[SG] Food photography with Nikon Df | Part I - Indoor Dining
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Having grown up learning the basics of photography through
film cameras, I was highly captivated by Nikon’s release of their retro-styled
DSLR, the Nikon Df. Inspired
by the aesthetics of old school film cameras, it remains to be seen if the work horse can make the mark when it
comes to food photography.
For those passionate about food and inherently food photography like us, you will certainly empathise our agony and frustration, almost, when it comes to capturing the real images of food to share with your family and friends. More often than not, we fall victim to space constraints and poor lighting at restaurants, leading to an unsatisfactory collection of food photographs.
With my new toy, the Nikon Df, I visited a Japanese restaurant located within a shopping mall to do my usual shooting. Paying particular attention to lighting conditions at the restaurant, it was one which I thought quite fairly reflect the shooting environment of an average restaurant with varying light sources.
For those passionate about food and inherently food photography like us, you will certainly empathise our agony and frustration, almost, when it comes to capturing the real images of food to share with your family and friends. More often than not, we fall victim to space constraints and poor lighting at restaurants, leading to an unsatisfactory collection of food photographs.
With my new toy, the Nikon Df, I visited a Japanese restaurant located within a shopping mall to do my usual shooting. Paying particular attention to lighting conditions at the restaurant, it was one which I thought quite fairly reflect the shooting environment of an average restaurant with varying light sources.
 |
| 1/125s, f/2.8, ISO 800, 55 mm |
Like most standard restaurants where tables are arranged
relatively close to each other, it required some manoeuvring to get into a good
position for the shoots. I decided to work with the AFS-Nikkor 24 – 70 mm f/2.8 lens instead of the kit prime lens to
allow greater flexibility by either zooming in for a close-up shot or zooming
out for a more aerial snap. Handling the Nikon Df for the first time, I had to
figure out how to choose the appropriate settings in accordance to the
restaurant’s environment and lighting conditions to capture my shots since the
physical shutter speed, ISO and exposure compensation dials are all located on
the camera body itself instead of internal programming.
Equipped with basic knowledge about matching ISO with its
relevant shutter speed and, or, aperture, I started with ISO 800 given the
relatively dim settings by turning the dial on the left of the camera body and
flicked through to 1600 for experimentation purposes to see which combination
of settings provided the desired effect on my shot. Using the exposure meter
within the range viewer as a guide, I was able to ascertain whether my composed
shot had the suitable shutter speed, aperture and more importantly the accurate
exposure.
While most people might rejoice about a spotlight above head
casting sufficient light source to the food for shooting, it can potentially
create over-exposure to the photograph or cast excessively dark shadows.
Working with a relatively high ISO of 800 increased the sensitivity of the
camera’s sensor to the surrounding lights without causing the photo to be
over-exposed. With the physical dial of the ISO conveniently located on the
left of the Df camera body, I was able to snap at varying ISO levels quickly to
see which delivered the best result. More importantly, snapping fast is key
when it comes to food photography so that we can still enjoy the food while it
is piping fresh and hot!
 |
| 1/125s, f/2.8, iSO 400, 60 mm |
Apart from trying out the various ISO settings to capture
the beer mug and tonkatsu dishes, I
enjoyed the flexibility to shoot my food either at a slight distance or zooming
in to a close-up without actually moving my physical body as seen with a 50 mm
focal length compared with a 70 mm focal length as below.
 |
| 1/125s, f/2.8, ISO 320, 50 mm |
 |
| 1/125s, f/2.8, ISO 320, 70 mm |
While you are in the frenzy of arranging the plates and
utensils on the dining table to make sure that you can steal a good shot, you
would learn to appreciate how light the Nikon Df is relative to most DSLRs.
This surely takes the burden off the shoulders and makes it a very manageable
camera even for the ladies.
Despite the absence of natural lighting and sufficient light source, no flash was required throughout my shoot as I was able to compensate quite easily by varying the aperture or altering the ISO and exposure compensation.
Pleased that the Nikon Df is able to shoot well under typical restaurant lighting conditions, can it similarly perform in a dimly lit environment? Find out in our next post!
Despite the absence of natural lighting and sufficient light source, no flash was required throughout my shoot as I was able to compensate quite easily by varying the aperture or altering the ISO and exposure compensation.
Pleased that the Nikon Df is able to shoot well under typical restaurant lighting conditions, can it similarly perform in a dimly lit environment? Find out in our next post!
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