If you are starting food photography Or you have got a new assignment for food photography and wondering, do you need a macro lens to work on that assignment, this article is for you. The need of a macro lens is totally depended on what your objectives are and what you would like to achieve with the results? Not all food photographers need a macro lens, but if your focus is more on the details, then you need a macro lens. Read below my opinion on the topic and comment below in case of any query or feedback –
Similar Articles you may like to read –
Do I Need A Dslr Camera For Food Photography?
What Are 3 Important Food Photography Tips?
What Is One Rule A Food Stylist Must Follow?
What is macro food photography?
It refers to capturing close-up images of foods that highlight their intricate details and texture. Food photographers usually use macro lenses to capture the beauty and intricacy of meals, making them appear larger and appetizing.
Do you need a macro lens for your food photography?
Here I’m talking about your food photography style. What technique do you use and how do you want the food to look in the final result? Some food photographers like to add close-up views of food, it gives a new angle of view and a new approach to how to see and shoot food.
If having a very close-up detail is your style, then you need a macro lens for sure.
The best advice I can give when you think you need a macro lens is, to tame it! Play with the right distance, the zoom if it has one. You will get beautiful photographs from it.
Let’s picture that you are shooting a cake with gold leaves on it. With a normal lens, viewers will just see that there’s a small gold leaf on it, but if you use a macro lens, you can highlight the smallest details of the gold leaf. Some small cakes also have a brand, names, and logos that can be positioned on top of it. A macro lens is absolutely more appropriate if you are shooting this sort of food.
It’s not only about cakes. Gastronomic cuisine can also be shot with a macro lens: caviar, lemons, spices, and anything that can be found on a gastronomic dish can be enhanced by a macro lens.
What should you take into consideration?
Before choosing a macro lens, make sure you acknowledge the crop factor consideration. Use the information you know to choose the lens that fits your reflex camera.
In the beginning of their career, food photographers used to neglect the technical understanding of their gear. However, the perfect match of your camera and its lens is important in order to shoot and get a good picture. So if you are not aware of how to choose your macro lens, I suggest you check the specs of your camera and the right macro lens.
I often forget to remind photographs that the macro lens has a minimum distance that should be respected to let the camera focus correctly. Most often, you have to be very close to your dish/food to have a great picture. That’s a point that you should take into consideration if you are willing to buy a macro lens.
Always remember that a full-frame camera will have a rendering that follows the focal that is shown on the lens, whereas a camera that has a cropped censor will completely not act like the focal shown, it won’t be a full frame at all as you may notice from the censor’s name.
Fortunately, there are cameras and macro lenses that won’t work together at all. So all you have to do before you buy one is to look for the price range, the brand, and the compatibility between the lens and your camera.
How does food look when shot with a macro lens?
When photographers ask me this question, all I can say is that it looks more professional. Why? Because the picture emanates a certain well-controlled work, a classy and harmonized composition. It looks fine most of the time if you use it the right way. The rest is always practice, experience, taste, and creativity.
So concretely when you use a macro lens, the main object of your composition is highlighted, and the background is blurred depending on the focal length of your lens. You can really see the difference between a picture shot with a macro lens and another with a non-macro lens. And as I’ve already said, the focus is the key here. With a non-macro one, you will include most of the elements that you have in your composition. With a macro lens, the camera will only focus on the main object that needs to be detached from the rest.
More articles you may like to read –
What Color Plates Are Best For Food Photography?
What Color Makes Food Less Appetizing? Food Styling tips for photography
How Do You Price Food Photography?
Is a macro lens more convenient for you?
The good thing about the macro lens is the fact that it is very versatile, which means that it is also practical and of course convenient for every photographer to have one in their bag while shooting.
It will allow you to try new styles, and new angles, and play with light and with blur/sharp areas. It has tons of quality and if you don’t have a lens yet, I advise you to make it your first purchase because you can almost do everything with it.
Now I have to answer the question: do food photographers need a macro Lens? I’ll say Yes, food photographers need a macro lens, it beautifies every dish that you may shoot.