Like every food blogger out there, I too struggle with a serious loss of light during those long autumn and winter months. Never made a secret of the fact I prefer shooting with natural light, but alas, not a whole lot I can do about it.

So, I’ve toyed with my studio lights a bit more and after a lot of trying (and some minor cussing), I think found the setup that works best for me in most cases.

I work with two studio lights and soft boxes:

1) The one in the upper right corner is my larger soft-box and it functions as my key light. The main light source.

2) The smaller soft box on the left functions as my fill-in light. Sometimes even used directly overhead. This one is set to its lowest setting.

3) In the right lower corner is I my medium-sized white light reflector to lift some of the shadows in the front.

And here’s what happens when you combine them all. World, meet my Porchetta!

Of course I’ve tried different setups and angles as well, but if I want to take a few quick shots and need to know for sure they will come out evenly lit, this is my go-to setup.

What’s your favorite lighting setup for food photography?