Updated on May 17th, 2020
Overhead food photography is a great way to make a very graphic image about your recipe. You see it all the time on food blogs. It’s actually a very easy way to create a nice looking food photo because you are totally eliminating dimension in your shot so you don’t have to worry about background props. Your images are now more two dimensional instead of three. Your shot is now all about shape, color, texture, and form.
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When I shoot overhead I always raise my set a little bit so it’s easier to work on. Below is a shot of what we call in film, apple boxes. They have nothing to do with apples as you can see below. They are made for the film industry and come in standard sizes. These are called “full apples”. No idea where the name came from. The film industry tends to do that.
The Overhead Set
After the full apples are down, I then put a wood surface on top, even if I’m going to put another wood surface (like fence planks) on top. It’s just easier this way if I have to move the set around to get things lined up.
When I shoot with fabric as my background, I have a great trick for you. I always use a dining table felt (AKA silence cloth) that goes on the wood and under the fabric. The original use for this was to protect your dining room table. I use it to iron directly on set.
When you iron right on wood there isn’t anywhere for the steam to go and your fabric gets wet real fast. When you iron on felt, the felt really helps get the fabric wrinkle-free very quickly. The table felt CANNOT have vinyl on it. You can get felt at a fabric store – get the thickest felt they have. If the felt is thin, double it up so that it’s a thick base.
You can see the pressure steamer I use for fabrics just to the right of my set.
Tripod For Overhead Shooting
Many bloggers tell me that when they try to shoot overhead they can see their tripod legs in the photo. Many tripods are not made for overhead shooting without a special attachment. This attachment is called a side lateral arm.
When you are choosing a tripod to shoot with, and you want to do overhead shots, you need to test the tripod to make sure it can handle this. Some tripods have an adjustable center column to help do overheads without having to buy an extra attachment.
I have this tripod and it works very well for doing a normal overhead shot. By normal, I mean the type of shot where you are not showing an entire huge spread of food on a table. This is the Manfrotto MT055XPRO 3. This one pictured comes with the tripod head and is a great set for the money.
The prices change all the time but when I last updated this post it was around $300. The center column can tilt 90 degrees so that you can do an overhead shot without buying another attachment.
If you are happy with your tripod and just want an extension arm, they are pricey. This one, the Vanguard horizontal bar has a few extra attachments that you won’t need unless you want to mount extra cameras, but you can put your tripod head on the side and easily shoot overhead with this.
For a lot more information on tripods – check out my Tripod Buying GuideTripod Buying Guide post.
Above you can see my camera set up. This is absolutely the easiest way to do an overhead food shot. My 90 degree arm extension is on the tripod. This attaches where your tripod head would have gone. You now have to take your tripod head and attach it to the extension arm.
Also please notice that I have a sandbag on the other side of the arm as a counter weight. My side arm has a hook for counter weights so if you have a pro camera (they are heavier) you will have to do this as well. My side arm is a Gitzo, same brand as my tripod, very heavy duty. They don’t make it anymore but I found it used on ebay for only $50.
Side note: I have to cringe every time I see a snap shot of a blogger balancing on a step stool or chair, and bending over to do an overhead shot! People! Breaking your back is not worth the price of a side extension arm! Don’t be cheap! Get a side extension arm asap, please! Before you fall off a chair or step stool.
Also, if you need to be way up on a ladder – this means your lens is too long and you need a wide angle lens. Ok, I’m stepping down from my soap box now.
Several folks have asked where they can get the tripod you see below with the side arm extension. Unfortunately, that tripod I’ve had for 25 years and it’s not made anymore. It’s a Gitzo tripod. Gitzo, Bogen and Manfrotto are all now the same company called Manfrotto.
To take “easy” one step further – see the cable hanging off my camera? I’m shooting tethered so once I do the initial set up with the camera and focus it, I no longer have to lean over to take the shot – I can take the picture from my computer. It’s awesome.
So take it easy on your back and look into some equipment alternatives that can make your overhead shooting so much easier!
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Susan Portnoy says
Hi Christina –
Thank you for this post. I am going to be shooting some food on the fly and wondered do you every handhold your camera? If so, any tips? Are you using f8 for the shot above?
