Food photography is an art form that requires a lot of skill and patience. With the right techniques, you can take stunning photos of food that will make your mouth water.
Here are some tips to help you get started on your journey to becoming a master food photographer!
Things to Consider
Lighting
Lighting is the most important aspects of food photography. Bad lighting can make even the best photos look awful!
The best light for food photography is natural light/diffused window light.
Backlighting and sidelighting, referring to the location of your light source on your subject, are two of the most widely-used lighting techniques for food photography, as well as great places to start.
Both backlighting and sidelighting can add dimension and drama to your images—it's just a matter of experimenting with both until you find what works best for your particular shot!
Backlighting is when the light source is placed behind the subject, creating a bright, glowing effect. The downside to this technique is that it can create strong shadows and contrast, and make areas of the photo look washed out.
Sidelighting involves placing the light source at a side angle to the subject, which helps create more subtle shadows and highlights. It's a great way to bring out the nuances of your food's texture and shape.
Artificial lighting can be used, but it should be soft and not too harsh, unless you’re using a cucoloris. Avoid using overhead lights or lamps as they can create unflattering shadows and coloring on your subject. Using something like a softbox can provide a great overall light with few shadows.
The Kelvin scale measures the color of light, and there are visible differences across yellow & white light color temperatures. A candle is around 2000K while daylight typically stands at 5500-6500K – using artificial light with color temp adjustment can help you in your lighting decisions.
Props and Styling
Props and styling are key elements in creating a beautiful food photograph. Choose props that complement the dish you’re photographing, such as plates, utensils, napkins, etc.
Be sure to focus on what story you’re trying to tell with the scene. For example, cups of coffee and a newspaper surrounding a slice of breakfast cake, vintage silverware with a rustic dish, try to match the vibe of the food and situation you’d be eating this food.
It’s good to consider neutral colors for plating since you want to ensure the food is the star of the show. Bright colored or patterned plates can be distracting, but I have seen successful photos using them.
It depends on your subject - a bowl of tomato soup can look great in festive bowl since tomato soup is one dimensional. A bowl of minestrone might look best in a solid color bowl since there are lot of veggies and ingredients you want to show off.
You can also use items like flowers or herbs to add color and texture to your image. You can find some great realistic fake flowers/herbs to keep on hand, but the real thing is always best!
When styling the dish, pay attention to composition and balance; try to create a pleasing arrangement with the ingredients so that they look appetizing in the photo and visually balanced.
Composition
Experimenting with different angles and heights when taking photographs can help to create interesting, dynamic shots of your food. Consider shooting from the side, high above or below the dish. Play around with various distances to determine which looks best and adds more detail to the image. Try adding some movement by playing with curves.
Using the golden ratio for food photography is a great way to create balanced and aesthetically pleasing compositions.
The golden ratio is based on the mathematical Fibonacci sequence of 1:1.618. In food photography, this translates to having a central focal point with two thirds of the image being taken up by your main subject and one third by other elements of the composition such as props or ingredients. This technique also creates a sense of depth in the shot, adding interest and detail to your photos.
The golden spiral is another way to look at it; the photo creates a spiral shape that is balanced & pleasing to look at, with the tight spiral on the object of focus. When using the golden spiral for food photography, begin by placing your main subject in the center and work outwards, spiraling away from the focal point with other elements such as props or ingredients. This subtle yet effective technique adds visual interest and balance to your photos, creating eye-catching shots worthy of any food blog.
Drawing straight lines across the image to connect objects in the photo can also draw the eye in and lend to a equalized feel.
Here, you can see I was able to achieve various forms of composition with these Cadbury Cream Cupcakes.
Camera Settings
When it comes to camera settings for food photography, there are no hard-and-fast rules; it all depends on what kind of effect you’re trying to achieve with your image.
Generally speaking, though, to give you some idea of settings, you should use a low ISO (100-400) for maximum sharpness and detail; a wide aperture (f/2.8-f/5) for shallow depth of field; and a fast shutter speed (1/125-1/250) for crisp images with minimal motion blur.
Once you get to playing around with settings, you’ll find creative ways to go outside of those ranges.
