrast to Your Food Photos.

This post was written by Therese Bourne. Thank you Therese for sharing your BTS lighting setup.

Therese Bourne

Photographer – The Urban Nest

Hi, I’m Therese, a freelance food and product photographer living in Melbourne, Australia. My work is inspired by the emotion and drama that can be evoked through light and shadow. Come say hi on Instagram.

Two Loves Studio was not paid to write this post, however, it may contain affiliate links. If you purchase an item from an affiliate link, we do get a commission on the sale which helps us run this site. Only affiliates for products/services we believe in appear on this site.

The post How Learning Low Key Product Photography Improved My Creativity appeared first on Two Loves Studio.

This post may contain affiliate links. Only affiliates for products/services we believe in appear on this site.

If you’re reading this it’s likely because you love to shoot on marble backgrounds as much as I do. In a perfect world, I’d be surrounded by gorgeous marble that makes me swoon every time I entered a room. 

But…there are a few problems with photographing on marble. It’s expensive, it’s very heavy and delicate.

The only piece of real marble that I own is a small pastry board. It’s more of a platter or layering piece than a background as it’s too small to use as a full surface.

If you don’t have access to real marble, there are a few ways you can get the marble look for less.

#1 Faux Marble Backgrounds – Self Stick Vinyl

A favourite DIY background amongst Aussie Instagramers thanks to The Winton Ideal Series that is available at Bunnings Australia. Their White Marble Self Stick Vinyl Tiles are just less than $5 per tile.

Many grammers choose to just shoot on one tile which makes this a mighty cheap purchase of a simple $5 – your coffee for the day!

For me, I found these squares a little too small to just shoot on one, so I purchased 4 and stuck them to an MDF board. Taking my faux marble background purchase to a ripe $20. Ca-ching! Next.

#2 Faux Marble DIY Backgrounds – Contact Paper

A little more flexible in use than a vinyl tile, lighter and just a tad more pricey with shipping is Marble Contact Paper. Available in a number of shades of white and patterns, this one is a winner because it is cheaper per length and can cover a decent size board for less.

With a slightly nicer finish than the vinyl tile above, this option is perfect for your Instagram flat lays. Just ask Kelly from A Side of Sweet. She applies her contact paper to foam core and swears this is better than the real thing.

For around $8 plus shipping and tax, this is a mighty fine faux marble background option for covering large boards if you’re style is more in the storytelling of flat lays.

#3 Faux Marble Backgrounds – The Fake Tile

One of my favourite fake marble surfaces I’ve shot with was a faux marble tile. You can get decently sized tile for around the $30 mark from discount bathroom and tile places. Mark sure you’re not buying real marble titles, as that will set up back a pretty penny.

Harder to come by than the other two options, this one has it’s advantages. Because you’re more likely to find individual pieces that no one else has, you’ll stand out from the crowd.

Patterns of the marble are more likely to be different between manufacturers, potentially giving you more choice in how your faux marble backgrounds look. Therese from The Urban Nest introduced me to this amazing piece.

Read more about essential Food Photography props here.

The More Pricey Options For Faux Marble Backgrounds

If you’ve got a bigger budget for backgrounds or would like something a little more custom, then there are two easy options for around the $100 mark will get you some faux marble backgrounds that are sure to please.

Painted Faux Marble Backgrounds

You can get custom faux marble backgrounds made to your liking from one of the many online background supplies getting around at the moment. The upside is that often you can send in an image sample and get something super custom. You can pick your colour choices as well.

The main drawback is that it can look a little too fake for the price. You’ll also want to make sure the boards have been sealed and coated so they have a natural-looking shine just like marble would have.

The Best Quality Vinyl Faux Marble Backgrounds

I have two favourite faux vinyl surfaces that I love.

They are over $30 but totally worth it. One has a nice shine to it and the other feels more matte.

Grey Marble by Captured by Lucy is easily rolled up. Shoots just like a matte marble and photographs very well. The price is also really amazing for the quality of her vinyl. Use the CODE TLSHOORAY to get 10% off (not an affiliate code).

