How to photograph fruit and veg

For day 3 in the kitchen it is time to rummage around for some fruit and veg.

Gear needs
Again, we used a Nikon D300 and a Tamron SP AF 17-50mm f/2.8 XR DII VC lens fitted on a compact Velbon GEO E540 carbon fibre tripod. The background has an A3 sheet of photocopy paper.

Techniques to try
If it was good enough for Edward Weston, it is surely good enough for you. The humble pear might not be the most exhilarating fruit to photograph, but that is undoubtedly part of the challenge.

It helps you start with a more interesting shape specimen and you stand a better chance of this by going to a greengrocers (if there is still one left near you!) rather than a supermarket. Odd shapes can be very photogenic.

In terms of lighting and set-up, use daylight (just as Weston did) and a rustic backdrop – an old sack or some old wood, for example would work well.

These images were shot again with nothing more than daylight. You can change the colour of the image by adding a hue/saturation adjustment to the image in Photoshop.


See parts one and two for more inspiration.


You've read the article, now go take some fantastic images. You can then upload the pictures, plus any advice and suggestions you have into the dedicated Photo Month forum for everyone at ePHOTOzine to enjoy.