How to Use Artificial Light in Food Photography (Using just ONE Light Source) 

Wonderful video, thank you for sharing your info! Looking forward to more of your video tutorials!

The cinematic style in this is incredible and the info was so well delivered! Loved this video!

This video was super helpful and I think you helped me identify a problem I’m having! I don’t think I’m positioning my light high or angled down enough. Going to give that a try next time. Thank you!! Also... love that you painted your wall to be a giant backdrop. Such a clever idea.

Thank you!!! I can't wait to pursue my passion of food styling and this has really helped me with how to begin at home!

A HUGE help as i am struggling to work things out from books. Delivered so clearly and calmly. Many thanks :)

I like how you explain things, to the point and very clear. Thanks for creating this :)

The best video I have found on lighting for Food Photography Lauren. Thank you.

Hello Lauren! Thanks so much for posting this video. I have been looking for continuous artificial lighting and I am considering your recommendation. Are there any other accessories needed for this lighting setup other than the light and the soft box you have linked in the description? Is there a separate stand required to set up this light or the soft box? It would be helpful to know this. Thanks again!

Hi Lauren, great video, thanks. I wanted to ask you how you deal with ambient light when using a continuous light source?

Many thanks for this amazing video !!! You explain so clearly that even for me who doesn't speak English very well, it is easy to understand. Can not wait to see the next one!!

This video is amazing and exactly what I was looking for. Very impressive! Thank you for sharing this.

Fabulous! Great set up + affordable too. Thank you 🙏🏻 so much.

You just changed the photography game for me!!! Thank yooooouu!! 🌸

Thank you so much Lauren! This is really helpful. Hitting the subscribe button right away

Hi, love the video. What was the slo mo puring the olive oil shot with, speed?

Thank you for this simple beautiful lesson. I would enjoy and learn more if I see more of practical of photography sessions.

thank you SO much for posting this! Really what I need to watch when I was getting frustrated with my lights.

When using your soft box are you using a light meter to get the correct flash exposure 1/250 shutter speed? Thanks

Very helpful thank you

Absolutely fantastic video, I have just purchased 2 Neewer 480 LED panels and am looking forward to taking some great shots. Trying to find a softbox to go with them though, as the light isn't quite soft enough.

Thank you very much for this tutorial! 🤩🤩🤩

Pretty ideal setting.

Very informative and practical. Thanks for this. Subbed!

Very informative, thanks so much

Hi, I have did some food photography with Godox ad300pro and a TT685 Speedlight as a fill light. I was impressed how you did yours with continuous LED light, i start to think if can i use my Nanlite FS150 to my new project. Which one you prefer in your food photo set up? Continuous LED light, or Strobe? Thank you

Thx for sharing your knowledge.

Great info in one video. Thank you...

Good video : ) what’s you’re reasoning behind using the 70-200? Are you looking for image compression or just favour being able to shoot further away from the scene?

Lauren, have you used the full power or dimmed it down? (I wonder whether 100D would be enough for food photography...)

Nice lighting setup!! thanks for sharing!

thank you so much for your technique sharing.

great work thanks for sharing.. please make another great video..

Great one, many thanks!

Thanks for this video

Your very good, keep going and do more frequently.

Thank you. It is very useful!

Just stumbled across your channel and although I shoot products not good this is still really good examples of lighting. I love your video and music the quality is superb. Great job thank you 😊

Absolutely beautiful shot!

Inspiring! Thank you for the great idea:)

Thank you, very useful video!!!!

Very nice video. I’m sure your subs will grow rapidly. Keep up the good work. 👍🏻

Hi, I finally managed to buy a continuous light like this one and the difuser, could you make a video on how to shoot a tall cake with this light? I am a pastry chef and sometimes finish my cakes on the eavening and the light is gone 😄

Just WOOOW 👍

Awesome tute mate !

Great work, I love the results of the food photography and the video editing style, great information. I was curious, what’s the reflector setup? Could you maybe provide links to a reliable reflector stand/holder and reflector? Thanks again, lovely job!

Thanks for making this video.

Your video is super cool! Thanks for sharing. I forgot to ask: how do you it when you shoot with natural light but is sunny outside? Do you use any scrim on the window? Cheers!

WHAT AN UNDERRATED CHANNEL! You rock! Great, informative videos.

Thanks a lot

Very informative. Thank you

Awesome tutorial ----I love you lady !

Excellent

Thank you very informative and straight to the point ♥️

Doing my first food photography shoot this evening. Great video to give me some ideas. Thanks :)

For very dark, high contrast compositions can the light be reduced sufficiently to get the desired effect? How about using flags and diffusers to help things out?

Another really great video.

Moving a large soft light further away will create an apparently smaller but less intense light source but you indicate it will be a harder light. Won't the smaller apparent size cause less soft edge shadows or hard light type shadow only if the intensity is increased to compensate for the light fall off caused by increased distance from the subject? Thank you for a well executed easy to understand tutorial. Overall a stellar job.

Nicely done, and highly informative..! Greetings from Jakarta.

You made those green olives look delicious af in that B-roll clip. Instant subscriber. Great video and great tips!

THANK YOU!!!

Very good 👍 thanks

moreeee video pleaseeee !!! love your work btw

Wonderful my friend

Thank you, you've explained me a lot!