The Subtle Gray Marble by Bessie Bakes Backdrops is another of my favourites. It has a nice sheen but doesn’t shoot with glare. It’s a lightweight surface but not roll-up. So it’s always super easy to work with. It’s one of the nicest marbles I’ve shot with.

Tips + Traps of Using Faux Marble Backgrounds

But maybe you’re thinking, it can’t be that easy, can it? Well, for sure it can be and there are some tips and traps to watch out for when you select your faux marble backgrounds of choice!

Here are some things I’ve experienced with using fake marble.

Everyone Has The Cheaper Options

The lower-cost options that you select, the more likely it is that many others will be using the same surface. Not a bad thing, just something to be aware of. Low-cost vinyl can also be very shiny and look fake on camera.

The links in this post are ones recommended by photographers who’ve used them in their photoshoots.

Repeating Patterns

If you go with the option I have of using a few vinyl titles and stick them together, be sure not to lay them down where the patterns in the titles become repeatable. Play with the options of how you would lay them onto a board before you peel the adhesive off. Obviously repeatable patterns will scream fake as marble tends to be unique.

Colour of Your White

Faux marble backgrounds should feel white or a little more blue-ish. Yellow coloured fake options won’t do you any favours and will cast a nasty white balance issue on your image. Try to avoid cream if you can and go for white/blue whites.

There are some nice latte and warm coloured marbles on the market, but they are bold and are used in different ways to white.

Avoid Fake Patterns

To avoid having faux marble backgrounds that really looks fake, try to choose an option that has the least amount of pattern. If you like to shoot a little more minimal, you’ll want to ensure that the piece has some areas of just white (negative space) to avoid the pattern taking over your image entirely. 

Choose Larger Pieces

The benefit of having an option that allows for a larger background to work with is that you can shoot on different parts of the board to avoid having every photo looking the same with the same details of the piece. You can strategically place your subjects around the frame, rotate the board and so on to make it look different in each shoot that you do. 

Less is More

A marble piece with less veining will have more longevity in your work as it will be less memorable. 

Do you love to shoot on marble? I would love to hear from you if you have tried any of these options let me know which worked well for you! If you have a backdrop suggestion, let me know in the comments below!

The post 3 Easy DIY Ways to Make Faux Marble Backgrounds. appeared first on Two Loves Studio.

This post may contain affiliate links. Only affiliates for products/services we believe in appear on this site.

Hello, photographers! I’m really excited to have this opportunity to talk about lighting with you, in particular dappled light.

Understanding and shaping light is one of the three foundational skills for great food photography, alongside styling and image post-processing.

My hope for you is this article will help demystify dappled light and inspire you to always be on the lookout for cool modifiers for light setups, natural or artificial. Always be playing with, and observing light – this is one essential tenet for growing as a photographer. 

Let’s Talk About Dappled Light and What it is:

Dappled light is produced when sunlight passes through the leaf canopy of a plant. The effect created is that of patches of light interspersed with patches of shadow. 

This image is an example of what dappled light can look like in your food photos.

Dappled Light is The Ultimate Mixed Lighting: Qualities of Light

When we observe it, we notice that it’s a combination of hard light (where there are gaps in the leaf canopy) and soft/diffused light (the light that passes through the leaves). The more leaves there are the more light that is diffused or even blocked.

There might be subtle differences in colour temperature between hard and soft light areas: 

Light diffused by leaves will have a cool, blue-green cast. In the fall, when the leaf canopy changes to warm colours (yellow, orange, and red), dappled light can take on a soft golden glow. Direct, hard light has a warmer glow.

How to Create Dappled Light Using Artificial Lighting

Natural dappled light is created by Mother Nature, and if we are lucky enough to have access to it, all we have to do is frame the image, and click the shutter. All you need to do is take into account the different colour temperatures of lit and shaded areas, and how to expose optimally for both shadows and highlights. 

You might be asking how can we create this type of lighting with artificial light?

I wanted to recreate this type of light in the studio, trying to find modifiers that simulate the appearance of dappled light. Below are two examples of modifiers.

Example 1 Dappled Light Modifier:

I’m always on the lookout for props! On one occasion when I visited Ikea, in the tableware section I noticed a cardboard box insert meant to hold glasses.