Christina Peters says
Hi Susan, I shoot handheld at farms and sometimes at restaurants. You have to make sure your shutter speed is at least set to 1/125th of a second so that you don’t get motion blur and then you have to set your ISO higher in order to accommodate that high shutter speed, which will then give you digital noise in your pictures. Which is why I try to shoot on a tripod as much as possible. The F-stop completely varies depending on what I am shooting and how much depth of field I want in the shot.
Norma Berrios says
As always, a lot of useful information, especially for newbies like me!
Christina Peters says
Glad it helped Norma.
Vicki Bensingr says
I am vacationing and don’t have my tripod with me. It’s seems to be heavy duty and extends quite high. Can I order an arm without having my tripod in front of me to measure the screw size or will any arm work? Also in your photo it looks like the arm fits into a circle – does that come with the arm or should that be on my tripod already? If so, I don’t believe mine has that.
I’m new to a lot of this so if my question sounds stupid, sorry?
Christina Peters says
Yes, they are called extension arms and most tripods should have the same universal tripod head attachment hardware. The blog post I sent you to also have a link to extension arms. Now, I have seen a few non-standard very inexpensive tripods that have their own way of attaching things that are not standard, so just a warning there as I don’t know what kind of tripod you have. The circle I think you are referring to is just the top of the tripod.
Peter says
Hi Christina,
I know this is an old post, but I think what Vicki was referring to was the circular blue/gray extension arm clamp that the extension arm passes through. And I think you have another one at the camera end as well.
I too would like to know what it is to see if I can find a second hand one.
Cheers
Peter
Christina Peters says
Hi Peter, I am using a very old Gitzo head extension that is not longer being made by that company. I found it on ebay for $50, which was a bargain. But Manfrotto does make a similar one, it works the same way, it just looks a bit different.
fredrick says
How about the 40mm f/2.8 pancake lens for overhead shoots? Is 50mm macro lens gives better macro effect or 40mm lens? some places 40mm also mentioned as a macro. Which one s best for overhead shoot?
Christina Peters says
Hi Fredrick! So the 40mm is getting to be a pretty wide lens – unless it’s and overhead shot and your tripod won’t allow you to use a longer lens. I suggest renting both and see which one you like better.
Foodiemarvel says
Read this a few weeks ago, then came back to read it again just now. Great info. Thank you. Starting to think about equipment to shoot overhead videos. Not sure which direction I want to go in just yet but you have great information and tips!
Christina Peters says
Thanks so much Glad it helped and thanks for reading!
Dede says
Christina, I have an extension arm on my tripod to use for shooting straight down. I am shooting with a Canon 5dii with a 24-105 lens. Using a level, the lens is perfectly parallel to my still life object. Why would I be experiencing distortion?
Christina Peters says
Hi Dede, distortion always comes from the lens, not the tripod. If you are shooting with that lens at a wide setting, like 24mm, that can give you distortion. Many wide angle lenses will give you a bowing distorted look. This can be corrected in Adobe Lightroom. This distortion is known by the manufacturer of lenses so LR has a nifty “Lens Correction” tab where you just pick you lens and presto! Distortion is either lessened or gone completely.
Dede says
Thanks Christina. It may be the wide setting. I will check it out tomorrow. I will also try the Lens Correction on a couple of the distorted images.
Christina Peters says
If it is the wide setting, then you’ll have to zoom in and raise your tripod up in order to eliminate the distortion. I have that same lens so I find the distortion goes away at 50mm and longer.
Silvia says
Thank you anyway!
Since I will also take pictures of my recipes while shooting the video, can you tell me if you think the lens I mentioned above are correct (for the pictures)?
Thank you!
Christina Peters says
I use the 50mm lens for overheads and I use the 100mm lens for 3/4 tabletop views on my 5D cameras. Your camera is a cropped sensor camera and the cropping factor is 1.6. So read this post about lenses to make your decision about lenses. I can’t tell you what lenses you’ll need, that has to be your decision based on what your shots are of.
Silvia says
Thank you very much, you’ve been very helpful!
Christina Peters says
Welcome and good luck!
Silvia says
Thank you so much! I have been looking for these informations for ages!
