If taken properly, overhead shots can look stunning in food photography. This post shares my favorite overhead setup to produce beautiful food photography images.
There are two common ways to take photos overhead. You can either hold the camera or use a tripod to shoot overhead. However, I found these options were not always effective for my overhead shots. Let’s look at the pros and disadvantages of these popular overhead setups. Navigate to this website if you are interested to find top food photographer and Food Consultants in India.
OVERHEAD PHOTOGRAPHY – HOLDING YOUR CAMERA
PROS
Many food photographers, including me, start taking overhead shots of the food by standing directly above it and holding the camera. It’s easy! There is no need for extra gear You look, you move, and you hope that you get the shot. For me, and for my clients, sometimes it was not enough.
CONS
When I was holding the camera, many of my overhead shots appeared out of balance. I reviewed them later. The images looked as if I was tilted in one direction or the opposite. It would vary for each image. It caused lots of inconsistent overhead shots. Now it is great when overhead shots can be taken horizontally and vertically. It was very difficult to do this when holding the camera. After several shots and a sore back, it was difficult to hold the camera. I finally decided to buy a tripod.
OVERHEAD PHOTOGRAPHY – USING a TRIPOD (OBENCT-3581)
PROS
The Oben was exactly the thing I was looking at in the beginning. It’s extremely light (3 lbs) It is lightweight at only 3 lbs. and can be easily packed up for travel. One of my favourite features was the flip-up design. This allowed me to position my camera horizontally for overhead shots, without having to use an extension arm. You won’t have to use a lot of space if you are shooting food photography.
CONS
The problem with using the tripod to take overhead shots was that the legs sometimes got in the way of the image. This caused me to edit the image more than usual after the shoot. It was disappointing that my favorite feature ended being more of an issue in the end.
For overhead shots, I would also need to set up on the ground. It was not practical if you wanted to shoot from an angle. To photograph other angles, you would have to move the board off the floor and onto a table. After that, I would adjust the tripod to allow me to shoot at a different angle. It was unnecessary time-consuming.
OVERHEADPHOTOGRAPHY – USING A Tripo (THE MANFROTTO055)
PROS
I purchased the Manfrotto055 as a second tripod. Manfrotto is a trusted brand in the photographic industry due to its quality and reliability. The Oben tripod weighs around 7 pounds less than this tripod. It was heavier than the Oben, but it felt better for stabilizing my camera. It can also be taken on location with you and does not take up much space.
CONS
Manfrotto tripods include a central column arm to allow for food photography overhead. The problem was that the arm was not very long. It didn’t reach enough above the table to capture the food.
After some research, I decided that an extension arm would be a good choice to attach to my Manfrotto. The Photek Tripod Extension Arm allowed me to take the shot by reaching far enough across the table with my camera. Manfrotto 131DB extension arm is also a good choice.
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