Immediately, I thought of using it as a lighting modifier, realizing that by opening or closing the small triangle flaps of the holes I could control how much light was directed onto my scene. This would work well for recreating dappled light. 

It was easy to imagine a table set in a sunny spot, ready for people to sit down to eat.

List of Gear Used in Example 1 Dappled Light Modifier: 

1. Godox V860II Speedlite with a Bowens mount, on a light stand (estimated height of 1.7m (5 ft))
2. X ProF Fujifilm trigger
3. Modifier, secured by two clamps mounted onto light stands.
4. Camera mounted on a tripod, tethered to an (out of frame) laptop.

Using this type of modifier with a Speedlite will require some experimentation. In the absence of a modelling light (which is a feature of more powerful studio strobes), the effect will not be obvious until you fire the flash.

If your strobe has a modelling light, you can use it to change the position, tilt angle or distance of the modifier, to see how the effect changes.

I love the look of the lighting in this frame, but I wonder if the lighting is sufficiently realistic? I’d love to hear what your thoughts are in the comments below!

Example 2 of Dappled Light:

On another shoot, I wanted to create dappled light, but with a tropical vibe.

Now since I live in a cold climate, I bought an artificial palm frond, I used a bare-bulb flash lifted to about 1.6m (5ft) and tilted downwards, at my shooting surface. Then I used a light stand with a clamp to secure the faux palm frond in between the light and my scene. The setup was similar to Example #1 for the sunny lunch outside.

You can pick up a palm frond from most craft supply stores, typically found in the faux florals area.

Related: Check out this easy 2-minute behind-the-scenes IGTV video of an identical setup.

My Main Take-Aways on Light Modifiers:

Whether for personal or client work, the ability to create exactly the kind of light you want is priceless.

• You can always get creative with modifiers for your light.
• Check out professional photography equipment stores for dappled light gobos within your budget.
• Get thrifty by creating your own dappled light out of everyday material such as cardboard or foam core.
• Use natural or artificial foliage in studio to help shape your light. Keep in mind, that artificial foliage doesn’t usually have the same translucence as real leaves. 

The great advantage of creating this effect with artificial light and modifiers, such as the ones above, is that we have total control over the appearance of the light. By learning this technique, next time you are in nature, you might decide you don’t want to cut off the branch shading your scene. You certainly can’t control if there will be a sunny or overcast shoot day.

With artificial light and a modifier, both of these problems can be addressed!

I hope you take this invitation to play with light and explore the possibilities of creating the lighting effects you want in your images. 

Further reading: If you’re interested in reading more about Lighting tips, check out the below:

Simple One Light Photography Setup: Moody Black Forest Cupcake

How Learning Low Key Product Photography Improved My Creativity

Photography Flags: Add Stunning Dimension & Contrast to Your Food Photos.

Diana Muresan wrote this post. Thank you Diana for sharing your tips on dappled light.

Diana Muresan

Photographer & food stylist living in Greater Toronto – Craft and Muse

Diana brings her love of texture, shadows, and detail to her images, always chasing a juicy specular highlight and the magic of interesting light. When not holding a camera she is negotiating snack options and bedtime with her son or baking something to satisfy her sweet tooth. 

Come check me out on Instagram or sign up for my newsletter on all things food photography here!

Two Loves Studio was not paid to write this post, however, it may contain affiliate links. If you purchase an item from an affiliate link, we do get a commission on the sale which helps us run this site. Only affiliates for products/services we believe in appear on this site.

The post Create Dappled Light Using a Speedlite: How to Guide. appeared first on Two Loves Studio.

After being a long-term Lightroom user and moving the majority of my RAW editing to Capture One, I often get asked if other photographers should do the same thing.

Here’s one thing you should know about me. I don’t like to answer these types of questions with blanket statements. The types of statements like everyone should be switching from Lightroom to Capture One because Capture One is better.

Why? Because those statements aren’t truly helpful. They don’t speak to individual photographers or unique creative needs.

In this post, I want to help other creatives work out *if* Capture One might fulfil a creative need they are currently unable to fulfil.

Let’s dive in!

Is Capture One More Professional?

You’ve probably heard this before. Capture One is more professional than Lightroom.