Great video

I see if I can get my camera out tomorrow and take a picture. Thanks.

any cheaper substitute from godox for Pixapro led200d mkii?

Hi, what do you call the stand with clip that holds your large reflector? 😊

Great video, very informative. Do you think the 100w version of this light would give good results?

thank you for your awesome video, I really enjoyed , keep it up :)

Really like the video but I LOVE the B-roll!! Good stuff!!

Amazing video! Does anybody know of an equivalent light and modifier that are sold in the US?

Watching in 2021 and really impressed! Gave me exactly the info I needed 👍🏻

Wow great slow mo shots? Is this still the 80d??

It is great. Thanks you.

Awesome helpful video!! If I try to buy the softbox, I am asked to "Select Speedring Fitting". What should that be? Can this setup be combined with daylight​ from windows if you photograph during the day and cannot lock out the daylight?

great!!

awsome!!!!

I love your work. Bye the way, what is the song name you played in this video? Please!

What is the canon lense you are using in this video? Is that one of the canon L series lens?

I've been looking for this light for a while now, but no one has it. Reviews on the 100D MK II have been a bit mixed, so I wanted to try the 200, but you seem to have the only unit. Where did you get it?

Hi what size octa softbox should i buy for food videography

Thanks

Great video. I find food photography the most difficult so far. People's portraits are super easy comparing to food. Not sure why, but lots of pictures of food turns out mostly bad. I think it is because I have small diffuser. Will try to get a bigger one and lets see the difference. Also, my space is tiny comparing to yours, so that could be other factor. One thing though - which you probably already know by now, but CRI is not purely about daylight, but it is ability of the light source to faithfully display colours. All of them. Lights with CRI higher than 97 are pretty accurate. But light that has set temperature for 3500K will be very orange like and it can still have CRI of 97+. That means it will be radiating that colour temperature very accurately. Even though it is not really a daylight. But if you have a bi colour light with with range of 3500K - 6500K and CRI 97+ all of those colours will be very accurate. If your CRI will be lets say 92 or less you will be getting all sort of colour tints in there.

Love your content! Are you still using this light setup? You mentioned in another video that you might get a smaller softbox. I'm in the market for a new continuous light setup. Thinking of getting an Octagon Softbox with a grid.

Super video! Have bought some lights. Will tag you when I get my first results. Peace

Hi Lauren, thank you for the amazing content! I sell pottery and other kitchen products and your videos are helping me take better photos for my social media accounts and website. I currently have a single Godox SL60W which I setup with a 120cm octagonal softbox side lighting my subject with a white reflector on the other side. My backdrop is 1 meter wide, and I place my softbox and reflector right by its edges. I have been struggling with light fall-off across my scene, my backdrop and background get significantly darker from one side of the frame to the other. I think the fall-off makes my image look a little “fake”. I’m trying to go for the indirect/window lit look and from what I can observe these types of images tend to be evenly lit across the scene (in the direction of the light source). Setting up my light to a 45-degree angle somewhat helps but I think I lose a bit of the window lit look with the shorter shadows. I imagine this kind of issue if hard to describe without seeing the actual photos, but any tip or comment might go a long way.

One more question: In the video you are adjusting a button in the light - this is the kind of things that make me a bit scared of artificial light. How do you know what value to use?

Heyyy I loved this video. I am a Baker and I am in the beginner phase of food photography. I am confused if I should experiment with different backdrops of different colours or just keep the background like White Monochromatic because it looks really classy. So what kind of food photography is better and more impactful according to you. The one where you maintain the same background colour for every single pic or experiment with different shades of colour and texture.

thanks

Very nicely done video and good content

This helped me with lighting some oranges and juice in Blender.

Really nice work! Just wish this light was available in the US, any idea what might be comparable? Thanks.

what size of lens are you using in this video? enjoyed the video ? Enjoyed the video mel

You certainly know your stuff and can show it well. New sub here

Wow you know your stuff , the stuff that really matters an understanding of light . I have been looking for a simple way to light food in keeping with soft natural modern light looks and with as little fuss as poss as after all time is money and fussing to much with to many lights is also a distraction from say the composition for example plus I have an almost identical octo as you just a diff brand and a reflector and stand holder but I will have to use a strobe which is not a prob . I have already tried something else which is lighting from above using a boom with the subject in the rear feather edge of the light source as the edge is even softer and being forward of the subject and large it wraps for fill light but this is getting into the realms of a carry on with gear easy tipping over as is using a big scrim to soften the light even more , but yea this is your portable take it anywhere window with iso dropping power too . It is maybe just my taste but I like to see a nice soft matte finish so I will experiment further with a huge scrim , yea I know picking up specularity makes food look juicy for want of a better word but soft n dreamy I think looks classy . So for my part now I shall go experiment with this again then go knocking on chefs doors offering a free shot in the hope of being asked back for a paid one for the next menu change .

What type of 90 degree right angel arm are you using?

Beauty full

I could'nt operate flashlight, I only know photography using softbox and reflector.. This video make me confidence for doing this more and more, cause I am not doing wrong my entire time hahahah.. Thank you.. 😘.

Awesome Lauren! I'm gonna get you to set up my lighting ;) Wait, will it work the same if I'm the subject, and not food? (hehehe jk)