One can find this tasty snack at a party or at a Mexican restaurant before the main corse comes out. At my house we tend to have some form of tortilla chip and salsa in the pantry to have on hand when we need a snack or for when guest come over.
Packaging
Usually chip bags have a shiny, reflective quality to them that makes them hard to photograph because you end up fighting with the highlights. I got lucky with this bag of chips though because the surface had more of a mate quality to it. I still had to watch the highlights though because the bag is white and reflected light.
The salsa I had was actually not a full, unopened jar. However, when photographing it is important for it to be full, or at least look full. What I did to make it look that way was I tip the salsa jar over on its lid and when I was ready to take the photo I flipped it back so it was right side up and the salsa would stick long enough for me to take the picture. This gave the illusion of a full jar without me having to go out a purchase another one.
Lighting
I set up the main source of light on the right side. This sweeping light gave the chips more texture and helped the salsa in the white bowl to not look blown out.
I held a white fill card on the left side so that light would be bounced off and make the shadows not as harsh.
Final
For this set up I used very minimal props and I probably could have used a bit more in order to make this image have more of a wow factor. The cloth I used gave me a hispanic feel and also had good leading lines to lead the viewer to the chips and salsa. I almost wish that the fabric was longer so then I could have mad it the back drop too and I wouldn’t of had to use the black one.
What makes this image successful though is the lighting because it give the chips so much texture that you can even see the grains of salt.