Lenses for food photography

[Reyed Mia (Apprentice, DIU)]

Lenses for food photography

I prefer to use compact fixed lenses. Fixed means that the lenses do not zoom in or out, so I have to physically move myself closer or farther away from the subject.

I love fixed lenses because they are generally smaller, cheaper and faster than zoom lenses. They often offer wider apertures, which gives me greater control over depth of field and more flexibility while I'm shooting.

On my old cropped format camera, I used Nikon's 35mm f1.8 and loved it. It produced sharper photos than my old 50mm and was easy enough to use for overhead photos of food on my table.

Now that I've upgraded to an expensive full-frame camera and photographed a cookbook, I primarily use Nikon's 50mm f1.4 lens (the 50mm f1.8G lens is almost as good). I use Nikon's 60mm macro lens occasionally when I want to zoom in really close to food to capture detail or a cool abstract shot, and for photos taken at a 45-degree angle. (I can't quite explain why, but I don't love the way my 50mm lens captures that angle on my full-frame camera.)

But wait, why did I move to a longer focal length when I upgraded cameras? Because a 35mm lens on a cropped format camera effectively acts as a 50mm lens on a full-frame camera. It's confusing, I know. Unless you've spent thousands of dollars on a camera, your camera is probably a cropped format, but double-check to be sure.

Source:http://cookieandkate.com/food-photography-tips-for-food-bloggers/