What’s in my Gear Bag?

Ever wondered what actually goes into creating those mouth-watering food photos you see on websites, menus and social media?

It’s rarely just “a good camera”. Behind every shoot is a carefully chosen kit that helps me work efficiently, adapt to different spaces and create a bespoke shoot for every client.

So today, I’m opening my gear bag and showing you what I rely on for professional food photography.

Camera & Lenses

Clearly a pretty vital part of my kit! A reliable, quality camera body, my Nikon Zf also keeps shooting fun.

Lenses are where food photography truly comes alive and each one has it’s own purpose. My go to favourite is a Nikkor Z 85mm prime lens, which gives me beautifully crisp details, fantastic hero shots and a great depth of field. Next up is my mighty Nikkor Z 24-70mm zoom lens- perfect for flat lays and to ensure I have some flexibility no matter what happens on shoot.

Lighting Gear

Don’t get me wrong, I love shooting with natural light, but with a UK climate that is more often than not the wrong shade of grey and winter days that seem to last an eternity, having lighting kit really helps.

My bag has a small but mighty Godox strobe light and quick release softbox (thank you Tarion for making this the quickest and easiest softbox to set up and take down!). Mount all of that on a light stand, add a trigger to your camera which “talks” to your light and voila you have a fully functioning lighting system.

Add to that a collection of reflectors and boards to shape and direct the light, GOBOs to set some wonderful scenes and an array of tiny mirrors to illuminate those small areas the light doesn’t want to reach and we have ourselves a set up perfect for creating flattering, consistent lighting no matter the time or location.

Tripod

An absolute essential when shooting food, not only does using a tripod ensure crisp, sharp images but helps get those overhead flat lay shots perfect with ease.

Food Styling Kit

Each food shoot has a slightly different brief and whilst you may be completely hands off when it comes to the food styling, sometimes a few small bits are useful to have on hand. Whether it’s to tidy up some crumbs, clean up an unwanted drip or ensure your food stays in place, take a look at the contents of my small styling kit.

Other Useful Bits

Backdrops- You may be using your location as the backdrop for your food but if not, having some A1 backdrops and a few foam boards to mount them on can come in rather handy.

Cutlery & Crockery- Depending on the client, I sometimes have to bring along my own props and crockery for the shoot. Restaurants and cafes often prefer to use their own for a true representation of their experience.

Tech Bits- I always take along a laptop and tethering cable to ensure each photo is easily viewed and in focus. This avoids any nasty surprises once the day is over. Spare batteries and memory cards are a must and because every shoot location is different a handy cable reel means I’m never without power!

As you can see, a food photographer comes with a fair bit more than just their camera and an experienced photographer will have this army of tools available at their disposal so nothing throws them off track from creating your perfect images.