I often get asked about the walls in my studio and what type of paint I use. So today, I´m sharing my secret with you; I use chalk paint!
I absolutely love chalk paint. It makes the best backdrop for photography. Chalk paint has that beautiful texture I adore with softness as well as depth. It´s also the most matte paint you can get and super calming to the eyes. Plus it adds atmosphere and mood which helps with the storytelling.
It´s super easy to apply chalk paint to your walls, just make sure to use a large brush in good quality. One layer is often enough and it takes just a few hours to dry.
Because I use chalk paint a lot (I should be sponsored, haha) I have developed a love affair with a few brands and those are the ones I recommend: Kalklitir (they ship internationally) and Lady Minerals from Jortun (Scandinavia) and Annie Sloan (Europe).
Below you can see some more examples. Keep in mind that the color of your chalk wall will change depending on how you edit your photos. If you add a preset, raise saturation or darken the image, the wall color might change. But this just adds to the creative fun.
If you´re just starting out with photography, chances are you might be shooting with the kit lens that came with the camera you bought. A kit lens is a zoom lens that helps you zoom in and out on your subject. But these lenses are not always the best lenses for beginners wanting to do creative photography.
If you just want to take everyday photos, a kit lens is perfectly fine, but if you are a creative soul who wants to be playful, make magic and perhaps even grow a career in photography – you must diss the kit-lens.
And when I say magic, I´m thinking of the type of photos that have a creative vibe. You know when a part of the image is super sharp and some of it is all soft and blurry. When you blur out the background and focus attention on your main subject.
So for example when you take a portrait you can have the person in focus and blur out the background noise. This is very practical in many situations, and it´s always nice to have your subject stand out to make an impact.
And to help you create magic your best tool is a prime lens – and the one I recommend is the 50mm lens. I think it is the perfect lens for creatives because it helps you take amazing and very professional-looking photos even though you are a beginner.
A 50mm prime lens is not a zoom lens. You need to zoom with your feet, not your lens. So to zoom in you have to walk closer to your subject. But that´s something you will get used to super fast.
I believe the 50mm is a must-have piece of equipment for anyone starting out in photography. It’s versatile, affordable and great for shooting all types of photos. No matter if you want to photograph portraits, landscape, interior, flowers or food this lens is absolutely wonderful.
What I love the most about this lens is that it helps you when you shoot in low light conditions. So if you´re into the bright and airy photography style this lens is a winner.
In fact, a 50mm lens allows about five times the amount of light into the camera’s sensor than many zoom lenses. This allows you to take super sharp images even in conditions where you don´t have optimal daylight available.
Many of the leading camera manufacturers have different types of 50mm lenses, but the one I recommend is the basic 50mm F1.8 lens. This lens is properly one of the cheapest high-quality lenses available on the market. It cost about $125. The only negative thing to say about this particular lens is that it feels a bit like a toy lens.
If you want to step it up and get a lens built in better quality I would go for the big brother, which is the 50mm F1.4 lens. This is the one that I shoot with and it´s still a very affordable lens. It cost around $350.
You will not really notice any difference in image quality, so it is more a matter of the type of quality you want in your equipment and what your wallet allows you to invest in.
Another thing I love about the 50mm lens is that it is small, light and easy to carry. This makes it ideal for travel photography. And you can fit it into a medium sized lady bag and bring it with you when you are out and about with the kids. Also if you have a teenager that are into photography this is the best lens to give them – you can help them get creative without breaking the bank.
Okay, I feel like I´m starting to sound like a commercial add for this lens, but really I don´t get anything out of recommending it, I just like it a lot and I know from experience that it´s the best all around lens. If you have that lens, you really can do almost all types of photography without having to invest in more lenses. And that´s a great thing if you are on a budget.
Do you struggle to shoot good, quality food pictures during the dark winter months?
If so I get you!
I live in Denmark and for the past few weeks there´s literally been NO good daylight available. Normally, I love myself some grey skies and often use it as part of my style, but at the moment it´s so dark it´s impossible for me to get any decent photos – especially when I shoot food indoor. So if you´re in a similar situation this tutorial is for you.
A long time ago I bought a Studio Photography Lighting Kit; two white umbrellas with light stands and 5500 kelvin bulbs. The funny thing is, I actually bought the kit just for the umbrellas, because I needed them for my audio recordings. Yes, you heard that right. It´s a dirty little trick to sit under an umbrella when recording in order to bounce the sound onto something soft rather than a hard ceiling.
