Food Photography & Lighting

Having bought almost every book on food photography that has been written in the last 10 years, I can without a doubt say that Teri Campbell's "Food Photography & Lighting" is THE textbook for anyone working at or aspires to work at the professional level in food photography.The book takes you through every process of being a professional food photographer, from the struggles of moving from a home, or apt, based food photographer to taking the enormous leap to having your own studio, as well as all the technical knowledge needed to deal with any location, shoot, or challenge. Its like a comforting, encouraging friend sharing their personal stories of success and technical knowledge in a way that makes the reader feel a little more positive about taking similar risks in their own career.Topics that are so difficult to ever learn about and most food photographers have to learn by trial an error are covered in a clear, understandable way in this book. The business side of food photography is sometimes the most challenging, and until this book arrived there really was no source of information on this mysterious side of the business that rose to the level of detail that is found in Teri's book. I've read countless threads on message boards about "what do I charge?" and "How does a shoot with a client on set go?". Now all I have to do is refer them to Teri's book, and there they can get a clear understanding of probably the most challenging side of food photography, running the business side of a food photography company.Even though the book contains an enormous amount of technical information regarding lighting, using both natural light and strobes, its told in such a relaxed, "conversation over coffee" way, that its easy to understand, but even more so, its easy to retain. The next day after finishing the book, I was already down in my studio trying out some of the techniques and setups that I read in Teri's book.But my favorite part is the chapters that cover different shoots, showing both the diagrams for the lighting and prop set up, but also sharing the unique stories behind the shoots. So many times i've been on a food photography shoot and encountered challenges and obstacles, and I always assumed I was doing something wrong, or I just wasn't a good enough food photographer. Reading Teri's stories about the different shoots he has done, I began to realize that even the most prestigious food photographers have challenges with locations, lighting, and gear.And that was the most personal thing I took away from Teri's book. That reassurance from one of the greatest food photographers, that we all face challenges in being a food photographer. So not only did the book give me a wealth of technical knowledge about both the professional and the business side of food photography, it also gave me the encouragement to take the next step forward in my career.

First, the good: Teri Campbell is obviously at the top of his game, so it's great to see his work and get some insights and tips on how to get the perfect shots. He's a genial storyteller who comes across as eager to share his secrets. The best part of the book is a series of case studies wherein he breaks down exactly how he achieved results for a wide variety of assignments.Unfortunately, to get to the best part of the book, you have to sit through a seemingly endless memoir of how he got to where he is now, and how great his studio is now, and how well he entertains his clients. It surprises me how well he seems to have connected with other reviewers here. To me the very long first part of the book is one humblebrag after another, sometimes not so humble, sometimes bragging about things (his amaaaazing G5 Mac) that in 2013 are long out of date. There are still some useful things in that first part, but you have to sift through too many self-serving passages to find them.The worst part of the book is that it's absolutely riddled with proofreading errors. I don't know if this is just a Kindle thing or if they're in the print edition as well. But I don't think I've ever seen this many errors in a book from what should be an otherwise reputable publisher. It shouldn't be a reason not to buy the book, but it sure makes the reading experience more painful.I bought the book hoping that it would help me be a better shooter of restaurant food on location, as editorial food photography is one area that I'm trying to do more of. It is refreshing to see in the book that with all of the tools in his studio, he's happy to shoot on location with nothing more than flash or a well-placed window, along with some foam-core cards for fill, and he feels good about what he can achieve just with those.Finally, some more good about the book: whatever level photographer you are, he has some great tips about the business side, from wooing clients to keeping track of jobs and shoots to how to charge, all told in an approachable way.

Teri's book is literally the only Food Photography book for professionals out there. Believe me I've seen them ALL. There are soooo many books, tutorial videos, ect out there....but 99.9% of them are geared toward the extreme amateur, or food blogger and written by a food blogger...not a photographer. If your looking at any of those as an option...I can give you the summary of every single one of them: they are all strictly shot in window light softened by diffusion from the side or back. Most are using consumer grade dslr with 24-105 maybe a 100macro cranking the ISO to whatever is needed. There it is...now start blogging.Now being a professional photographer I can say these options are not always there. I have read Teri's book twice and am constantly referring back to it for tricks and tips. Its gives a fantastic inside look at Commercial Food Photography...From building your studio, marketing, to team building and their responsibilities to what probably most are looking for: gear, software and lighting diagrams. All of the lighting tutorials in the book are real world assignments from editorial to advertising and packaging....With in depth coverage and discussion of them all...Even styling tips and compositing techniques!

This book is fantastic if you have a desire to photograph food! There are very several lighting set - ups which really work well.I would recommend this to anyone with this interest. There is a wealth of ideas from a man responsible for photographing global brands shown in the book. Excellent!

Great book if you intend building a purpose made studio just for photographing food. Tips on invoicing your customers was useful. The method of photography I thought was rather dated and safe, Quite a lot of post production and the use of non food ingredient. Very client led. Not much help if you have to visit your client, and fix up lighting and arrange food on their premises.

This book is much more than a classic food photography lessons book. It has everything you need to know to run a successful food photography studio.

Ein Buch aus der Praxis eine amerikanischen Food Fotografen. Zu den Aufnahmen gibt es Skizzen mit den Aufbauten und Erklärung zu Kamera und Objektiv. Ist aber kein Buch nach der Methode, macht das so nach. Man muss das ein wenig differenziert sehen und sich immer fragen, warum macht er das so. Dazu braucht es eine gewisse Erfahrung mit der Lichtsetzung. Meistens verwendet er zwar nur zwei bis drei Studioblitze und erzielt dabei sehr gute Ergebnisse. Wie die meisten Food Fotografen hat er auch einen favorisierten Lichtaufbau, den er leicht abgewandelt immer wieder verwendet.Fazit: Kein Standardwerk der Food Fotografie, aber ein sehr gutes Buch mit vielen Anregungen.

I had high hopes for this book but in the end I found the methods quite dated. I've been a commercial photographer for many years and few people I know actually work this way.