One aspect of food photography that causes some complexity for me is what I call tabletops. A tabletop could be an actual table, a tablecloth, placemat, tray, large sheet of paper, marble board, cutting board, etc. Anything that is flat and large enough for your scene, is a possibility.
When I set up my studio I started with a table from IKEA (they actually call it a desk but it’s a table) that has a basic particleboard surface. The size is perfect, and it’s perfect for laying “tabletops” on top. On its own, it’s a bit shiny and blah to show off a muffin. So I’ve been searching for props that can be tabletops.
I recently decided I wanted a white wood tabletop, something that looks finished but not covered with paint. Something simple that shows off my baking projects. I searched the internet for how to create tabletops for food photography, and came up with very little that was useful. There are lots of tutorials on how to distress wood – maybe I’ll do that someday – but I wasn’t really going for the old distressed look.
After much research (and numerous trips to Home Depot – a place that I’m just starting to get familiar with), I decided to use a whitewashing technique. Here’s the recipe:
1. Start with an unfinished a pine wood tabletop. Lightly sand the top using 150 grit sandpaper.
2. Having read that pine may need priming before staining, I then applied a coat of water-based pre-stain wood conditioner.
3. Next comes the first layer of whitewashing, using a water-based whitewash pickling stain.
4. I used two layers of whitewashing, as I wanted a little more depth of color. You can repeat the stain/wipe step as many times as you need to, to get to the color you’d like.
5. The last step is to apply a water-based polycrylic finish.
Here is the finished result on top of my work table:
And a few test shots:
(I'm obsessed about making my own jams. More on that in a future post.)
Here you can see the table beneath my brownies on the left, and a white napkin on the right.
Incidentally, all of these photos were taken with my new Canon 40mm pancake lens
What's your favorite tabletop for food photography?

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