Building the Ultimate Flat Lay Food Photography Camera Setup

[@TheBiteShot]

Very cool setup! And glad to hear it was a great summer!

[@skylerburtphotos]

Thanks!

[@panasonicism]

My two favourite food photographers. I would love to see a collaboration between the two of you.

[@EricFosterMedia]

I use a very similar setup. If you throw a sandbag over the top of that C-stand and overhead arm you'll be golden. That direct weight on top makes it all rock solid.

[@skylerburtphotos]

Yes sandbags are clutch and even a ratchet strap from the arm to the base of the stand

[@electricsheep1963]

I used to use your old school setup with the boom arm across 2 c stands. This is so much easier to use. I just setup a minimal version of this with just the cross arm, ball head adapter and sand bags for my existing c stand. It is great and keeps the camera solid and I like that you can swap between a c stand and a low boy depending on you height (or travel) requirements.

[@elcywang6516]

Love your new setup, especially because you can switch between overhead and angle shots without dismounting the camera. Thanks for sharing this!

[@skylerburtphotos]

Yeah thats great

[@pranavbhojanecontent]

Good to see you back, on and off. What I really miss is the cozy feel, warmth, moody ambiance, and homey touches of your old studio. But it compensates for everything, the way you create your videos.

[@skylerburtphotos]

It was cozy

[@BrendanMacNeillPhotography]

Great set up. But instead of using your tablet to trigger the camera - and possibly shake it - why not use a Bluetooth trigger?

[@miguelsuarez1511]

I definitely prefer your old set up. In fact I use it because I saw you had yours set up that way. Best regards.

[@skylerburtphotos]

it's a oldie but a goodie

[@urbanfoodiekitchen4940]

Thanks SO much for sharing this! I've wanted to build your old set-up ever since I read Regan Baroni's blog post about it years ago, but have never been able to figure out how to make it work due to space constraints. This solves that problem. I started with just the stand and the adapter (already had a Manfrotto cross bar) and I'm already obsessed!

[@skylerburtphotos]

Awesome! It's sure a space saver

[@RozajustJust]

I follow you since your hair was black I came back after few years watch this video you hair is grey thank you for your videos we leaned a lot from your videos

[@skylerburtphotos]

New grey hair with each new photo

[@videoyoplait]

I use capture pilot to trigger the camera when in overhead. i use a Sirui horizontal extension arm that has a hook on the back to hang some weight on for counterbalance. What’s great about it is that you can adjust the angle of the arm up or down. Combined with a ball or 3 way head you can get higher if needed and just adjust the head to a flatter position. Now I just need to find a way to use my ipad as the monitor or mount my laptop to my tripod. And maybe also get some of those tripod wheels for easy movement

[@edytagirgiel3168]

thank you for that tip! That's brilliant!

[@shawnfrederick97]

Hey Skylar, great stuff. I enjoy watching your channel man! Keep the fun videos coming. Question for ya... What side monitor are you using to review your work as you compose / shoot? Can an iPad be used? Or is there a more specific monitor you advise? And of course, are you connecting via bluetooth? Or is that monitor tethered as well? If so, is it to your camera or your computer via Capture ONE or?? Thanks! Shawn

[@cesarebonazza]

Great suggestion thank you

[@tomatengarage5608]

Interesting and smart. I thought your old Setup was so good that it could hardly be improved. Of course, the old Setup was more stable, much more solid. But you covered the disadvantages. It took much more time to got another angle. So I get your points, both easier/lighter traveling and quicker changes. Well done, Skyler. I like the new Stetup.

[@mediaflmcreation]

Great stuff man and tbh... vintage has wrapped it's way around so you're right on well.. time? 🙂 lol!! Less is so much more man I love your work!

[@estonian44]

really missing u, would love to buy ur course at one point, need to study your style for my home cake and bread business ;)

[@deviceinboxru]

Great video Skyler! Nice to see you back. Maybe it's time to get the FOBA stand for studio shooting? :)

[@skylerburtphotos]

Yeah I wish

[@anarabicdp]

Looking good man nice hair cut 👍

[@nakatosh8020]

Nice setup. Less is sometimes more. For overhead shots, however, I like a separate stand that is always pointed downwards. I prefer to work with cables than with a spirit level. Thanks for the video :)

[@Falcon012287]

Enjoying your videos!

[@kitchenbro5709]

looks like one giant tether tools commercial

[@TheDiabeticMenu]

Very hansome without the hat :)

[@skylerburtphotos]

Thanks 😊

[@aov_james]

Tether tools are trustworthy yet pricey 😅 Oh you mentioned about tablet placement, I'm thinking apple's vision pro is going to be the future and replace them. Like you can keep your eyes on product and while controlling opacity on goggle and maybe dragonframe implementation? 😮 Enough of me wishing something to happen😂 Love your clean tether tool setup!

[@creativeone2656]

Nice setup. Did you leave a link for the two spot lights in your video? If not, where did you purchase them?

[@toptoptopper]

Great video! I’m in exactly the same boat with my ‘traveling circus’! Please can you explain your tethering setup as you seem to have Capture One running on a tablet but with no wires and you mentioned the tether cable was going into a Mac. Intrigued!!

[@skylerburtphotos]

Its fairly easy, but I need to do some research and figure out how to do the same using Apple devices

[@marcofrombanabar5292]

Great video! What adapter do you use to connect the C-stand to the head grip?

[@claribelvicent120]

Thank you! New subs here!!!

[@offmertz]

Thanks for the tips! What do you use for the solid color board? I've seen paper, but would love something more solid like this.