In fact, people would tell me this for years. Photographers, who mind you didn’t make money from their work, nor was their work always any good. But they would still tell me that Capture One was more professional than Lightroom.

As a Lightroom user at the time, this made me feel ‘unprofessional’. Because if you’re not using professional software, then what are you?

It is true that Capture One is considered the professional industry-standard software. This is because it’s made for professionals and tailored to professional needs. Professional’s do choose Capture One because of the degree of control it allows professional photographers and editors over their post-production.

Lightroom on the other hand is designed for a wider audience, including non-professional picture takers or iPhone happy snappers.

To answer the question is Capture One more professional than Lightroom? My answer is this:

Capture One is the professional industry standard RAW editor and it offers more control. Control pros need.

Which Photographers Would Benefit in Switching from Lightroom to Capture One?

Do I think that every photographer should stop using Lightroom and switch to Capture One? No.

Do I think that there is a point in the evolution of a professional photographers journey where they will benefit from using Capture One? Yes.

Beginners, amateurs, food bloggers, professional photographers alike – consider trying Capture One if you feel the following:

• You’ve hit a ceiling with your current RAW editor and can’t quite finess your images to the full degree of control you’d like.
• Creativity feels missing or limited in your current RAW editor.
• You’re looking for more control over how you edit with access to more tools.
• Speed is important to you and slow tethering or lag time with local adjustments interupts your creative workflow.
• You’re looking to grow as a photographer and improve your work and post-production workflow.
• You hate catalogues and your file management is a mess no matter how hard you try to clean it up.

Learn Capture One

Create a file management system, master editing workflow and process with more control.

Presale Coming Nov 22nd.

When Should You Consider Switching to Capture One?

It can feel daunting to switch to a new editing program. Not only do you need to learn a new interface, possibly workflow, but you need to move images into a new program and start a new file management system.

That’s a serious commitment. [You can read more about my 2-year experiment here].

Some photographers will want more control, speed and functionality right out of the gate. Others will continue using Lightroom, as they are familiar, until they start making money from their photos. The majority of photographers will look at switching when they need more from their editing program. Timing then becomes the most important for them.

After working as a professional photographer for over a decade, here are some insights I have on when to switch:

• A new calendar year. January and February is a usually a slow time in our industry. Use this time to start a new file management system and post-production workflow.
• Downtime in your schedule. If you schedule downtime to take a creative break, this is a good way to use creativity in other ways than taking photos.
• On the purchase of a new camera. This is such a good time for a clean break and seperate your older work from the new.
• A large project. Like a book shoot. Adding a large project to a system like Capture One can be beneficial after you get over the initial teething stage.
• At the end of your subscription period. Did you know you can purchase Capture One on a perpetual licence? That’s right you can purchase it once and own it forever. If you pay for a yearly subscription, upon it’s completion is a good time to swithch.

One of the biggest things that I have learned is that sometimes there is never a right time and we put off decisions like this. Until a client demands you use Capture One, then you have no choice but to dive in. I’d suggest being in charge of your own timelines instead.

Interested in learning more? Here are some other articles you can read on moving to Capture One.

Lightroom vs Capture One: Important Differences You Need to Know

My 2-year Experiment: From Lightroom to Capture One

Why I Started Using Capture One Pro: What You Need to Know

Got questions? Let me know in the comments below.

Two Loves Studio was not paid to write this post, however, it may contain affiliate links. If you purchase an item from an affiliate link, we do get a commission on the sale which helps us run this site. Only affiliates for products/services we believe in appear on this site.

The post Switching From Lightroom to Capture One: When & Who Should appeared first on Two Loves Studio.

This post may contain affiliate links. Only affiliates for products/services we believe in appear on this site.

Most food photographers start out using Lightroom. It’s easier and more intuitive to use for first time users. I was no different.

My first venture into using Capture One came when working with a client who demanded I use the program. That was in 2016. From that day forward I dabbled in both programs mostly because sometimes I needed a tool in Capture One that Lightroom didn’t have or vice versa.

(Plus, I get a kick out of editing)

Fast forward. Over the years both programs have added features that used to be exclusive to just one of them. Some may argue that to stay competitive, both programs might end up with a high percentage of tools that are very similar and hence there is no need to jump from one to another.

