Stephen Sanchez

Something to note. If its a $20 polarizer then youll likely see a color shift as you turn it (usually warmer). So be sure to set it and leave it for consistency.

Perhaps this can help you? https://youtu.be/y_tjd9r7pss

I shoot food and product somewhat regularly. First, what you shot looks very natural. That single source look. I think it looks great. Reminds me of the Johnsonville look. The back light is key to getting the steam to show, which you did. Your aerial tabletop shot loos prefect. Regarding the highlights on the onions, 2 things. 1, it is a closeup shot which allows you to net and shape the light to a finer degree, which you should totally take advantage of. It's usually a food reset for each focal length anyway. You can flag or net using dots or fingers, foamcore scrap works great in a pinch. 2, If closeup adjustments are out of the question then exposure adjustments will have to be made, such as irising down to desired highlight level then fly in a foam bounce over the table to raise the table back to the right level. If that bounce is ineffective enough, then it'll need to be powered by a separate light source. Fresnel, tunable LED would be ideal. Alternatively, a polarizer could work if it is a reflection of the juices, but it'll elliminate other reflections as well, including on the spoon. I use polarizers a lot for product shots. Invaluable tool. The tabletop picture that you want to emulate looks edited to make the table dark, like they crushed the blacks. As far as lighting, there is obviously a side push from the right. It might be a 2x3 or 4x4 of opal considering the lack of crisp shadow. Then it looks like they have an overhead bounce on the left side. You can see this acting inside the cup, the spoon and the bowl. But it's absent on the square pan. So it might be a 4x4 board just over that area. And judging by the reflections in the cup there are a couple fill cards on the bottom of frame. The plastic spoodn handle is reflecting likely another fill card at top of frame. Hope this helps!

Depends on your use. Do you need portability? Daylight? Color accuracy? Will you always be near an outlet? Tungsten fixtures give great color recreation but are hot, need spare bulbs, and require plug power. They also run at 3200 kelvin. Moles in particular are extremely durable, but are heavy (steel I believe), which means a beefier light stand (cheap aluminum kit stands may not be enough), and their barn doors can fall out because there is no top latch. But this is all great for in studio where power and heavy stands are nearby. LED, like the godox, is lightweight, can be 5500k (great for location use), and use little power. The godox also has a bowens mount which makes for direct attachment of softboxes. But, being plastic and electronic, it won't survive the beating a Mole can take. So it depends on your use.

Is this why my Canon 24-70 L produces a sharp image on my FF 5DmkII (21MP) and yet is blurry with heavy chromatic aberration on my APSC 70D (24MP)? I was shooting product shost on the APSC at f8 and had unimpressive performance with that lens.

I've recently acquired a Cartoni Beta fluid head from a production company and it has many miles on it. I noticed the tilt action (fluid and spring) has "play" or an "air gap". As I tilt, say up, then turn to go back down, there is a small gap in the transision. It's slight but noticable enough to make a shot jerk during an innapropriate time. Pan is fine. I've never encountered a fluid head with this before. Is this inherent of the Cartoni Beta? And most importantly, how do I get this fixed? Regards, Stephen Sanchez Commercial Cinematographer in Tampa FL