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The Best Lens for Food Photography

The Best Lens for Food Photography
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Have you ever considered what the best lens for food photography would be? Food photography has become a popular genre of photography with all the Instagram and Pinterest feeds filling our heads with tasty recipes.

Whether you enjoy taking food photography for yourself or as a career, a few things are important for great food photography shots. But one of the most important would be choosing the right full-frame camera lens.

In this article, we will discuss some of the best food photography lenses that can fit any budget! We even dive into tilt-shift lens ideas that come in handy when shooting those tough to get food photography angles. This article will make your life easier when it comes to purchasing lenses and finding a good lens in genera

Crop Sensor Cameras Explained

Before we start talking about food photography lenses, it’s best that you understand what a crop factor is. If you have a full-frame camera, this is not so much an issue; you will just need a full-frame lens to go with the camera. But crop factors come into play when talking about cropped sensor cameras. The SLR sensor is the equivalent of a 35mm frame of a film camera.

If you buy a more expensive camera, you will end up with a full-frame sensor, which will capture everything you are seeing on your viewfinder. However, cropped sensor cameras were created to provide a more affordable camera on the market.

A cropped sensor camera isn’t able to capture everything in the frame, so it will blow up the image when shooting it and won’t be the same image you see through your viewfinder. So make sure you check if you have a cropped or full-frame camera before buying any lenses. You want to make sure your lens is the right one for your camera.

Read our detailed guide on cropped vs. full-frame sensor cameras to learn more.

lens for food photography.

Important Lens Features

These are some important features you will want to include in your search for the best lens for food photography. Whether you have a large or small budget, try to look for each of these things when investing in any lens, whether it be a zoom lens, macro lens, or wide-angle lens.

Large Aperture

You will want to create beautiful bokeh in your food photos, and any great lens for this will have a large aperture setting. Look for f/2.8 or more for superb image quality. This is one of the top things food photographers look for in their food photography lenses, no matter the brand.

Quality Glass

Lenses for food photography should include the highest quality of glass. This is even more important than the camera body in many instances. You want your food photography to be crystal clear, and that requires high-quality glass.

cropped image of a lens.

Image Stabilization

If you want your food photography to soar above your rivals, it’s important your lens comes with image stabilization. When you shoot food photography, you may have tricky angles or low light situations in a restaurant. This is why you need your lens to come with image stabilization to counterbalance any blurry photos. Optical image stabilization will be key for great food photography.

Sharp Focus

With food photos, it’s all about focus. You are getting super close to food and need the images to be as sharp as possible so that they appear appetizing and like you could eat them right there off the photo. Look for a hybrid image stabilizer for the best results.

Types and Uses of Lenses for Food Photography

Each lens holds a different purpose, whether you are shooting overhead shots or close-ups of food photography. The same lens may not work in an overhead position as it does in a zoom position. Let’s look at the uses of each lens that work well on full-frame cameras or a cropped sensor camera body.

Prime Lenses

prime lenses for taking photos of food.

Prime lenses are lenses that do not move like a zoom lens. They have one focal length that provides high image quality and sharpness. Many food photographers prefer to shoot with prime lenses for sharp images and affordability. You will spend less than the more over-priced zoom lenses by investing in a prime lens.

The best lenses that are considered prime include the 80/85/50/and 100mm. These lenses for food photography work great because of the amazing bokeh and lightweight materials.

The 50mm prime lens is perfect for food photography because what you see in your camera is what you get. It’s great for overhead shots and capturing beautiful natural light. As a food photographer, it is one of my favorites.

Macro Lenses

macro lenses.

Macro lenses are perfect for getting in super close to your food subjects. A zoom lens may become blurry when you get too close to your subject, but macro lenses are designed specifically to help you get up close and personal, making it a great lens for food photography. Macro photography is fun for capturing details and animals as well.

Zoom Lenses

person taking photo of food with a zoom lens.

Zoom lenses are fantastic for food photography because you can easily change your focal length and zoom range. At different focal lengths, your food photography will change. But beware of camera shake the bigger the zoom.

It may prove difficult to hold your camera steady if it has a massive focal length range. Many food photographers choose the 24-70mm f/2.8 as their best food photography lens. It also serves well for portraits and events.

Tilt-Shift Lens

tilt shift lenses.

This lens is one of the most expensive you can invest in for your food photography. But it’s also one of the best lenses for food photographers because it allows you to choose exactly where your focus area will be. Other lenses aren’t as selective, making them high on the quality lenses range.

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