Reddit mentions of Fotodiox 5'x7' Collapsible Soft Diffuser Disc Panel for Outdoor and Studio Lighting

Looks pretty good!

THis shoot could have really benefited with using a large diffuser mounted on a few C-Stands to cast shade on all your talent. You might also want to consider picking up a variable ND filter if you don't have one already to help isolate your talent from the background.

Keep on shooting!

So to get a little closer to what you were hoping for, you need exponentially more light to work with.

You CAN get a faster lens (lower f-stop number) but that means less of the dish is in focus. And you CAN push your ISO, but then you start introducing noise into the image (so minimize that as much as you can).

The best approach is really just more light.

Continuous lights (like what you have been using) are helpful because it's easier to see what you're doing, but it's more difficult to get as much light output as you need without also baking yourself and the dish ha.

Strobe lights are ideal for this kind of thing because they can put out a TON more light in each flash than continuous lights are capable of, and they won't heat up the space a ton, BUT they're harder to learn because you can't see what they're going to do while you're setting it up.

If you're stuck with continuous lighting, you basically need to add at least 3 more of those light fixtures, and then use something to diffuse/soften up the light so it spreads out.

The bigger the diffusion you use, the better it'll spread. If you've got enough space, something like this 5x7 diffusion panel is great but it's fucking huge so you need enough space to work in. Smaller panels like that do exist though, and you can also just use a shower curtain in a pinch (though it's a hassle to rig something like that so I avoid it if possible).

I personally use strobe lights with diffusion panels for this kind of thing - but it's a deep rabbit hole because you need light modifiers, and radio triggers, and light stands and sand bags etc etc etc.

Unfortunately the difference between mediocre photos, and really high-quality ones can be a pretty big leap.

Using daylight the way /u/kouignamann_kingdom mentioned is a good approach if you can set up your "studio" near a big picture window - but it's not the most reliable option. Can't shoot at night, can't shoot if the weather is crap etc etc so it's important to learn how to use lighting tools so you can control the look no matter how awful the weather is.