If you are an enthusiastic food photographer looking to elevate your photography game, look no further. We have all the ingredients here to make your food photos shine.
1. Choose Your Location Wisely
Taking snapshots of the food at your kitchen or restaurant table can be quick and easy, but it will not do justice to your food. So, learn to pay attention to the location and the lighting it provides.
Put your food near a window to get some natural light, which will elevate your food’s look. Opt for a table near the window or try the patio when dining in a restaurant.
2. Use a Diffuser and Reflector
Harsh lighting and dark shadows can ruin the look of your food photos. These are inexpensive ways to make the light soft and even on your food. Even if you’re using natural light through a window, diffuse it with a white translucent curtain. You can also get a 5-in-1 reflector.
Always add a reflector to bounce the light and fill in the shadows. To achieve this, you can use a white foam core board, a white napkin, or a sheet of aluminum foil.
3. Check Your White Balance
Another common mistake of newbie photographers is choosing the wrong white balance. It can make your food photos look inedible. For example, imagine a yellow tinge on your fluffy white vanilla ice cream. Not very appetizing, is it? So, set your white balance correctly.
Or shoot in RAW, and edit it in your post-production software.
4. Learn to Work With Artificial Lighting
We agree that nothing is flattering like natural light, but you’re missing out a lot if you limit yourself to shooting only in daylight. So, give artificial lighting a chance. Then, you can take beautiful pictures of your dinners too.
Artificial lighting can be intimidating at first, but you can master it with practice. You can start with continuous lights and add speedlights and strobes later. Read our guide on artificial lighting to learn more.
5. Add a Human Element
Are your food photos looking flat and lacking that punch? Then, it is time to add storytelling to your photography. Go behind the scenes and capture the chef interacting with the food. Or tell the story of how the food connects and brings people together. Families enjoying a picnic or barbecue together can be great for storytelling.
You don’t have to have full portraits of people; just including their hands can have a significant impact on your images.
6. Catch the Action
Movement in food photos can make your viewers hungry. Dripping honey, juice splashes, and falling icing sugar are some ideas to elicit a reaction from your viewers. Of course, they can make your workspace messy, but they are so worth it.
You don’t need any special gear to capture the action, but having a sturdy tripod can help. You don’t need a model to do the activity. You can do it yourself while the tripod takes care of your camera.
7. Try Different Compositions
One of the mistakes beginner photographers make is trying only the familiar angles. So it is always a 45-degree angle. Or, occasionally, the top-down shots. You should be willing to try different ways to capture the essence of your food.
For beverages and burgers, a 15-degree angle is the way to go. On the other hand, pizza looks excellent shot from a top-down angle.
Generally, fill your frame and move closer to your food. But, sometimes, you may find that adding space looks better. So, the thing to remember: feel free to bend the rules. If you’re shooting with your phone camera, try these smartphone food photography angles.
8. Use Fresh Food
Are you using weeks-old vegetables in your food photos? You may feel a little less guilty for not wasting the food, but your food photos will not be attractive. Remember this simple rule: use only the edible items for your food photos.
Fresh food in itself is a perfect model—you don’t need to do much. Brushing oil on your steak to make it look fresh or using glycerine to bring a sheen to your salad may be a quick fix. But, it is misleading your viewers, plus you’re also wasting a lot of food. So instead, go to your nearest farmer’s market, and pick the freshest produce to photograph.
9. Pay Attention to the Accessories
Accessories like plates, bowls, cutleries, and napkins play an essential role in your photos. They can make or break your photographs. So, you need to understand the basics of food styling to make your food look more delicious. Also, you should constantly be on the lookout for exciting accessories.
You should also be careful with pairing the right type of food with accessories. For example, adding a vibrant salad to a printed plate can make the whole scene too busy. Instead, try monocolored soups that are perfect for printed bowls.
10. Showcase the Herbs and Condiments
Want your food photos to have a professional edge? Add a bunch of herbs or a beautiful carafe with oil and vinegar. The sauces, dips, and other sides make your food photos much more interesting than just the plate of food.
There is no rule book to teach you how to place these. You have to just play around with different setups. Check Instagram and other photography websites like 500px to get some inspiration.
11. Respect Your Subject
No matter who prepares the food—you or a chef at a restaurant—a lot of work is involved. Always remember to appreciate the hard work behind preparing your food. Handle the food with care, and use gloves if you can.
Avoid adding pins and needles to your food to make it stand alone. Opt for a toothpick instead. This way, someone can eat the food after you took the pictures. After all, it would be a waste to take a picture of the food and then dump it in the garbage.
Elicit Emotion With Your Food Photos
Food photography is not just capturing what’s on the plate. It is about capturing the essence of the food and telling the story behind it. You must also include the delicious ingredients that go into it and present it suitably.
And, don’t forget the technical details like white balance and proper lighting. Refer back to these tips if you want to level up your food photography game.
