Light Field Photography

Digital Photography, specifically DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) photography, is really just a digital version of cameras that we have used for more than a century.  The physics really have not changed.  Today’s camera focuses on a single point – eyes, mouth, hair, etc.  The camera then uses that focal point to calculate what amount of light/exposure is needed for the shot.  In todays “point and shoot” cameras the process of focusing, calculating exposure, then releasing the shutter – takes just a second or so.  But it is that process that leads to SHUTTER LAG – and in those few precious moments, the perfect shot may be missed, or out of focus.

FOCUS?! That’s soooo last century.

Soon there will be a tectonic shift in how photographs are taken. LIGHT FIELD PHOTOGRAPHY captures light traveling in ALL directions around the subject. This is really the FIRST substantial change in the physics of how we take photographs in the past 150 years. Gone is the need to focus. Shutter lag—no mas.  Light field cameras take, in a single shot, all possible focal lengths. Later once the file is downloaded to a computer, you can point and click throughout the image and dynamically change the focus. Image quality is not measured in MEGAPIXELS but in Megarays.  A Megaray (1 million lightrays) is a measurement of how many light rays are captured in a photo. This is a fundamental shift in photography. One will, however, still need a good eye for composition.

The company behind this new tech is LYTRO, and this year they will be selling (shipping in 2012) the first consumer light field camera. The first cameras to ship will take 11 Megaray photos.  If your interest is piqued, there is a fullgallery of photos on their website – images that you can play with and change the focal point. Currently the camera is large-ish. But in the next decade I am sure you will have a lightfield camera in your phone…or whatever we have in our pockets in 2022.

I for one – am ready to pre-order. I really dig the boxy electric blue model.

TIP: Food Photography

For the past five years I have been photographing food for clients here in New York City. I have had the pleasure of working with restaurants like Punch Restaurant and Wined-Up Wine Bar near the Flatiron Building - - and also with the great Italian chef, Gabriele Bagni. Food photography is a somewhat specialized form of photography – but I have some hints for those of you who (even with point and shoot cameras) would like to “take your best shot”. 

1. Perspective – I like to photograph food as a “landscape” putting the camera low – and on the table. This “ant’s perspective” brings out lots of detail in the food – and offers a unique perspective on the plate.  Shooting too high over the plate tends to make the food look flat, and lacks the dramatic shadows of shooting low.
2. Use the MACRO – if you are using a “Point and Shoot” camera – set the camera to Macro (usually the icon is a tulip). This will allow for only a narrow portion of the photo to be completely in focus.  A blurry background (and maybe a bit of the foreground) will emulate the mouthwatering photographs you are used to seeing in gourmet magazines.
3. Natural Light – Using defused light, coming through a window with long soft shadows helps add to the drama of a “food landscape”.  Don’t use a flash.  Mostly, because shooting so close (macro) to the food, the intense flash will overwhelm the plate.
4. Time is of the essence – photograph food as soon as you can after the plate lands on your table. Butter and sauces tend to “cloud” over as they cool.  Other parts of the dish may steam and wilt, or change color the longer they are exposed.

For my photo shoots with food, I usually use my Nikon D300 with a short 20mm lens.  This allows for plenty of natural light – and a narrow depth of field.  While that lens does tend to distort things a bit – corrections for that can easily be made in Photoshop CS5.   Additionally, I will usually use some kind of reflector to bounce light back onto the food – creating even, defused light.