A matter of taste

Everything was already set up when Neil arrived at Dianna’s studio, in an annexe at the side of her home. At one side of the studio were three miniature sets on a table, while on the other a further scene rested on an infinity board.

“It’s the setup that takes the real time in food photography,” Dianna explained. “Even so, getting four shots we’re happy with in the time we’ve got is still going to be a big ask. We’d better get cracking!”

Each set had been created with a different facet of food photography in mind to give Neil a grounding in a variety of lighting techniques.

THE PIES HAVE IT

First up was a serving platter with half-adozen mince pies sprinkled with icing sugar and festooned with cinnamon sticks, dried orange slices and star anise. “We’ll start shooting top-down for what we call a ‘flat lay’. I’d ordinarily clamp my camera up high with a Manfrotto arm, partly because I want to ensure the Nikon is completely flat-on to the board, and partly because I don’t have your height!” smiled Dianna, “But speed is of the essence, so we’ll try this handheld.”

Neil affixed his 24-70mm standard zoom to his D750 and, standing atop a chair, leant over the set to shoot directly downwards. “You’ll need a reasonable depth of field,”