In case you don’t follow Just Bento, but read Just Hungry for the Japanese stuff, be sure to check out my onigiri magnum opus [1]. In case you are wondering, yes I made all those onigiri and shot them over the weekend. It took 8 cups of rice! Some are stored in the freezer, but regrettably, many were consumed on the spot by the photographer and me.
Shooting white rice against a white background, especially on a cloudy day, is not easy. But the other weekend project we managed to finish finally really came in handy - the shoestring ‘studio’ box.
We followed the great instructions on Strobist [2]. We used an old monitor box, sheets of tracing paper, plain white card stock and packing tape to stick things together. Total cost: about CHF 14 (US $12), which includes extra sheets of paper in case of stainage. Total time: about an hour.
We need to beef up the lighting situation, but even with the dull available daylight and two 50 watt halogen floor lights, we did a lot better than I thought we would. The box is going to be really handy for shooting from now on, and I don’t have to clear the kitchen table all the time or scrounge around for a suitable background. I highly recommend this setup to all food bloggers!
Links:
[1] http://justbento.com/handbook/bento-basics/onigiri-on-parade-guide-onigiri-omusubi-rice-ball-shapes-types-and-fun
[2] http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/07/how-to-diy-10-macro-photo-studio.html