Translucent fruit – is thinly sliced kiwi fruit, lemons, limes, oranges, and onions photographed on a light table. Being so thinly sliced the light illuminates the detail of your subject and creates unique and interesting images of the food. Yes, I know, the longer this lockdown goes on the more inventive we have to get. Don’t judge me.

Supplies

You actually need very few items for this, apart from your camera and tripod, you just need a light table and sliced food. Be careful when you go searching to buy a light pad or table- a lot of light tents come up under the heading light table in eBay. That’s not what you need.

My Light Pad

I first purchased an A4 Lightpad on eBay for $21 but it had a fine black mesh under the glass when I turned it on. Which was fine for tracing etc, but not what I wanted it for. The young great-niece was happy to get it though. Next, I purchased an A3 light pad from Amazon for $55 which works a treat. It gives a lovely soft, even light that’s not too bright, wipes clean easily, is and only 3mm thick making it simple to store when I am not using it. It works via a USB cord to your laptop, PC or into a USB charger or Powerbank.

I gathered together some kiwi fruit, red onions, lemon and oranges, then sliced each of them up. My slices were about 3mm thick. I placed the cut food on a paper towel to absorb some of the moisture while I setup. It was then just a simple matter of arranging on the light pad – and taking the shots. I used my 12-100 Olympus lens for the shots with the tripod on the table over the lightpad, shooting downwards.

All were shot in manual mode, on F7.1, ISO 200, 1/80 sec and around a focal length 60mm. I also shot on a table next to filtered window light.

Supplies to make your own

If you don’t want to spring for a light pad you can make your own.

• A box around A4 to A3 size- this could be a cardboard box or a smallish plastic storage tub
• Foil
• Utility Knife
• Duct Tape and Sellotape
• White tissue paper
• A piece of glass (cheapest and easiest is the buy a photo frame and remove the glass)
• A light source – you could use a torch or white battery operated Christmas lights
• Ruler

Making the Light Table

1. Measure around 3cm in from the edge of your box lid on all four sides and cut the centre out with the utility knife
2. Line the inside of your box with foil
3. If using battery-operated Christmas lights place them in the box and space them out so the light is evenly dispersed. Tape them in place. If using a torch, cut a circle out of the side of the box to insert the torch head into.
4. Tape white tissue paper to the underside of your glass
5. Place the glass over the lid of the box and tape down.
6. That’s it! now just turn the light on and have some fun!

Photographing the Food

Again, I chose a kiwi fruit, a lemon and a red onion and photographed the same I did with the light pad.

I shot with the Olympus OM-EM Mi MII and the 12-100 lens. You can use a macro if you like – but it’s not essential unless you want super close-ups.

Comparing the two – I definitely preferred the light pad to the box I made as the light was more even. However, I was using a single torch in the box and improvement could probably be made by using a couple of torches or the clear Christmas lights. Using a light table for photography can be a fun and easy afternoon activity.

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