Hey everyone,

New here and not sure if this is in the correct place. I didn't really see any sub forums of gear talk that was relevant nor did I see anything relevant in help and advise. Feel free to move this question if it is indeed in the wrong location. I asked this question on another internet forum but I hope by posting here I will get more detailed and critical advice.

I want to get into taking some better than average food photos at live restaurants. I want to capture some high quality images while imposing as little as possible on others.


I currently have a Canon 6D, a few lens (24-70mm 2.8, 50mm 1.4, etc) and a Manfrotto 3pce Carbon fibre tripod with a pan/tilt head. When I shoot I will most likely be fairly close to the subject (around 50cm) so that I do not get in the way of wait staff and other patrons.


After a little reading it seems that adding light (as with all photography) is the best way to improve the shots in dark restaurants. I was thinking of having a single portable light source and employing a single white reflector to accomplish this.


This leads me to my first question. What light sauce would be the best in this situation. From my understand I really only have two options. Firstly, an external speedlight or secondly a small portable LED panel. I feel like the LED panel would clearly be the winner as the firing of the speedlight would be far more distracting to other diners.


1. Is this correct or can you think of some better alternatives?


2. What specific product or brands would you recommend?


3. Where do you purchase a white board reflector or do people generally build their own?


4. Can you think of a better lens to purchase for this situation?


5. Can you think of a better tripod(or head) type or model?


Thank you for your time in reading and responding to my post.