Just one question: I need an overhead food shooting but for VIDEOS: I am going to cook using a pan/pot and I am afraid the smoke would fog up the camera lens! Unfortunately I’m shooting in a room with a not so high ceiling, so do you have any helpful suggestion?
Thank you!
Christina Peters says
Hi Silvia, for shooting live cooking you can not be directly overhead, but more of a 45% angle looking down into the pot, this way the steam goes straight up past your camera. You’ll still feel some heat, but not as much. I use an electric induction single burner for this exact purpose and I put it on a surface on the floor. This way your set is much lower and with induction cooking you only have the heat from the food, not the cooking surface coming up. Also, you will need a lens at around 50mm depending if your camera has a cropped sensor or not. The longer the lens, the higher up you’ll have to be. Happy Shooting!
Silvia says
Thank you so much! I’m just too happy to have found your website!
I don’t know if i can post it, but this is the kind of video I would like to reproduce:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9bb6_xOpME
Can you see the overhead shooting? And the smoke doesn’t seem to affect the lens… (I guess the ceiling is very high, and the equipment very professionl).
I have a Canon EOS 1100D, do you think I can make good videos/photos with that?
Do you think 50mm and macro 100mm lens would be enough for this project?
I need to shoot overhead and also catch the single detail of the food!
And about light setting? What do you think they set it?
I was thinking about putting a main light source (one or two softbox I had purchased on e-bay) on one side, and a big reflecting panel on the other one (silver or White?).
What do you think? Or do you think I should set the light overhead as well? I can’t understand from the video 🙁
That’s all! Sorry for the several questions, I hope you can help me.
Thank you! And hello from Italy! 🙂
Christina Peters says
Yes, I can see the video – so they are using the electric induction burner and they only did a tiny bit of cooking with it. The steam definitely hit the lens, they just edited that portion out. I can’t really go into the details on how to do a video shoot here as this blog is for food photography stills. There are many ways to light this kind of set but they are using hot lights. I’d suggest googling “how to do a food video” to get more info. Good luck!
James says
Christina, Thank you thank you thank you! This has answered so many questions and has calmed me down after a particularly frustrating photo taking day. Great information and I love the tripod!
Christina Peters says
Hi James, thanks for reading, and hang in there – we all have those days 🙂
Farouk says
Just getting started with food photography. This post is extremely helpful!
Christina Peters says
Glad you like it Farouk!
Sharon says
Thank you! I’ve been going crazy with my new macro lens for my Canon Rebel t5i – you’ve answered SO many questions!! Great tips on LightRoom also! Bien merci!! I cannot thank you enough! Every post is gem with information I haven’t seen before.
Christina Peters says
Thanks Sharon!
Elizabeth says
I’m just beginning recreational photography, and I loved this article! I wondered if you could provide me links to the tripod and arm that you use…I didn’t see a link to yours in the article! Thanks!
Christina Peters says
Hi Elizabeth. I should probably update the article – I don’t mention the tripod and head extension I am using because they aren’t made anymore and when they were made they were very expensive. The tripod was $1200 and the extension arm was $300 new, I believe.
Cathy | She Paused 4 Thought says
I had never heard of dining room felt before. What a great tip.
Christina Peters says
It works great too – it will last forever too. All the felts I have are at least 10 years old.
Rob says
Excellent tips, thanks Christina. I just recently purchased a steamer and I’m amazed at how well they work.
In terms of dealing with wrinkles with various fabrics….what do you suggest for getting wrinkles out of velvet or plastic materials? I’m scared to use a steamer for fear of actually melting a specific kind of fabric. Would you suggest maybe placing a piece of felt on top of the velvet and ironing it that way?
Thank you! 🙂
Christina Peters says
Hi Rob, when getting wrinkles out of delicate fabrics, like velvet or plastic ones, I put a towel on top of it and set the iron to a low setting and look often to see how it’s looking. If the wrinkles still won’t come out, I will slowly increase the iron heat and try again, looking often to make sure it doesn’t melt. It’s a delicate process.
Darlene says
thank you so much for this post!! I just bought my tripod, macro lens and a wide angle lens. SO excited. I think my photos will benefit exponentially from these upgrades!!
