When it comes to food photography tips, this overhead setup is one of my favorites. With as popular as overhead images are in food photography, it’s important to have a solid setup to help you capture this angle correctly. Let’s dive into my favorite overhead setup for food photography!

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Popular Overhead Setups For Food Photography

There are two very common ways to shoot overhead. These include holding the camera or using a standard tripod. Unfortunately, for me, these two options haven’t always been successful for my overhead images. Let’s talk about the pros and cons of these two popular overhead setups.

Holding The Camera

PROS

• Less gear to deal with
• Quick and easy

I didn’t have a lot of food photography equipment when I was first starting out. I would shoot overhead images by standing over the food and holding the camera. It didn’t require extra gear and felt like an easy approach to capturing overhead food images.

CONS

• Images look inconsistent
• Images look off balance or not very level

The problem, however, was when I would hold the camera a lot of my overhead shots either looked off balance or just not level. This caused a lot of inconsistencies in my images.

As I gained more experience, I noticed that a popular request was to get overhead images that could work well horizontally as well as vertically to accommodate different media orientations. Holding the camera always made this really difficult to achieve without having to take a bunch of extra shots. Several images and a sore back later, holding the camera became too much of a guessing game for certain client projects, so I needed to find a more reliable option.

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iPhone Tip: Use A Tripod for iPhone Food Photography

For my iPhone shooters, if you shoot food photography with your iPhone camera, you are probably always holding your iPhone to take pictures. It’s super convenient to hold the iPhone to take a picture, but this can cause a lot of issues with iPhone food photography, including blurry images, poor angle choices and grainy-looking images.

Check out this blog post that shares more about The Best Tripod for iPhone Food Photography. It solves many iPhone food photography issues simply because your iPhone camera is stabilized.

PROS

• Stabilizes your iPhone camera
• Positions the iPhone to the correct angle
• Prevents blurry images
• Prevents grainy-looking images
• Frees your hands to make adjustments to food
• Frees your hands to adjust your camera settings

CONS

• A little extra gear to work with (but so worth it!)

READ MORE ABOUT: THE BEST IPHONE TRIPOD FOR FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY

Tripods For Food Photography: Oben CT-3581

PROS:

• Lightweight
• Packs up small
• Easy to travel with
• Ability to shoot overhead without an extension arm

The Oben tripod was a great first tripod for me in the beginning. It’s super lightweight (only 3 lbs!) and packs up nice and small for traveling on location. One of my favorite features was that the legs flip upside down so I could position my camera for overhead shots without needing a separate extension arm. It also doesn’t take up a lot of room if you’re working in a smaller space.

TIP: IF THE OBEN CT-3581 IS UNAVAILABLE, THE OBEN CT-3535 IS SIMILAR.

CONS:

• The legs can get in the way of the shot
• You have to set up the food on the floor
• You need to completely readjust the tripod for other angles, which takes time

One of the problems I had with using the Oben tripod for overhead shots was that the legs would sometimes get in the way of the image. This resulted in a lot of extra editing for me after the photo shoot.

I would also have to set up my food on the floor for the overhead shots, which worked ok. But, in order to shoot at other angles, I would have to physically move the board from the floor to a table. Then, I would have to completely readjust my tripod to shoot at a different angle. I just felt that it became unnecessarily time consuming.

READ MORE ABOUT: THE BEST ANGLES FOR FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY

Tripods For Food Photography: Manfrotto 055

PROS:

• Solid, sturdy tripod
• Packs up well for travel
• Easy to use for straight on and 3/4 angle shots

After using the Oben for a while, I decided to get another tripod and bought the Manfrotto 055. Manfrotto is a very popular brand in the photography community because the quality is sturdy and reliable. This tripod weighs a little more than the Oben (around 7 lbs). The extra weight didn’t bother me, because it felt like a more secure tripod. It packs up well for travel and is very easy to use.

TIP: IF THE MANFROTTO 055 ISN’T AVAILABLE, THE MANFROTTO 190 XPRO WITH BALL HEAD IS SIMILAR.

