Hot dog!

July 4th is upon us and what better why to celebrate than with that most comforting of comfort foods: the hot dog!

Hot dogs

For this shot, I decided to go for a simple, basic presentation: hot dogs and chips on a paper plate.

I bought the table cloth, ketchup and mustard containers and napkin at the Dollar Store for a grand total of $3. Who says food photography props have to be expensive!

Hot dogs

Hot dogs

I was going to set this shot up outside to take advantage of the natural light, but it was 100 degrees out there! I would have shot it in my garage studio, but it was even hotter in there. So I ended up commandeering the dining room table for the shoot. I still got a relatively natural look by shooting my key light through a reflector placed very close to the dish. I used a couple of fill lights to soften the shadows.

And as a bonus, we had hot dogs and chips for dinner!