Both programs do target different audiences, however, so it’s safe to say they’ll offer and focus on different tools.

I did a little experiment.

In 2020 I decided to test out 1 Year of Exclusively Using Capture One

As I mentioned, I’d been using the program for many years but not exclusively or deeply. I wanted to give the program a full year to change my mind about being my default RAW editor. Not only to use its features but to create a file management system within the program and test it out over a considerable period of time.

Why would I do this? Editing is my thing. I pride myself on educating our community on the magic of post-production. I felt that I really needed to get into this program to fulfil my vision of being a leader in the editing space and knowing what would get people results.

Turns out, I didn’t want to go back to Lightroom to edit my food photography. You can read more about my experiment here.

Capture One is a Natural Progression For Professionals

First and foremost, I’m not here to tell you one program is more professional than the other. However, I will tell you that Capture One is a natural progression for professional photographers at a certain stage of their photography careers.

The simple reason is that Capture One provides functionality above and beyond Lightroom. It allows you to edit with full control. Something not possible to the same extent with Lightroom’s tools, layout or workflow.

Although I can edit a beautiful photo in Lightroom and after 10 years as a photographer, I am looking for more ways to edit all aspects of my images with more control. Capture One allows me to do that.

I’ve tested it out for two full years and over 600 days of exclusively using Capture One. Risking setting up a new file management system that I might have to reinvent in this test didn’t work. But it did.

Learn Capture One

Create a file management system, master editing workflow and process with more control.

Presale Coming Nov 22nd.

10 Things I Prefer About Capture One Over Lightroom

In a nutshell, these are the features/ functions/ tools that I prefer. I prefer them because I’ve seen a noticeable difference in the quality of my images and the speed and ease of post-production.

I actually do less editing in Capture One thanks to the way colours and image quality are rendered.

I’m NOT Ditching Lightroom

Making Capture One my default RAW editor doesn’t mean that I am ditching Lightroom. Not at all. I will still be using Lightroom for editing photos I take in my personal life. Like travel photos. I’ll likely do this because I will still own the Adobe Photography Plan as I need Photoshop.

Expanding into Capture One allows me to be able to educate the community on which platform is the best RAW editor for them. Truth is, I don’t think Capture One is for every photographer.

Whether you want to edit in Lightroom, Capture One or retouch in Photoshop, I want to be there to share the magic of post-production. Because honestly, editing theory stays the same. The formula I use will allow you to edit in any program and make your shots shine!

Further reading: if you’re interested in reading more of my experience from Lightroom to Capture One –

Lightroom vs Capture One: Important Differences You Need to Know

Switching From Lightroom to Capture One: When & Who Should

Why I Started Using Capture One Pro: What You Need to Know

Got questions about this experiment or questions about Lightroom vs Capture One in general? Let me know!

The post Why I Started Using Capture One Pro: What You Need to Know appeared first on Two Loves Studio.

This post may contain affiliate links. Only affiliates for products/services we believe in appear on this site.

This is one impressive cupcake! Come behind the scenes of this Black Forest Cupcake shoot. I knew I wanted a minimalist shot with a one-light photography setup that would highlight its texture. I think there is so much to look at visually within the cupcake.

To help with the rich feeling of the subject, I wanted the background to be a decadent brown. Almost morphing the subject into that feeling.

Sticking with the one-light photography setup, I decided to use a small 2’ octa softbox.

Gear I Used to Create This One Light Setup

I used three main pieces of equipment for this shot:

1. Profoto B10 250 w/s
2. 2’ Octa Softbox
3. Manfrotto Boom Stand

This isn’t my typical go-to modifier. Small octa softboxes are often used for dramatic lighting in portraits, however, I wanted this image to really be a dramatic portrait of a cupcake.

As lighting is more about modifiers and they shape light, this look could be achieved with any strobe in combination with the 2’ softbox.

RELATED NOTES: Read more about my simple composition trick here.

Positioned Closely on the Left-side of the Subject

As the subject and scene are small, I didn’t want to flood it with too much light. The 2’ Octa was a great choice for this.

