Cameras for food photography

Hi there, I have a Nikon 300Ds. I use my 18-200 NIKKOR lens. I also use a photo tent for some pics and try my best to use daylight for my pics, it’s the best light.however, I have used my iPhone for pics and got some great results…. I’ve now moved to Nexus (thanks to my sons who gave it to me) and it takes great pics. …. My nikon has white balance settings to accommodate unnatural light as it adjusts the yellow. I very nearly went for the Canon, great camera range. You can also get photoshop for phones that will help adjust lighting Etc. I try always to use neutral background and have a few cheapo wallpaper rolls I got on a sale too…. Hope that helps.

We use a Nikon 5100 DSLR, which is just an entry-level DSLR camera. We do have different lenses for it, but honestly we use a 35mm lens for most of our pictures. The camera does make a difference, but it’s also about lighting and good backdrops. There’s a lot to learn about photography; be prepared to add aperture, ISO, and shutter speed to your list of “baking” skills!

Hi Nuria! My suggestion is to not purchase the most expensive top-of-the-line digital camera. Get yourself a "really good " camera which won’t be cheap, but not the most expensive as the extra bells and whistles will likely be unnecessary. If you are standing in front of the digital Nikons for example, and there appear to be two or three professional looking cameras, you will do well likely with the least expensive of the bunch. It will still be an awesome camera.

There are certainly differences in the operating systems and the functionality, but you can take any of those upper end brands (Nikon, Canon etc.) and get beautiful results. Make sure that you are looking at the ones that have auto AND manual focus. Don’t get caught up in all the stat details the camera provides because most of these upper end cameras will have the same abilities in some form. Pick one that you feel comfortable about price-wise, one that feels good in your hand, that the knobs and buttons seem comfortably in place when you hold it, that it doesn’t feel awkward in any way – like too heavy.

Your camera may come with a standard 18-55mm lens which is just fine. Play with what comes with it to see what you prefer and then determine if you need to upgrade.

Basically, it is all about choosing an upper level camera and learning how it works and learning how to make it do what you want it to do – regardless of brand.

If you are looking at these upper level cameras, all of them will allow you to choose to take pictures at very high resolution – meaning the images on your camera memory are saved very large. It is these very large images that magazines generally require. So it is best to shoot your cakes at these high levels just in case they come knocking. When you download the images to your computer, make sure that when you save them, that your computer software does not drive the image size down because softwares often will and it is easy to forget this.

Once you get working with the camera, you will realize some things that you need to solve. Simply consult your manual for the hundredth time and look online until you figure it out. For example, your images look a little blue or too yellow, but you find online that there are household lightbulbs that you can use that emit a white light similar to daylight instead of a yellowy light and so on. So yes, the camera is only part of capturing a great image. How you snap the picture as an artist is another part – angle, height, central focus and so on.

Don’t stress about which camera. Pick a really good one and go for it. Then make it do what you want it to do.

Best wishes!
Beverley Way

Totally agree Beverly, before I got my Nikon, I used a simple Sony Cyber Shot, point and shoot camera… I got amazing pics from it too…. As photography is a hobby and passion of mine (and I used to do photography as part of my job years ago) , I was lucky enough to be spoilt by my husband one Christmas with the Nikon. But yes…. Don’t go high tech if you do not understand photography and how a camera works, as most of them are for professional photographers who require the gadgets for their professions… There are so many top notch cameras out there and to suit the individual’s budget and usage. 😄

Hi Nuria! Callicious Cakes brought to mind a of a couple things that you also might consider ….

First, many of the point and shoot cameras (those that you don’t attach a lens to) take very good images but have a very limited zoom function. So if you wanted to get a very close closeup of your work, it may not do it for you. A camera which has auto and manual focusing ability (one with an attachable lens) can do it for you.

Secondly, if you intend to take your pictures on the highest resolution (largest picture) setting (magazine requested quality), you will run out of memory on your camera much quicker. This also applies even more so when taking high resolution video. To avoid being in this situation you might need to purchase more memory for any camera you purchase than what it comes with.

So at this point you need to think about whether you just need a very good point and shoot camera (just pretty good images for everyday use and posting online) or one you can attach lenses to so you can manipulate the camera to do very close closeups, take magazine quality images, take great low light images and be artistic with by working the settings. Depends how serious you are about the imagework. In general, most people won’t know or care if it came from a point and shoot camera or one with an attachable lens or not as long as they can clearly see what you are intending to show them.

