I thought it might be extremely helpful to create a page about resources that food bloggers can make use of to see the different products and services that I use with JuliesCafeBakery blog. The list will be updated continually as I find different resources that I feel are worthy of mention.
Disclaimer: Please note that some of the links below are affiliate links and I will earn a commission if you purchase through those links. I use all of the products listed below and recommend them because they are companies that I have found helpful and trustworthy. Please let me know if you have any questions about anything listed below!
Food Photography Tools
Canon EOS 6D – I recently upgraded to the Canon 6D after using a Canon EOS 1200 for about a year (and before that just a Sony Camcorder for a few years). Not only does the 6D shoot incredible pictures, but it also takes really incredible HD video. It is an expensive camera, so if you are just getting started look first at purchasing something like the Canon EOS Rebel SL1
or even using the camera on your cell phone. Remember – the best camera is the one that you have with you.
Canon 50mm 1.4 – This is my tried and true food photography lens. It’s an amazing lens that has stood the test of time for me (I used the Nikon version when I first started and now I’m using the Canon). It isn’t cheap, but you get what you pay for with a lens. This lens is considered a prime lens, which means that it doesn’t zoom in or zoom out. You’re only able to shoot at 50mm, which isn’t a big deal with food photography (food is pretty good at sitting still). I shoot 40% of all my food photos with this lens, and I highly recommend it if you’re looking for a really good starter lens. The Canon 50mm 1.8
lens is almost as good for $250 dollars less.
Canon EF 100mm 2.8L IS – This is my newest food photography lens and I use this for those super dramatic up close shots of my food. It’s a prime lens, like the 50mm, but it’s going to be geared towards getting you that great macro shot right up close to your food. It’s great for showing texture and creating a look that says: FEED ME NOW. The only thing that I would say about this lens is that because the frame is getting a smaller area of space, you might need to use a smaller aperture (like 5.0 or 6.0) which requires you to bump your ISO a lot higher than you would with the 50mm. For example, with 50mm I would use settings like f/2.8, 1/60, and 200 ISO, but with the 100mm lens I would be using settings like f/5.0, 1/60, and 1000 ISO.
Canon 70-200mm 2.8L IS – I use this massive mother of a lens when I am shooting portait-type photos – and I LOVE IT. Unlike the 50mm prime lens, this lens has a really dramatic zoom factor, so you can sit far back from a group of people and still get some great candid close-ups without them even knowing. So basically it’s a good lens for being creepy. I use this most frequently for family, engagement, maternity, and travel photos. This is going to be awesome for any type of photos that involve people and places.
Canon EF 28mm 1.8 Wide Angle Lens – I know a lot of food photographers who like using this lens, and even though it’s not my personal favorite, it does have some great things going for it and I find myself using it for certain things from time to time. This is going to give you a shot that’s farther back than the rest which allows for more styling and flexibility in tight spaces (like my kitchen). I tend to like to get in UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL with the food, which is why I like the 50mm and 100mm over the 28mm, but that being said, I love this lens for overhead shots of food because you don’t have to climb on 83 chairs to get high enough for the shot.
Indoor Lighting Unit – Lowel EGO – Lighting a shot at 6PM in December in Minnesota isn’t easy! I always try to take my food photos in natural lighting, but sometimes it’s just not possible. If I need take photos after the sun goes down I always bring out this light. It’s really simple to use and doesn’t have any complicated switches or dials – just an on and off button. If you’re serious about food photography you should have some type of light that you can use in situations where natural light isn’t possible.
SanDisk 64GB Extreme SD Memory Card – Let’s be honest, it’s never fun to buy a memory card. Camera? Yes. Lens? You bet. Memory card? Nope. But let me make a case for this little plastic piece of awesomeness. It’s a really fast memory card with tons of space. This is especially important if you’re shooting your photographs in RAW mode or recording video. If you have room in your budget it might even be worth it to buy a couple of these, just in case.
Adobe Photoshop – Photoshop isn’t cheap, but it’s an amazing tool! If you’re interested in getting it I’d suggest getting the free trial first to give it a test run. If you’re still a little hesitant on purchasing the software you can always purchase a month-by-month subscription until you know you’re ready to purchase the software outright.
Getting Started with your own Food Blog
Bluehost – Bluehost was our hosting company for the first two years of Julies Cafe Bakery. They offer a slick and easy way to get up and running with your blog on WordPress. Bluehost has free domain name registration, is amazingly affordable, and is the perfect place to start. And get this! Because of our long standing relationship with Bluehost Julies Cafe Bakery users get a discount on their monthly membership cost if they purchase through one of our links. We get that the whole hosting-domain-Wordpress-website-language-stuff can be kind of confusing at first. If you feel a bit confused be sure to check out the How to Start a Food Blog page if you want a step-by-step run down of how to start your own blog using Bluehost.
MyThemeShop – The MyThemeShop Framework is what is currently running on JuliesCafeBakery. MyThemeShop is the framework used by some of the web’s most popular sites that go viral quickly, like ViralNova of Viralnova.com which had more than 100 million visits in December and generates “well into six figures” of revenue per month. With MythemeShop we use the truepixel theme but there are alot of themes to choose from including the whole lot for something like ($87). Because we have dealt with them for so long we can get you a really good deal by using our coupon code – juliescafbakerydiscount . They also have alot of free themes if you are looking to start your blog without spending alot of money.