I thought I would never use the light bulbs that came with the kit so I just stored them in the back of my closet. Little did I know, that they would be very much needed for my food photography.
So after spending a few weeks in frustration over the lack of daylight, I finally remembered that I had these light bulbs. I decided to give them a go even though I was very skeptical. I have used other types of artificial lightings in the past, and never liked the result. But, it was worth testing. Trying and testing is always better than complaining and being frustrated, right!
I started with just one light, and it turned out to be enough, so I never ended up using the second one. Instead I used a reflector to help bounce the light more evenly on my scene.
I had just made some delicious Meringue Swirls and they became my choice of subject. So here´s how I did it.
[ Spoiler Alert: these photos looks like it’s in the evening, but it’s around lunch time….so you get why I need extra light! ]
I decided to test the artificial lamp as backlight. I put the Meringue Swirls on a rustic plate, placed the lamp behind the scene and tilted it slightly down towards the food. It took me a little while to get my camera settings just right. I used a 40mm. Shutter speed 1/80, f-stop 2,8 and ISO 200. I really liked how the light brought out the texture of the meringue.
The key to using the lamp as backlight is to bring it close to the food, without getting the lamp in the frame. The closer you bring the light to your food, the stronger it will be and if the light gets to harsh you just move the lamp further away to soften it.
The great thing about using artificial light with a white studio umbrella is that it gives hardly any shadows. The light is so soft, it washes out the shadows. I think maybe the light would be even better with a big softbox, so if you have a softbox already you should definitely test it out.
Another great thing about the 5500 kelvin bulbs is that the light is “clean”. By that I mean it’s not yellow like your normal house lamps and it´s not blue-ish either. It look very neutral and when used with a white umbrella, softbox or diffuser you get a pretty good white balance in your photos.
When you shoot with artificial light make sure to turn off any other light that you have, so you avoid any yellowish colorcast in your photos. I also recommend that you stay close to a window or pick the brightest room in your home, so you have as much naturel daylight available as well – then the artificial light is just helping you bring in that extra light you need.
If you shoot in a dark room with no window and the artificial lamp as your only light, it will be some really dark images and you will struggle to lit all of the image – but of course that can be a style as well.
The next set-up is the sidelight. This is properly the most used form of light in food photography. Again move the light close to your scene – so it´s just outside your frame. Place a white reflector or card board opposite the light, or if you want even more light bring in an extra lamp.
Also consider where you want the light to hit. Really look at your scene. If you turn the lamp a little to one side pointing into your scene it will also bring more light and attention to the background. In my photo above I think the wall behind the cake stand is lit up a little too much. It makes the raw texture on the wall stand out – which I would love to have avoided. So to be satisfied with the background I had to soften the wall a bit in photoshop.
If you turn the sidelight a little to the other side so it´s pointing slightly away from the scene (and more in the direction of you), the background will automatically become darker and get less attention.
Below, you can see the equipment I used. I got my kit from Amazon.uk. This is the kit I bought. (NOT affiliate). The kit is affordable compared to most photography gear and the light bulbs have around 5000 hours of lifespand!! To you get value for money – and hey, you can even use the umbrellas for shooting video, a rainy day or a podcast studio…haha…wink, wink.
The umbrella soft light photography set is very light and comes with a storage bag. That means you can also travel with it. It´s incredible easy to install, all you have to do is place the Light Bulb socket on the light stand and screw in the bulbs. Then finally attach the umbrellas. It literally takes two minutes to set up. The light stand can be adjusted from a height of 60cm to 200cm(27″-79″), and it can be tilted to the direction you need.
NB. Because I got this kit from Uk, it came with a UK plug. I cannot use a UK plug in Denmark so I had to also get a European lamp plug. So depending on where you buy your light just be aware of what plug it comes with.
Last, let me just show you how the images (below) turned out when shooting in a super dark room with no windows. The artificial light is the only light used and no window to support with extra light. The light falls perfectly on the subject, and the area around it stays dark. Perfect for the dark and moody style.
That´s it! I hope this tutorial was helpful.
If you wish to see how I edit my photos (without any use of expensive presets), I teach that in my online photography course. The workshop has more than 150+ helpful + inspiring photography, styling and editing tutorials and of course you have access for life, so you can study on your own terms.