Don’t focus too much on having “the right camera” if you’re just getting started. I see this concern pop up a lot. Get whatever DSLR camera you can that suits your budget, just be sure it allows you to adjust the shutter and aperture settings manually.
Planning
Having the right mindset & plan when taking photos is just as important as having the right equipment and technique. Before taking pictures, take some time to think about what kind of mood or feeling you want your images to convey; this will help guide your decisions when shooting and editing your photos later on. It’s also important to have patience; don’t rush through the process or be afraid to experiment with different angles and perspectives until you find something that works for you!
Editing
Editing is an essential part of creating beautiful food photographs; it allows you to tweak colors, contrast levels, brightness levels, etc., so that your images look their best before sharing them.
There are many great editing software programs available today—such as Adobe Photoshop—that offer powerful tools for making adjustments quickly and easily without compromising quality or detail in your images.
I use Adobe Lightroom and have been really happy with it. It’s user friendly and less complex than Adobe Photoshop. Capture One is also a fantastic option; this program has extensive features as well!
Conclusion
Food photography is an art form that requires skill and patience but can yield stunning results if done correctly! By following these tips—including proper lighting techniques, thoughtful styling choices, appropriate camera settings, mindful mindset shifts during shooting sessions, and careful post-processing—you’ll be well on your way towards creating beautiful food photographs that will make everyone drool!
Creative Tips
Here are my top tips for when you are taking photos:
If you’re going to invest in one thing (aside from your camera), it should be lighting. My whole world changed when I bought my continuous light and I was able accomplish SO much more because I didn’t have to wait until the weekends (or good weather) to take my photos. I could take photos & video at 10pm at night and they look just as good as if I were next to a window.
Watch what you are wearing. Do not wear clothes that are brightly colored! I’ve made this mistake too many times. If you’re wearing a red shirt, then you will have red reflecting back on your subject if you’re standing close to it, and it will impact your photo.
Play your favorite music to get in the zone - I do MUCH better work when I’m listening to music.
If you’re experiencing a frustration with your setup, I gaurentee there’s a tool for that! The list below includes so many gadgets that have solved HUGE workflow problems for me. If something about your setup is causing you frustration, do the research on how to resolve it!
Look for inspiration! If you’re making banana bread, research some images of banana bread to get inspired on how to set up composition, lighting, etc. (please dont copy exact images though!) I can’t tell you how many times I would do a shoot and take over 150 images just to end up with a few that I liked. You don’t always need to reinvent the wheel.
One of my other favorite tools is a remote that activates the shutter for my camera. It’s a necessity in my mind 🙂
When you’re taking a set of photos, try to get a mix of both horizontal and vertical orientations.
For vertical images: the majority of users access your food blog from their phone. Vertical images take up more space and look way better on a mobile display. This format also works great for pins on Pinterest and other mobile apps/sharing sites.
Horizontal photos are also great for social media; try leaving in some open space around your subject so that they can be easily cropped into a 1:1 square format.
Photo shoots can take longer than expected, so always leave plenty of time for yourself! Don’t try to squeeze in too much at once. For me, I can really only handle 1 recipe a day. There have been times when I’ve done 2, but the quality just doesn’t come out as good.
My Must Have Equipment
If you’re shopping for some new equipment, here is a list of my favorite, can’t-live-without items!
Ring Light (for quick, small, social media projects)
Bounce Cards (I have 3!)
Food Photography: From Snapshots to Great Shots by Nicole Young
Master Your Mindset
If you’re just starting out with food photography, my biggest piece of advice is to be kind to yourself and have patience! For me, it took a lot of research, education, and practice to get to a level that I’m happy with.
Remember: food photography is an art and we don’t ever reach an ‘end point’ when it comes to mastering it! There will always be something new to learn, room for improvement, or a technique/style you haven’t tried before. Allow yourself to enjoy the journey and don’t get too caught up in comparisons 😉
Hopefully this gave you some starting points when it comes to food photography! Since this is such a big topic, I will be getting more in depth on things in future newsletters - hope to see you there!
This page contains affiliate links. I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you, if a purchase is made through the link. All opinions remain my own.