Selects: Donna Crous' Kit Recommendations for Food Photography

Blogger and food photographer Donna Crous is a four-time finalist in the Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year competition and teaches workshops at the Nikon School of Photography in London. In this article, Donna recommends the best camera, lenses and equipment for making the most of your food photography. Read on to learn more.

When I first started to photograph food for my blog, I did what every beginner food blogger does and picked up my phone. While this was a great way to get across the visual image of my recipe, it didn't allow me to share the feeling, and mood or draw the viewer into the scene as much as I wanted.  This was what made me delve into the world of photography. Nikon was my go-to brand, the gear has proven to be incredibly reliable both in my studio and on-location shoots. The colour reproduction is one of the many things that really appeals to me about my Nikon setup, when shooting food and fresh produce it is essential that it looks natural, real and most importantly delicious.

Camera bodies

Having worked my way through a range of DSLR bodies, I took the leap into mirrorless with the Nikon Z6 II and Nikon Z7 II and I haven't looked back. Initially what appealed to me about shooting mirrorless was the camera size and weight. Even though I mainly shoot in a studio with a tripod, I'm still moving heavy props, backgrounds and cameras around all day, and it gets heavy and tiring. I soon learned that mirrorless was so much more than just having a small, lightweight camera.

The electronic viewfinder has had the biggest impact on me, being able to instantly see any camera setting changes through the viewfinder before I shoot is a huge advantage. The ability to shoot good-quality images in lower light also extends my day as I'm reliant on natural light in my studio and having more autofocus points was something that I wasn't aware I needed until I had them.

Lenses

A typical shoot in my studio involves a range of lenses between 50mm f/1.8 S, 85mm f/1.8 S or 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED VR Micro, depending on how wide or how much storytelling I want to include. The angle is also an important factor in deciding which lens to use. Using these lenses at different apertures allows me to capture the mood and feeling.

Shooting on a wider aperture, like f/2.8, creates a beautiful shallow depth of field, which allows your subject to stand out and be separated from the background. And, of course, we all love bokeh, which creates a beautifully soft and romantic feeling to an image.

My 24-70mm f/2.8G IF-ED is great if I'm shooting on location, like in a restaurant or kitchen, where I would want to keep the lens changing to a minimum so as not to contaminate with flour or oil.

Tripod

While there’s a range of great tripods available on the market, I stick to my tried-and-trusted Manfrotto 55. I have a few of these models, which I’ve bought through the years, I feel there is no need to change as I’m happy with them. This tripod is really versatile, allowing me to shoot in an overhead position for a flat lay of pizza, salad or pasta or straight on for a burger, a stack of pancakes or a glorious cake. The smooth transition to convert the centre column between positions is a game-changer in a busy studio. Having a sturdy solid tripod allows me to capture those beautiful hand or pouring shots without a camera shake when setting my camera on a self-timer.

Lighting 

I’m a natural light photographer and often called myself a master manipulator of natural light using bounce cards and reflectors. Until, one day, I was teaching a food photography workshop at the Nikon School of Photography in London, and the combination of being in the basement and the autumn season our light started to disappear really early.

The head training manager saved the day by bringing out a few Rotolights, allowing us to continue our classroom shoot as normal. I now regularly use my Rotolight NEO 2 to supplement or boost my natural light, this helps my subject to really stand out and show beautiful detail and texture. It's also great with pouring or motion shots to channel in extra light allowing me to increase my shutter speed and freeze motion beautifully.

Using a good quality set of LED lights allows me to change the temperature setting to either mimic the natural light for fill lighting or to change the colour temperature of my white balance. With food photography, it's essential that the colour of the food is accurate so that it looks realistic and appetising, so shooting with the correct white balance is really important.

The reason why I choose to shoot with continuous lighting vs flash is that when I'm styling a scene I need to see what is happening with my shadows. Shadows tell as much of a story as light, and it's crucial for me to have the ability to check the shape and strength of the shadows at all times.

Memory cards

My Nikon cameras have two slots, both models have one slot for an XQD card and one for an SD card.  Any professional photographer will tell you that their cards are as important as their actual cameras.  A professional, fast and reliable SD card is worth its weight in gold and is often overlooked as an essential item.

LensBaby OMNI Crystals

Recent additions to my kit are the Lensbaby OMNI crystals, which just add a fun and creative element to my photography. They come in a range of shapes and work by distorting the light as it hits the lens. They’re used with regular lenses and are easy to change between the different crystals. It's just a fun and artistic way to see how light and reflections affect your image, creating rainbow beams, light redirection and reflections.

Thanks, Donna. You can see more of Donna Crous’ work on Instagram @donnacrous