I’ve received many questions about the photography equipment that I use. Everything here is either something that I presently own or the most current equivalent.
When I started with food photography, my gear was old. This is a great opportunity to say that while quality equipment is helpful, learning how to use it skillfully is much more important. My first DSLR camera was a basic 2005 Canon Rebel that I used until mid-2019. I used the kit lens that came with it. In the summer of 2019, I upgraded to a full-frame Canon. I’m including both setups below so that you can see the equipment I used when starting out, as well as what I currently use. I look forward to upgrading and expanding my equipment as my budget allows.
MY CURRENT CAMERA GEAR
This is a full-frame DSLR camera with a variable angle LCD touchscreen, wifi, and Bluetooth connectivity. It’s not the newest Canon model, but it’s a great price point for someone looking to buy a full-frame camera.
This is a lens that will work with either crop sensor or full-frame cameras. When used with a crop sensor body, it functions more like a 75mm lens.
THE CAMERA GEAR I USED WHEN I STARTED
This is the equivalent to my first camera – a Canon EOS Rebel XT from 2005.
Note that this lens is for a crop sensor camera body (like the one above) and will not work with a full-frame camera
TRIPOD
Manfrotto Aluminum Tripod with XPRO Ball Head
ARTIFICIAL LIGHTING
While I much prefer to shoot in natural light, it’s not always realistic. With a day job and two small children, there isn’t always an opportunity to prepare a recipe and shoot it during the day. Also, living in the Pacific Northwest (Washington State) means a lot of dark mornings and evenings from October through March. I finally purchased an artificial lighting setup so that I could continue to create and photograph recipes for the blog throughout the winter months.
There are MANY different setup options available for artificial lighting. This is what I chose based on my budget and current skill set.
SOFTBOX
Westcott uLite with 26″ Octabox
This is a large collapsible softbox setup complete with a white fabric diffuser. The uLite portion mounts to both the base (purchase separately, link below) and the softbox itself. It has a standard socket that pairs with the LED bulb below.
LED LIGHTING
Don’t be put off by the low star review. This was from someone that did not like the built-in fan as they wanted to use the bulb strictly for video. There is a slight whir from the fan, but it’s not disruptive; additionally, my use of this bulb is almost completely focused on photography rather than video. The benefit of an LED bulb for food photography is that it doesn’t produce large amounts of heat like other bulbs – no heat to melt your ice-cream or chocolate frosting mid-shoot!
BASE
