Have you ever wondered why a dish looks incredibly appetizing in one photo and appears squashed or distorted in another? The answer isn’t just in the light or food styling, but in a fundamental concept of photography: focal length.
For a gastronomic video and photography production studio like Cat on Table, choosing the right lens is a superpower. Mastering focal length in photography is essential for controlling perspective, bokeh, and ultimately, the way the audience perceives the taste and quality of your products.
Whether you are an entrepreneur with a food brand, a restaurant owner, or simply a foodie photography enthusiast, understanding this parameter will help you choose the right equipment and drastically improve your results.
Definition of Focal Length
In simple terms, focal length is the measurement, expressed in millimeters (mm), between the optical center of your lens and the camera’s sensor (or focal plane), when the lens is focused to infinity.
But why is this number important? Because focal length is the factor that determines two key elements in your image:
- The Angle of View: Defines how wide your shot will be, i.e., how much of the space or scene will fit in your frame.
- Magnification: Determines how close the main subject will appear.
In product and gastronomic photography, focal length is crucial. A lens that distorts a burger or a high-end cuisine dish can detract from its visual appeal. Therefore, we seek the lens that offers the most natural and flattering perspective.
How Focal Length Influences an Image
Focal length affects your photography in three main ways, which are the key to composing professional images:
1. Framing and the Angle of View
Your lens’s millimeters dictate the angle:
- Short focal lengths (e.g., 24mm) have a wide angle, capturing a large percentage of the scene. This is useful for showing the context of a dish.
- Long focal lengths (e.g., 100mm) have a narrow angle, bringing the subject closer and capturing less background.
2. Perspective: The Compression Effect
This is the most misunderstood point: focal length itself does not change perspective, but it forces you to change your physical position to achieve the desired framing, and it is this position that alters the perspective:
- Short Focal Lengths (Wide-Angle): To fill the frame, you must get very close to the subject. This exaggerates perspective, making objects closer to the camera look disproportionately large compared to background objects.
- Long Focal Lengths (Telephoto): Allow you to move away from the subject to get the same framing. This causes perspective compression, where background elements appear closer to the main subject, creating a sense of layers and a more intimate visual effect.
In food photography, the compression effect of long lenses is highly valued because it helps isolate the dish and creates a soft, uniform background.
3. Depth of Field
Although aperture (diaphragm) is the main factor in controlling depth of field (the famous bokeh), focal length plays an important role. Lenses with longer focal lengths (telephoto) tend to produce a shallower depth of field at the same focus distance. This means it is easier to achieve that beautifully blurred background that separates the dish from its surroundings, making it the center of attention.
Types of Focal Lengths and When to Use Them
We can classify lenses into three main categories according to their focal length:
Wide-Angle (14mm to 35mm)
- Characteristics: Very wide angle of view and a tendency to exaggerate perspective and depth.
- Use in Gastronomy: Excellent for capturing the ambiance of a restaurant or an entire table (table scape). It is used when you want to include the context (the kitchen, the chefs, the decoration) with the food.
- Caution: You must avoid getting too close to the subject with these lenses, as it can distort the edges of the dish.
Normal or Standard (35mm to 55mm)
- Characteristics: Offers a perspective that is closest to the natural vision of the human eye.
- Use in Gastronomy: The 50mm lens is the “golden eye” of food photography. It is extremely versatile, ideal for product portraits and medium shots. Its natural perspective and minimal distortion make it the preferred option for making food look as it is.
Telephoto (70mm to 200mm+)
- Characteristics: Narrow angle of view and great zoom capability. They cause strong perspective compression.
- Use in Gastronomy: It is the ideal tool for detail photography (close-ups). The compression is perfect for isolating the dish from the background, enhancing textures, and creating a creamy bokeh that keeps attention solely on the product. Generally, 85mm and 100mm focal lengths are the most used for detailed food shots.
How to Choose the Best Focal Length for Your Project
Choosing the right lens boils down to one question: What story do you want to tell?
A detail to keep in mind for users of APS-C or Micro Four Thirds sensor cameras is the so-called ‘crop factor‘, which modifies the effective angle of view of your lens. Delve deeper into what the crop factor is to better understand the real focal length you are using.
Focal length is much more than a technical number; it is a powerful modifier of reality that you are in control of. Mastering lenses is what transforms a simple food photo into an image that sells.