CONS:

• You need a longer extension arm for overhead shots
• You have to adjust the tripod legs a lot
• You have to readjust the tripod to shoot other angles

Overall, the Manfrotto is a great tripod. But, it still isn’t my favorite for overhead shots when using my mirrorless or DSLR cameras.

First, the Manfrotto tripod comes with a center column arm for shooting food overhead, which is important. This arm extends over the table, but unfortunately it isn’t very long. It works great when using the iPhone camera, but does not work as well with a mirrorless or DSLR camera because it’s just not long enough.

A good solution, however, is to order a longer extension arm to attach to the Manfrotto. I ordered the Photek Tripod Extension Arm which allowed my camera to reach further across the table. And, this works out pretty well.

TIP: IF THE PHOTEK ARM ISN’T AVAILABLE, ANOTHER OPTION IS THE MANFROTTO 131DB.

Another issue I have (and this is more of a personal preference), but I really don’t like adjusting the tripod legs for overhead shots. I think this can be a bit time consuming to make sure each of the legs are positioned correctly.

And, getting back to a similar issue I had with the Oben, when I wanted to shoot at an angle or straight on with the Manfrotto, I would have to remove the extension arm and completely readjust my tripod and the legs. This also felt more time consuming than I wanted it to be.

Ultimately, I came to the conclusion that I love using the Manfrotto for 3/4 angle and straight on shots, but for overhead shots, I wanted to use a different set up.

The Best Setup for Overhead Photography

After doing some research and getting creative in my home studio, I finally discovered a reliable setup for overhead food photography.

PROS

• Perfectly level shots that work both horizontally and vertically
• Ability to raise and lower my camera easily using the two light stands
• Allows me to use my Manfrotto tripod separately for the 3/4 angle and straight on shots
• Easy to set up and take down
• Expandable for different surface widths
• No more holding the camera and “hoping” I got the shot
• No more tripod legs interfering with the image
• No more shooting on the floor
• No more annoying tripod leg adjustments

CONS

• The extra equipment may take up a little more space
• The initial cost of equipment could add up (but it’s worth it!)
• You will need to shoot tethered using this setup (this isn’t necessarily a con, but it depends on your workflow)

Equipment For Overhead Food Photography

Below is a list of the equipment you’ll need with pictures to help create the visual. Reach out if you have any questions at all.

And, if video is more your thing, be sure to check out my quick video of this setup on Instagram.

1. Two Light Stands

First, you’ll need two light stands. Set them up far enough apart to support the width of your extension arm (this is listed next).

The light stands should allow you to raise and lower the camera as needed with ease. I find adjusting two light stands much easier than adjusting the length of the three tripod legs. I recommend purchasing a level to just to be sure your light stands are equal in height and your camera is perfectly level.

2. One Extension Arm

Next, you’ll need an extension arm that rests between your two light stands. This will also hold your camera above the table. I’m sharing three different extension arm options below and I use all three of these extension arm options depending on the length I need.

1. EXTENTION GRIP ARM (40″)

You can get this extension grip arm which is 40 inches in length. This already comes with one avenger grip (listed next) already attached on one end. If you get this extension arm, you’ll need to purchase two more Avenger Grips for the overhead setup.

2. C-STAND WITH BOOM ARM (50″)

Using a C-Stand with a Boom Arm is another option and it’s a little longer giving you 50 inches in length. This will also come with one grip, so you’ll need to buy two more Avenger grips for the overhead setup.

* I am using the 50″ C-stand arm in this post and in the Instagram video setup.

3. CUSTOM CUT CONDUIT PIPE

If you need an arm that’s longer than 50 inches, I recommend getting a conduit pipe cut to the length that you need. I have one cut to 80″ for my wider surfaces. I got this pipe from Ace Hardware and had them cut it down for me. I brought an avenger grip to the store to be sure the diameter of the pipe would fit securely into the grip. If you decide to get a custom cut conduit pipe, you will need to buy three Avenger Grips for the overhead setup.

3. Three Avenger Grips

You will need 3 avenger grips depending on the extension arm you decide to get. You will need to attach these to your light stands and to the center of your extension arm.