Christina Peters says
Congrats Darlene!
Ines says
Hi Christina I am looking into buying an extension arm, I am quite new at this and have an Induro travel tripod but have no idea where I can possibly get an extension arm that will work for my tripod! Does any arm work for any tripod?? Thank you for your articles they are wonderful!
Christina Peters says
Hi Inez! Good tripods and attachments are universal. This means any brand extension arm should fit on your Induro tripod. You just have to make sure the screw on your tripod is the right size for the extension arm. There’s only two sizes to look for and usually the better tripods have the larger one. You take the tripod head off your tripod and you will see how big the screw is. The larger screw is 3/8″ and the smaller screw is 1/4″. Yours is probably a 3/8″ screw so just measure that to make sure.
Stephanie says
This is really helpful. I’ve got a really old tripod at the moment but I don’t want to replace it as it still works a treat – it was my Dad’s and he bought it 30 years ago! I’ve seen separate boom arms of the same make though (Velbon) so I will look into getting one of those. I always get so frustrated with shooting overhead due to the discomfort of contorting myself into the right position and keeping tripod legs out of the scene.
Thanks again for sharing your tips!
Christina Peters says
Hi Stephanie! Glad you liked the post. My favorite tripod is now 25 years old. If it’s a good tripod, it will last forever. Happy shooting!
Marilyn @ Pink Martinis and Pearls says
Great article, Christina. Makes me fondly remember your points in class that I’ve forgotten along the way.
Christina Peters says
Hi Marilyn! A lot of my blog posts are details of things I mention in class as I can only cover so much in one day’s class. Glad you liked it.
Mikayel Karsyan says
Dear Christina!!! My name is Mikayel Karsyan. I am an interior designer from Yerevan, Armenia. Running my own interior design studio since 1999 I started the food photography and your blog helped me so much. I am so glad and grateful, not only for the information and a high quality consulting on your blog, but for your indescribable energy, warmth, goodwill and openness – the aspiration to teach people and give them everything you know. That’s a real sign of a deep soul…
It’s a big pleasure to be your “student” )))
Thank you so much….
Christina Peters says
Thanks Mikayel! Glad I’ve been of some help for you. Happy Shooting!
Karista says
Love your website! Just found it, I’ll be subscribing. I have a question: what lens did you use for your overhead shot? I have a stock lens that came with my Nikon D5100 and I have a 50mm f1.8. Thinking of getting an f1.4 for a larger depth of field. Thank you for your time, Karista
Christina Peters says
Hi Karista! Glad you like the site! This shot was taken with my Canon wide angle zoom – 17mm-40mm lens and the zoom was set to about 35mm. This is one of the very few times I use a wider angle lens on food because its an overhead shot and I don’t want to be on a ladder. For all my food shots that are not overhead I use my 100mm macro lens. You said you wanted “larger depth of field”, just to clarify – the wider the f-stop the smaller your depth of field will be, meaning, less things in focus and only your focusing area will be in focus. If you want more depth of field, more things in focus, you need a much higher f-stop than f 1.4. All lenses look different at the same f-stop. A 100mm macro shot at f5.6 will have much less depth of field (less things in focus) than a 50mm lens shot at f5.6. The wider your lens the smaller f-stop you will need to get very shallow depth of field. Does that make sense? Also keep in mind that with overhead shots – you have hardly any depth of field to worry about because shooting overhead eliminates depth in your shot. Overhead shots turn into images about shape, color and texture.
Lamp says
Correct me if I am wrong. A larger aperture gives a shallower DOP opposed to a smaller aperture giving a greater DOF.
Christina Peters says
Hi Karista, yes, a larger aperture (bigger opening) gives you a shallow depth of field – the number for that large aperture is small however. Meaning F5.6 has a much larger opening than F16.
Mary@SiftingFocus says
Thanks Christina! Ordered my felt. Any suggestions on where to get apple boxes. Since I live in LA, the film industry capital, I imagine they must be available somewhere in town.
Christina Peters says
Hi Mary! A great place for apple boxes is ebay. There’s always ones for sale – get the used ones – the new ones are too expensive.