Placing the softbox on the left side of the scene, it’s close to the subject (about 1m or 3ft) and level with the background of the scene. The light distributed from the strobe is therefore lighting directly from the side at the height of the scene. This position gives nice long and deep shadows extending towards the right of the frame.

These behind the scenes photos are taken with ambient light. Killing ambient light and using the flash is how I got the light to be moody.

Apparent Size & Power of the Light

While the 2’ octa softbox is somewhat small, at this angle, we can see the apparent size of the light.

Apparent size is the size of the light sources relative to the subject when you take into account the distance between the two. You can read more about this concept in my Art of Light ebook.

As the light is close to the subject, its apparent size is larger than if we’d positioned the softbox further from the subject.

This will help to light the subject in a soft but dramatic way while allowing for light to spill across the scene. Moving the light closer to the subject can mean that we also need to reduce the power of the light to now blow out the highlights.

Further reading: if you’re interested in reading more about Lighting tips –

How Learning Low Key Product Photography Improved My Creativity

Two Loves Studio was not paid to write this post, however, it may contain affiliate links. If you purchase an item from an affiliate link, we do get a commission on the sale which helps us run this site. Only affiliates for products/services we believe in appear on this site.

The post Simple One Light Photography Setup: Moody Black Forest Cupcake appeared first on Two Loves Studio.

This post may contain affiliate links. Only affiliates for products/services we believe in appear on this site.

Let’s talk about Lightroom vs Capture One. Capture One and Lightroom go after different users with different needs.

Capture One is a tool more focused on capturing the professional photography market and hence has primarily been designed as a professional RAW processor.

Lightroom aims to capture a wider audience of people who take photos. It, therefore, has integrated functions like online services, making panoramas and creating books.

Overall, Capture One allows for functionality and control above and beyond Lightroom. From access to more editing tools to a quicker, more customisable and seamless workflow.

Table of Contents:

• Editing Tool
• Local Adjustment & Masking
• Details & Image Quality
• Workflow/Interface Features
• Tethering Features
• Purchase Licence
• My Tool Preferences

These summaries will compare some of the features from Lightroom vs Capture One that I think are most noteworthy about the two programs.

Learn Capture One

Create a file management system, master editing workflow and process with more control.

Get Started Today

Editing Tool Summary

Comparing the two programs, Capture One still has more tools than Lightroom. Adobe will always want to stay competitive so this might change. As it stands, however, Capture One still offers far more control and editing tool options than Lightroom.

Tool	Lightroom	Capture One
High Dynamic Range	Yes	Yes
Curves	4 types	5 types
Levels	No	Yes
Colour Grading	Yes	Yes
Advanced Colour Editor	No	Yes
Skin Tone Editor	No	Yes
Lens Corrections	Yes	Yes

To continue to evolve your images, having access to multiple tool options, like 5 curves can make a huge difference. Being able to map tonal values with control via the Levels tool, further allows us to control contrast and brightness.

Lightroom vs Capture: Local Adjustments & Masking Summary

Lightroom has improved its masking and local adjustments to keep up with Capture One (26th Oct 2021). Lightrooms tools are simpler to use with good results. Capture One just takes one step further with the functionality to use any and every tool in a mask or local adjustment.

This in itself is a reason to switch if image quality is important to you.

Tool	Lightroom	Capture One
Masks	Yes	Yes
Brush	Yes	Yes
Radial Filter	Yes	Yes
Gradient Filter	Yes	Yes
Heal/Clone Tool	Yes	Yes
Tools available to masks	Limited	Full Tools
Luma Range	Yes	Yes
Mask Opacity	No	Yes

A major complaint I hear from Lightroom users is the limited ability to adjust every desired aspect with a Lightroom mask.

Details & Image Quality Summary

Image quality is a huge deal for photographers. One of the huge factors in switching was the difference in quality I noticed solely on the difference in RAW decoding engines and algorithms.

I far prefer the way Capture One processes noise and renders colours.

Tool	Lightroom	Capture One
Profiles	Yes & Creative Profiles	ICC Profiles
Texture	Yes	Yes (equivalent tool)
Sharpening	Limited control	More control & tools/sliders
Grain	1 type	6 types
Moire	No	Yes
Image quality	Good	Better performance and rendition.
ISO	Fair	Superior

Therefore, just upon import, your images are comparably better.