If you getting the 40″ Extension Grip Arm, you only need two avenger grips, because one already comes with the arm.

If you get a 50″ C-stand with boom arm, you will only need two avenger grips because one already comes with the C-stand.

If you get a custom cut conduit pipe cut to your desired length, you will need three avenger grips.

The first grip attaches to one end of your extension arm and one of the light stands. The second grip attaches to the center of the extension arm. And, the third grip attaches to the other end of your extension arm and the other light stand.

4. Neewer 1/4 To 3/8 Spigot

Next, you’ll need a 1/4 to 3/8 spigot. The thinner (1/4) end of the spigot will attach to the grip in the middle of your extension arm. The thicker (3/8) end will screw into the ball head (this is listed next).

You’ll get two spigots per order, but you’ll only need to use one for this setup. They are pretty small, so save the extra in case you lose the other one.

5. Ball Head

Next, you’ll need a ball head. This will attach to the center avenger grip by screwing into the 3/8 end of the spigot. And, ultimately, you attach your camera to the ball head so it’s positioned for an overhead shot.

I mentioned the Manfrotto 055 earlier in this post which already comes with a ball head. But, since I use my tripod for the 3/4 angle and the straight on angle, I needed to buy an extra ball head for my overhead setup. You can buy a tripod and ball head together or buy the ball head separately.

I recommend having both the Manfrotto 055 tripod and ball head for 3/4 and straight on shots and getting an extra ball head for the overhead setup. Then, you can easily switch your camera from one setup to another depending on the angle you need to shoot at. It’s a huge time saver on photo shoots! 😉

Tethered Shooting For Food Photography

This overhead setup for food photography will require you to shoot tethered. Shooting tethered just means that your camera has a cable connecting it directly to your computer. It allows you to review your images on your computer as you shoot so you can see your image on a larger screen.

Seeing your images displayed on a larger screen is a great way to improve your food images, because you can see everything more clearly and make adjustments as you shoot.

If you can flip your LCD screen open on your camera, you could get away with not shooting tethered with this setup. However, the screen is pretty small, so it could be difficult to see important details of your image. And, if your camera is positioned pretty high up, you’ll need a step stool to see it clearly.

Tether Tools

There are a variety of tether cables to choose from. Make sure the tether cable you get is compatible with your camera model before purchasing. Tether tools is a great resource to make sure you get the right cable.

When you go to the Tether Tools home page, click Search By Camera at the top of the page. From there you can enter your camera brand, model and computer port and it will tell you exactly what tether cable you’ll need. Easy peasy!

READ MORE ABOUT: HOW TO SHOOT TETHERED FOR FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY

The Cost Of Overhead Photography Equipment

This overhead setup for food photography will vary in cost depending on what materials you actually need. It cost me under $500 for this setup and while that may sound pricey, it has been absolutely worth it for as often as I’m shooting food images overhead.

I also love having a separate overhead setup for food photography so I can use my tripod for the 3/4 angle and straight on shots that I need to capture. It has made my photo shoots so much more efficient and has always resulted in beautiful food images.

In conclusion, there is no right or wrong way to shoot overhead food photography. It’s important to do what works best for you, your space and your budget. I hope it works out for you! Reach out with questions anytime and be sure to follow me on Instagram!

Happy Creating!

Summary of Equipment

1. MANFROTTO LIGHT STANDS (2)
2. IMPACT 40 INCH EXTENSION ARM
3. IF THE EXTENSION ARM IS UNAVAILABLE, GET A C-STAND WITH A BOOM ARM
4. AVENGER GRIPS (3)
5. NEEWER 1/4 TO 3/8 SPIGOT
6. BALL HEAD
7. SMALL LEVEL
8. MANFROTTO 055 TRIPOD FOR 3/4 ANGLE & STRAIGHT ON SHOTS

TIP: FIND ALL OF THE GEAR FOR THIS OVERHEAD SETUP IN MY AMAZON STORE.

This post contains affiliate links which means if you click or make a purchase through my site, I might make a small commission (at no extra cost to you). I only promote products and equipment that I actually use and support. 

All images ©Regan Baroni 2020.