I don’t mean to overload you here, just trying to help you keep cash from unnecessarily going out the door and/or help guide you in the appropriate direction – I do understand how overwhelming this can appear to be at first and this can be a pricey little venture. Good luck!
Beverley Way
(thank you C.C. for jogging my memory here).

Valid point Beverly thanks 😄 …. Yes, I forgot to add, my point and shoot Sony Cyber Shot camera was high resolution, auto zoom and had a macro feature on it that takes you to 3" away from subject. It also has enhancing software on it to tweak your pics.
Yes, backing and your photo setting for the shoot is highly important. It’s worth the time risked aside to do this. Natural light is best, but not always available to us in certain circumstances. A clear uncluttered background (or backdrops, such as wallpaper, stone/brick walls, wrapping paper….it’s endless what you can do. I have a little photo tent that I use and shine lamps through the sides as it gives nice defused lighting. Use white card to direct your light or bounce light too. It helps reduce shadows.
I agree with Beverly re mood shots (low lighting etc) and crop your pics in so that you have not got loads of space all around the cake. Take at every angle. I can take over 50 pics to find 10 that work for me.
Perhaps when you go to choose your camera you could let the sales person know what you are using it for, they can then guide you ….
Anyway, each person has their own personal preferences. I’m sure you’ll choose wisely.
The first thing I do when getting my camera…. Read the manual throughly first. And refer to it often, as there are guidance on lighting in them too.
Have fun
Calli 😘

Calli, Beverley and Jennifer thankyou so much, sorry i’ve responded so late, haven’t been on here in ages!!! so now i’m back i need to get on this bandwagon!

yes it is information overload but i read everything. There’s so much to consider but I completely agree with the shots and the backdrops, i’m a total amateur when it comes to photography so i really do appreciate you taking the time out to write so much information.
I do want it to be magazine quality, i’d like to invest in something i might need long term and who knows maybe one day i’ll get that call from a magazine :p But i don’t want to get the best of the best like you said i probably won’t need to use all those functions, different lenses sounds like a good idea, so i have more of a direction of where i’m looking now. Beverley which camera do you use out of interest?

Again thankyou so much

and now….off to search will defo check your camera out Calli :P

Hi there… I used a nikon d3100 with the 18-55 lens for all my cakes aside from a few shots on my last set, where I had a new nikon d3200 with the same lens. I think it’s important to get a camera as opposed to using a phone if you hope to use some of your images in print- either for yourself or mags – because the resolution probably won’t be good enough from a phone. If it’s just for the Web, you can get away with pretty much any camera, but for anything point and shoot you will only get high quality shoots in bright conditions.
I also can’t stress the importance of nice backgrounds enough, or clear detail shots. Most people will ignore even the most beautiful cake in a poor photo with clutter everywhere, poor lighting and a lack of clarity in the details. You can pick up a good enough dslr for 200 used to 300 new, well worth the investment if you’re hoping to gain business.
Best wishes xx

SO HAPPY that I saw this post- I have been so frustrated with my Nikon and the photos that it produces.
Although I have put a few methods into practice that help (using natural light as often as possible, creating a backdrop etc) but it seems that no matter which white balance setting that I use, the colors never photograph accurately!

No matter what, the “yellows” always show up REALLY REALLY bright and saturated. Even the golden brown baked goods photograph unnaturally yellow. It’s a ton of work to edit the photos to correct it and often it simply can’t be altered to produce an acceptable image at all, as the other colors in the photograph then begin to distort. Very frustrating.
Another sticking point is the appearance of anything colored purple/violet. Those colors never, never, NEVER reproduce well at all; they ALWAYS appear so blue!
Not too happy with my ‘blues’ on my cakes, either hahaha

I have a Nikon CoolPix- any suggestions? This site is such a wonderful place for support and encouragement and inspiration, thanks!

Hi there. Pleased to give you my view. Since I come from a press photography background, and have use the top of the range Canon and Nikon cameras, I have experience of the “best” cameras. However, I am now a Fuji Finepix girl! Cheap by all considerations and an amazing piece of equipment. Madly expensive does not mean better. Providing your camera (which most cameras do now) have a white balance setting, you are safe and good to go. Take a look at the Finepix HS30. Fixed lens which zooms. Don’t get bogged down in all the hype. Fundamentally, it is not the camera that is going to make the difference. They are all good these days. It is your skill. The camera is just a tool. Some of the best pix that I have seen were still taken with Kodak Brownies! If you would like to chat about this, you are more than welcome to write to me, and I will certainly help where I can. info@cakesandcookies.co.za (One thing that I could and never would use for special photographs is a phone). Good luck, and happy shopping.