52 Tips for Fabulous Food Photography
Jun 20th, 2010
Have you ever wondered how photographers can make food look so good? It's a fine art but that doesn't mean you can't learn how to do it too. Read on to find 52 delicious tips for food photography.
General
These are a few general tips for food photography.
- Shoot quickly: Photograph food quickly after cooking so that it retains its original look.
- Practice often: The best way to improve your photography skills is to constantly practice them.
- Take a lot of photos: If you're shooting digital, don't hesitate to take several photographs to be sure you get the look you want.
- Choose the best: Choose your one best shot instead of three.
- Search for inspiration: Look in recipe books and magazines to find ideas for your own food photography.
Setting & Background
These tips will help you set the scene.
- Choose a distraction-free setting: Use a simple, plain background or tablecloth.
- Set the stage before the food: Use temporary props to get your shot ready so you can switch it out quickly when the food is ready.
- Pick up interesting dishes: Any time you're in a store that sells dishes, take a look around to find something interesting.
- Use a variety of backgrounds: Use art papers, cards, and other backgrounds with variety.
- Consider props: Add interesting elements like a napkin or piece of silverware for interest.
- Create simple setups: Don't over think the setups of your shots-let the food shine.
- Photograph the process: Take pictures of food in progress.
- Use plates with contrasting color: Plates with color contrasts will help your food stand out.
- Use a plain white background: When in doubt, use a plain white background.
- Remove clutter: Double check for distracting background clutter like silverware and people who do not add to the photograph.
- Use a wide aperture: Blur the background in your photograph with a wide aperture.
Light
Play with lighting using these tips.
- Photograph using natural light: Try to shoot next to a large window with diffused light.
- Bounce your flash: Bounce the flash off of your ceiling or wall to better balance the light and avoid harsh shadows.
- Use directional light: Sometimes food needs back or side light.
- Avoid flash if possible: Flash photography can be too harsh for food, so do everything you can to stay away from it.
- Use reflectors: Reflectors like bright white posterboard can help throw light back onto your subject.
Settings
Consider using these camera setting tips for food photography.
- Pay attention to white balance: Adjust your white balance for what you're shooting.
- Shoot in RAW: RAW will leave you with more data to work with in Photoshop later.
- Bump up the ISO: Use a high ISO to keep your shutter speeds high while getting enough light.
Gear
These are great tips for finding the best food photography gear.
- Invest in an SLR: Give yourself the opportunity to fine-tune settings and quality with an SLR camera, preferably digital.
- Use a tripod: If you're trying to achieve natural light without a whole lot of it, use a tripod instead of trying to hold still.
- Go for speed: Lenses with a fast shutter speed can help you deal with low natural light.
- Get a macro lens: Be sure to get a lens that can give you macro capability.
Details
These tips will help you fine-tune the details.
- Use a clean serving plate or bowl: Make a nice photo fantastic by carefully choosing your serving plate.
- Allow for honest details: Some details like light rust can offer warm appeal.
- Warm colors increase appetite: If you want to spark hunger, focus on warm colors.
- Use a color wheel: With a color wheel, you can better pay attention to how colors work together in a photograph.
Styling & Composition
Use these tips to better style and compose your food photos.
- Look at balance: Pay attention to the balance of colors and shapes in the composition.
- Create a variety of samples: Bake a batch of cookies and pick out the absolute best for your photograph.
- Cut it up: Show what's inside-crumble it up, or cut into it to show details and interest.
- Leave a frame of reference: Make sure you have a frame of reference like a fork or glass rim so the viewer knows what they're looking at.
- Use vegetable oil: Add some glisten to your shots by brushing food with vegetable oil.
- Don't forget garnishes: Make food more inviting with creative garnishes.
- Use asymmetry: Don't just plop everything in the middle-add interest with asymmetry.
- Get low: Avoid taking food photographs looking down-get closer to the food's level.
- Beware of messes: Keep an eye out for drips, splatters, and stains.
- Go macro: Highlight the textures and details to add interest to your photos.
- Try different angles: Move around until you're satisfied with the composition.
Cheating
These little tricks will help you cheat your way into beautiful photos.
- Use microwaved cotton balls: Simulate steam with the help of microwaved cotton balls soaked in water.
- Save cake with hairspray: Hairspray can give new life to dry cake.
- Use a blowtorch: You can brown the edges of meat with the help of a blowtorch.
- Mist with water: Make food look more enticing, shimmery, and dewy by misting it with water.
- Polish meat: Apply brown shoe polish to raw meat to stimulate roasting.
- Put motor oil on pancakes: Motor oil won't soak as quickly as syrup will.
- White glue for milk: White glue can be used instead of milk for cereal, pie, and fillings.
- Try different materials: Don't be afraid to substitute mashed potatoes for ice cream.
- Photoshop: Crop, change the color balance, and remove crumbs using Photoshop.
