Are you looking to create beautiful and mouthwatering images of food? Below are the tools that we use to create the images and videos on Taylor Takes A Taste and in the photographing FOOD series.

Camera

The first thing that you need to take a great image of your food is a camera! With so many options out there, how do you decide?

Let me help.

The most important thing to do is to NOT spend more than you need. Purchasing a top of the line $6,000 DSLR is not needed for great food images!

Here are a few things to consider. Either Canon or Nikon are great options, it doesn’t really matter. Pick the one you like and stick with it. I shoot Canon, so I am biased towards them.

The biggest decision you will need to make is whether you need a full frame or cropped sensor. It’s okay if you have no idea what this means.

A cropped sensor is a digital sensor that is smaller than a 35mm piece of film. A full frame sensor is the same size as the 35mm piece of film. When you shoot on a cropped sensor, your lens will act like it is a longer focal length and looked zoomed in. The amount of the magnification will be either 1.5x or 1.6x. So this means that if you have a lens with a focal length of 50mm it will really look like it was shot with a 75mm or 80mm lens.

Why does this matter?

If you are trying to get a wide shot, it will be more difficult on a cropped sensor. For example if you put a lens with a 17 mm focal length on a full frame camera, it will show more of your set than if you shot it on a camera with cropped sensor. On the cropped sensor the picture would look like it was shot with a 25mm lens.

The benefit to a cropped sensor is if you are photographing a subject from far away, then it will appear closer than it is. A 200mm lens on a cropped sensor acts like a 300mm lens.

Unfortunately, the full frame sensor is more expensive, but it isn’t necessary for a great image. If you do have the budget for it, a full frame sensor is definitely the way to go.

Here are my recommendations for different budgets and skill levels. You can decide what will work best for you!

I am just starting out and want to spend $600 or less.

For under $600 you can get off to a great start and you will have a tool that will allow you to take great pictures. Here are two intro kits to look at.

I’m ready to take my photography further and want full frame.

Ready to upgrade? With a budget of close to $2,000 you can upgrade your body to a full frame camera, or purchase a bundle with a nicer kit lens for a few hundred more. Here are two that I recommend.

What lens should I choose?

I use three lenses for my food photography. A 17-40 for wider shots, a 50mm f/1.4, and a 100mm macro. Here are two articles on why I love the 100mm Macro and why I love the 50mm.

Upgrading your lens from the standard kit lens is where you will get the most bang for your buck. Here are a few lenses that I highly recommend.

Canon Lenses

Nikon Lenses

Artificial Lighting

You won’t always have the sun available for you to take great images of your food. You will need an artificial lighting set-up! There are two options to choose from. Continuous or flash. If you already have a flash or studio strobe, you have everything you need! If you don’t, and are interested in getting started, I recommend the Westcott 43 inch Apollo Orb and a flash.

Lighting Modifiers

Styling Tools

Here are some items that will make styling your food a lot easier!

Background and Prop Suggestions
Here are a few simple background options that you may like! They may already be things that you have in your home!

Tiling store and fabric shops are great places to find background surfaces! The best backgrounds are sometimes ones that you make! Take a trip to the hardware store and paint or stain yourself a a custom set of wooden backgrounds!