Marco Venturini Autieri

Dott. Ing., Ph.D., MInstP

The best lighting for pizza

Pizza is food so, traditionally, benefits from (moderate) backlighting. Pizza is also large and flat: a large(r) and flat light source was my choice. The Elinchrom Rotalux 90x110cm softbox, placed about 30cm above the pizza, slightly angled, was large enough that I could use its “tail” like some sort of moderate backlight. A small reflector carved out of cardboard provided an almost invisibile fill-light.I described this setup here and I have recently used it on location. The large Rotalux is not compact but at least it is one. I photographed some creations of La Panacea, a pizzeria near Pisa. The results seem delicious, just as much as the pizzas themselves.

Unusual margherita pizza, where some tomatoes are yellow. Thick crust in the Neapolitan style.
Unusual margherita pizza, where some tomatoes are yellow. Thick crust in the Neapolitan style. This was about 1.5m long!
Amazingly good pizza margherita, in a simple white plate on a wooden table
This pizza is decorated with edible flowers (flowers you can eat), as well as asparagus, cured ham and yellow cherry tomatoes (“pacchetelli”). Italian and neapolitan style
“Pacchetelli” is the name of a variety of cherry tomatoes coloured in yellow, and they come from the Naples’ area, the same that gave birth to the Neapolitan pizza.

link grafico a "from the sky a light came, and that was all" su Apple Music