Last weeks step forward. Chicken Parmesan, shot on location, with very limited resources. Removed some hot spots and splattering of sauce on the plate, plus a dark area in the chicken, that I didn't think was appealing. White balance based on plate.



Lighting is two mini-strobes plus the on camera flash. On camera has two diffusers taped on it to reduce the light and soften. Slave strobes have one diffuser and the bottom of a polypropylene container (dumpster diving :-D ) as the second diffusion.



Oh by the way, the stands are custom made aluminum tripod risers with 1/4 x 20 studs, and tapped for tripod threads on both ends. I was going to use them for a telephoto handle, but didn't like the balance. Green clamps 99c each at Home Depot. Podium is not mine, it was at the hotel, along with the erasers holding it up, so the plate doesn't slide off.

Advise for improvements?

I'm trying to find a more subtle background. White is bad because the plate gets lost. I think black is a little stark, but it does give good isolation. Table clothes the texture shows, I don't like it.

I'm thinking maybe a piece of plastic painted flat Eggshell or a light grey?

Keep in mind, this is on location, hand carried in, small subjects. Same setup I used to take the wildflower shots, but the slaves didn't sync, so all of them have shadows, where the fill was supposed to be.

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