[@ThePlannerAisle]

Hi! Love the video. Got some great ideas for my planner set up vids. Can you tell me what the blue backdrop is that you use?

[@Food4Life-u2r]

What a great and helpful video - thank you so much! Is the ONsite 150w Battery also compatible with the Canon eos r5?

[@skylerburtphotos]

I believe so, i can power anything usb-c or the make pretty much every dummy battery for every brand. Check out the links in the description

[@AlienGrade]

The Notebook attached on the lowboy stand is causing unnecessary vibrations as well when you click on it, even though it looks very cool.

[@rjsfoto]

hi would a counter weight help to make it more stable just a thought

[@CReed-fo7uq]

Great video, thanks for making it. How do you get CaptureOne live view on your tablet?

[@skylerburtphotos]

Next video topic

[@ChefSaraHaas]

Oh my gosh! This is dreamy. I too can't stand when I have to move my camera from an overhead setup to my tripod. And the number of times I've accidentally bumped into my tripod after setting up focus....too many to count! You've got me thinking about this new setup! Thanks Skyler! Any tips on a few main pieces to get started?

[@Eyeofdajjal]

I’m using a Manfrotto repro/cross arm. Thanks to their legendary build quality, my entire camera crashed right into a plate of food. The ca cheap cast tightening screw/wheel that connects to the tripod just snapped off directly where the threading connected to said wheel. Nice air bubbles inside the cheap metal. I got a replacement that I had to pay for and now prefer using 2 lightweight light stands, a cheap extending background rod and a super clamp. Or at least not extend the cross atm all the way. Makes me literally cringe just seeing this 😂 I also always get the black tether cables. If you can’t fix the cable behind the cross arm or rod, you can get nasty reflections. Also really annoying with the extremely good Area 51 cables. I get you wanna stand out, but sometimes that kills it for me

[@SusanneGeert]

Thanks for sharing this ☺ May I ask why the low boy instead of a c-stand - is that due to travel issues? Can't wait to see the content you shot over the summer - great to have you back Skyler ☺

[@momentsbyron]

With quality of led lights getting better and price cheaper can it replace flash for food photography?

[@skylerburtphotos]

for sure, I would go for something that is at 600w or above though so you can both use it for the range of apertures you need. This mainly comes into play if your also using it as a video light.

[@momentsbyron]

@@skylerburtphotos a 200w/300w light won't be sufficient?

[@italianinoslo]

I´d love to hear what tablet you are using, it doesn´t look like it´s an Ipad. :)

[@skylerburtphotos]

check out my latest video, I dive into the whole setup kzbin.info/www/bejne/eHLdm5iweqp9Z7s The tablet is a Samsung Tab S8 Ultra

[@McTube2010]

Nice setup, especially for the versatility.. but I don’t see the point of the “time test” if you shoot tethered. Anyway, nice to see you again, always good photos 👏🏼

[@skylerburtphotos]

It's more about if you use this setup for video. I use it for both stills and video. For video, if you don't use an external recorder, pressing the record button on the camera can be a pain if it's sitting there bouncing. But also if you're walking around you camera it can sometimes vibrate or bounce if you're setup is not stable.

[@TheShivani222]

Would love to see that product shoot bts

[@skylerburtphotos]

You got it

[@tech.inspector]

I tried to do some repair videos with over head shots. But I always get so much bookeh that the important things are not in focus. If I go up to F8.0 or higher it gets better but then I need like ISO 3200+. I really don't know how other youtubers do this but I might need to switch from DLSR to Smartphone because of this. Really annoying... E.g when I unscrew a screw it just focuses my hand and not the screw but I also can't use manual focus because I constantly move things around. Other youtubers seem to have like everything in focus. Dunno how they do it...

[@Kelly1237]

Your background looked super light weight. Did you make it? If so, what's it made of?

[@skylerburtphotos]

Yeah I made it, it's made out of 1/4 or 1/2 inch MDF board

[@johnclay7644]

informative video

[@BryonBlack1]

I'm assuming you are using an iPad for wireless tethering? I sure wish Capture One would add wireless tethering support for Android...

[@skylerburtphotos]

Next video topic

[@ChrisPolanco77]

Hi there if you’re tethered to a laptop how do you get the tablet to receive the images as well????

[@skylerburtphotos]

Next video topic

[@medogamer3561]

how to connect camera to tablet

[@skylerburtphotos]

Next video topic

[@raybp7512]

This is awesome however I cant imagine anyone would outlay for all of this equipment but not also a method of wire/wirelessly controlling the cam be it a phone app /desk top or remote

[@skylerburtphotos]

I control the cam with my tablet and / or desktop. I show how I do that in my last video

[@AutoFOCUSED.]

I'd just get a wireless shutter trigger or even a wired one and that problem would be solved much quicker.

[@skylerburtphotos]

That will help, but you can't get around normal floor vibrations from walking, a/c, or a slight breeze. 😄 anything seems to cause that camera to bounce

[@AutoFOCUSED.]

@@skylerburtphotos well if you're working on your own I don't think walking would really be an issue. And I doubt a breeze or A/C moving it would make enough difference in the composition to cause any concern. Normally if you're standing still with a shutter remote it would solve this.

[@foto_adri-hi3rh]

This seems more like a sponsored video by Tether Tools than something genuine. If camera shake was an issue, it could easily be solved by shooting via Bluetooth.

[@BooTangClan]

Cool to see this, but to me that new rig seems like a way bigger pain in the ass than the OG version to me 🤷🏼‍♂

[@HockeyCraig]

My Video Lights My Soft Boxes are broken links