Workflow/Interface Feature Summary

Capture One does allow for a more fully customisable workflow and workspace. That does come with what feels like an overwhelming interface at first.

Lightroom is simpler and cleaner because it has access to fewer tools, but mostly because of the way it splits up the Library and Develop Module. Capture One combines the two. Which makes for a better workflow once you get used to it.

Tool/ Function	Lightroom	Capture One
Overlays	Yes. Limited	Yes. More customisable
In-built Tool Presets	Limited	Yes. Can be customised
Annotations (Retouching Notes)	No	Yes
Side by Side Editing	Used to compare	Can edit multiple photos side by side individually
Syncing or Copying Edits	Yes	Yes
Presets	Yes	Yes – known as Styles
Focus Mask	No	Yes
Panoramas / HDR Merging	Yes	No
Print Module	Yes	No
Mobile/iPad Editing	Yes (both iPhone & iPad)	iPad editing coming 2022
Photoshop Integration	Yes	Yes
Workspace Customisation	Limited	Yes
History of Edits	Yes	No

Some features aren’t available in Capture One as they don’t appeal to the same audience as Lightroom.

Learn Capture One

Create a file management system, master editing workflow and process with more control.

Get Started Today

Tethering Feature Summary for Lightroom vs Capture

Capture One vs Lightroom has always and remains to have the better tether functionality. This does depend on your camera and computer, but in my experience Capture One is faster and less glitchy.

Tool/ Function	Lightroom	Capture One
Tethering Interface	Yes. Limited	Yes
Live View	Yes	Yes
Live View Control Panel	No	Yes
Tether Camera Settings	Yes. Basic	Yes. Full Settings
Ability to Focus	Live View only.	Live View & Workspace
Exposure Meter	No	Yes
Live View Overlay/Grids	No	Yes
Syncing Edits	Yes	Yes
Sync All Settings	No	Yes

Apon side by side comparison, Capture One is quicker than Lightroom. But with a good GUP, both programs excel.

DP Review did a Head to Head Speed Test you can read about.

Purchase Licence Options

Because you can buy a full, perpetual licence and own it forever, Capture One is the cheaper option.

Adobe moved away from the ability to have a perpetual licence with their software. There are pros and cons to this. Capture One still allows you to buy each version and own it forever (if you aren’t fussed about getting each update).

Purchase Licence	Lightroom	Capture One
Ability to buy a perpetual licence	No	Yes (own it once and forever)
Subscription	Yes	Yes
Bundle with Photoshop	Yes	No
Approx. Cost	$10.48 p/m	$199 (perpetual licence) or 25 p/m

If having the latest version with updates is the most important, Lightroom is cheaper. Adobe appeals to a wider audience and aims at capturing people who don’t consider themselves photographers but take photos. Capture One, on the other hand, has more tools and is, therefore, more expensive if you go the subscription route.

I have typically purchased the perpetual licence for Capture one. I own Capture One 12, Capture One 20 and Capture One 21.

10 Things I Prefer About Capture One vs Lightroom

Now some of this stuff is subjective, but for me, these functionalities have seen my workflow and my image quality improve.

Read more about Why I Started Using Capture One Pro here.

What I Think Lightroom Does Better

It’s hard to get a program to do 100% of everything better. This wouldn’t be a fair comparison if I didn’t talk about the few things I think Lightroom does better.

Further reading: if you’re interested in reaching more on the topic, where are some worthwhile articles.

Photography Lyfe: Lightroom vs Capture One: Should You Switch?

DP Review: Head to Head: Adobe Lightroom Classic vs Capture One 21

Expert Photography: Capture One vs Lightroom (Which One Should You Choose?)

Thomas Fitzgerald: Capture One vs Lightroom from someone who uses both

Got feature questions about Lightroom vs Capture One? I’d love to have a discussion. Let me know in the comments below.

The post Lightroom vs Capture One: Important Differences You Need to Know appeared first on Two Loves Studio.

One year I decided to take the leap and exclusively use Capture One for 12 months to see what I thought of the program. As a long-term Lightroom user and an educator of editing programs, I wanted to see what my workflow, file management system and image quality would be like in Capture One over time.

