SONIC Food Product Shoot

This weekend, just before the "Hurricane" rolled in, I turned my apartment into a studio with a green screen and filmed and photographed SONIC food.

Food/product photography is something I have been very interested in for many years but have never gotten a chance to try it. It's very different from shooting most subjects, although that is one of only a few things I know about it. A few tricks of the trade is all I've learned about this, and after trying it for the first time, it is more difficult than I thought it would be.

My goal was to record some pan, dolly-ins, and other dynamic video shots of SONIC foods and drinks. My plan is to key out the green screen in post, stabilize the shots, and add an attractive background and graphics to make this look professional. This is not for any planned commercial or video, just for practice and my own reel.

I thought the lighting and finding a green screen would be the toughest parts. The kit I got was actually perfect for this with a softbox, a fresnel, and a couple Lowel V lamps. I think the lighting turned out to be good, I fortunately found some dark green bed sheets to use as a green screen on my table and wall. The major problems were the appearance of the food/my lack of knowledge of how to make it look perfect, and the troubles I am currently having in post with keying.

The foods I shot were" Grilled Chicken Sandwich, 1/4 pound footlong Coney, Chili Cheese Tots, and Caramel Sundae. The Sundae, being in a manufactured cup was by far the easiest to make look good, but the most difficult to films as it melted under my hot lights and got onto my green screen. Once I'm done with the video(s) I will post it and any possibly more photos.