Even though I had been using the program since Capture One 12 in 2016, dabbling in the program is not the same as dedicating hundreds of shoots and thousands of images over time.

My Capture One experiment lasted almost 2 years and over 600 days.

This post is to help Lightroom users understand the pros and cons of switching to Capture One from my experience.

Let’s dive in!

Switching From Lightroom to Capture One

At the start of the year, I decided to jump straight into tethering and post-processing all of my images in Capture One. The idea here was that I would need both a range of images, lighting, moods and concepts to really test all of the features.

Editing dark and moody, desaturated photos in winter is very different from bright, colourful and airy photos in summer.

Different food subjects require different local adjustments (masks) or luminosity masks. To really grasp the differences between Lightroom and Capture One, I wanted to test all of these features over time.

The other important aspect any working photographer will know is their file management system. We always need a system where we can easily locate prior images. Either to update our portfolio, share with a client, licence to a new client or share on social media. In 500 days, was I easily going to find that photo I shot today?

Testing my system over this length of time would tell me what worked better for me.

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Image Quality Improvements with Capture One

One of the first things I’ve noticed when using Capture One years ago was that my images felt silky smooth. Almost without me doing anything. That’s because Capture One’s RAW decoding engines and algorithms process noise and details differently to Lightroom.

Just by using the software, my images felt like they were of better quality in terms of details and noise, (all other things being equal).

In addition, having access to more tools and more ways to use tools gave me the extra control that I was looking for at this point in my career.

As a photographer who has been photographing for 10 years, the little things matter. Being able to control every desired aspect of my photo editing has helped me improve the quality of my images.

File Management

I’m just going to say it, I’ve never liked catalogues. After working for 10 years as a photographer, years start to blur into one another. Even with the best intentions and organisation, I find it hard to remember which sets of photos are in which catalogues.

After working with hundreds of Capture One Sessions, I can say they are my preference for managing files and shoots. I use a new session for each shoot and only use a catalogue for client projects after the fact.

Meaning I shoot in Sessions, then combine the photoshoots into a catalogue for a client if I feel the need to.

I didn’t even really bother with setting up a cataloguing system in Capture One as most of the pros I talked to, also liked working with Sessions.

One thing I love about Sessions being free from a catalogue is that I can move the sessions around (all side-car files and edits come with the folder system) and you won’t lose files or have missing files in a catalogue.

There are, however, pros and cons of working with sessions over catalogues.

From Lightroom to Capture One Workflow

Lightroom has a more simplified interface with different modules to jump into so there are fewer tools staring back at you all at once. While the Capture One interface might seem overwhelming at first, it’s much more customisable than Lightroom.

Setting it up the way you want, fully removing, moving and dragging tools around helps you create a workflow that inspires you.

Once I got used to having more tools available and could set them up how I liked, I found it limiting to go back into Lightroom.

What was the most fascinating to me was that my time editing was reduced. I spent less time editing, used fewer tools and got better results and image quality.

The ability to open multiple sessions at once, copy edits between sessions is also a plus.

My Export Recipe (Export Presets) system has also saved me infinite time by exporting all the files I’ll ever need into organised files so I can easily access and share them.

Speed edits in Capture One 21 have also allowed for a rapid and immersive workflow as I tether without having to leave or navigate to different editing tabs. It all happens right in the main interface. A fun feature for those who love hotkeys (keyboard shortcuts)

Further reading: if you’re interested in reading more of my experience from Lightroom to Capture One –

Lightroom vs Capture One: Important Differences You Need to Know (coming soon)

Switching From Lightroom to Capture One: When & Who Should (coming soon)

Why I Started Using Capture One Pro: What You Need to Know (coming soon)

Got questions about this experiment or questions about Lightroom vs Capture One in general? Let me know!

Two Loves Studio was not paid to write this post, however, it may contain affiliate links. If you purchase an item from an affiliate link, we do get a commission on the sale which helps us run this site. Only affiliates for products/services we believe in appear on this site.

The post My 2-Year Experiment: From Lightroom to Capture One appeared first on Two Loves Studio.