Welcome

Community

Photography Basics

Digital Skills

Digital Darkroom

Portraiture

Top Tips

Camera Reviews

Photo Projects

Resources

Subscribe To This Site

Food Photography Tips

Welcome to my food photography tips page. It can be a lot of fun to set up food and beverages to create images that look as good as they taste. Here are some tricks that professional food photographers use.

Tricks of the Trade

Food Photography Tips 1: Get the Styling Right

The choice of background and props in food photography is an essential part of a successful food image. Appropriate props such as place settings help to set the mood of the photograph. It's the thread that ties everything together. Make sure that the color, texture and style of the props you use in food photography complement the dishes beautifully. You can find more tips on my food photography styling page.

Food Photography Tips 2: Use Stand-Ins Sparingly

Real food tends to look best in photographs, but there are certain food that just won't behave. Here are some examples of stand-ins that professional stylists use:

* With melting ice-cream under hot studio lights, you sometimes have to cheat a little... and use mashed potato with food coloring instead. (You have to be careful though. If your image is used to advertise ice-cream, by law you have to use the ice-cream being sold in your photo!)

* Another problem food is poultry such as chicken and turkey. If you cook it fully, it gets burnt spots, and after it sits out for half a while, it tends to wrinkle, which doesn't look yummy at all. One solution that food stylists use is to cook the turkey for 40 minutes, pin back the skin, then paint it an attractive roast-turkey color, using cocktail bitters and gravy coloring. Needless to say these birds are tossed out after the shoot!

* Try slipping pieces of dry ice under a pile of sizzling sausages or smoked ribs to give them a steamy, fresh-from-the-smokehouse look.

* For coffee, if you're that much of a perfectionist, use an eyedropper with detergent to put little bubbles at the edge of the surface as though the cup was just poured. Another alternative is simply to microwave it for a fresh look.

* Letting cereal get soggy in milk, of course, is a major styling no-no. Cereal holds up better if you put it in Elmer's Glue.

All these clever tricks aside, one of the biggest challenges remains simply to keep the food looking fresh and scrumptious.

Food Photography Tips 3: Choose the Right Lens

Considerations when choosing a lens for food photography are the ability to control depth of field, hence a fast lens, as well as the ability to focus closely.

Various food photographers have their own favorites of course, but good ones to experiment with include:

* a fast macro lens if you want close-ups of the food only;

* a quick wide-angle lens if you prefer to include more of the preparation of food and the kitchen itself;

* if you can afford it, experiment with a tilt-shift lens (they're useful for any studio still life photography);

* for more creative shots, play with a lensbaby.

Food Photography Tips 4: Use the Right Camera Angle

Your job as photographer is to make a two dimensional medium, (a photograph) as three dimensional as possible. If you shoot from directly above so that you can’t see the sides of the food, you eliminate one of the two dimensions left available to create the impression of three dimensions. The lower angle you shoot from, the more height the food will appear to have. Low angles tend to make food look good, but if you go too low though, you won’t be able to see the top of the food, thus eliminating another dimension. Choose an angle somewhere between 10 degrees and 45 degrees above the table surface.

Here are a few tips to play with angles and perspective:

* Walk around the subject to find the very best angle. Don't ever be satisfied with the first placement or view.

* Use your lenses creatively. Whether you are using a prime lens or a zoom lens, you can always get in close to magnify a detail of the food or loosen the shot up to show the food as a component of a larger meal.

* Rotate along all three axes. Some food looks best when you look directly down on it, while other food has a more appealing side profile that can only be seen when shooting across the food at its level. Slightly tilting the camera clockwise or counterclockwise can add some interest to an otherwise dull photo.

* Use the compositional rule of thirds just as you would for landscapes and action shots. Practice following it to learn when you should treat it as a suggestion rather than a rule.

* Take advantage of the fact that your subject can't get tired or walk away. Take your time to zoom, hover, poke and prod to get the shots that please the senses the most.

Food Photography Tips 5: Experiment with Depth of Field

Along with lighting, depth of field tends to be a very trendy component of food photography. A shallow depth of field usually produces a more artsy feel to the image, but make sure that you pick out the plain of focus with great care. Usually, you will want to select an angle of the food that is either at the very front of the plate or somewhere in the first third. Try to choose an area where there is something specific to look at. If there is a pea sitting on a field or rice, focus on the pea. Give the viewer something prominent to look at.

Food Photography Tips 6: Master Food Photography Lighting

Food photography lighting is probably the most important aspect that you have to master for scrumptious looking images. Lighting goes a long way to setting up the mood of the image.

Experiment with different methods of food photography lighting to make the food look as three dimensional as possible. Your real challenge is not so much to learn how to light well, the real challenge is to learn how to see light and what it does to the world around you. Things to look out for when lighting food include finding ways to add as much texture as possible by lighting the food from different angles. Flat light makes for flat, uninteresting photographs.

Food Photography Tips 7: Draw on your General Photography Experience

Apply to food photography all of the other general photographic principles that you already know. Make sure to take advantage of the low cost of experimentation since you’re shooting digitally.

In summary... use a tripod. Aim for good exposure and color rendering. Experiment with your focal point and available apertures. Pay close attention to white balance and color casts; however, I recommend that you always shoot in RAW for maximum control over the end-product. Lastly, have fun with adding some artistic flair to your images through creative post-processing.

If you found this page interesting, make sure to visit the following pages too:

* Food Photography Lighting Tips

* Food Photographer Styling Tips

* Food Stock Photography

* Portrait Photography Tips

* Landscape Photography Tips

(From Food Photography Tips back to Basic Photography Tips Home)

Read, reflect and be inspired. If you find something of value on our food stock photography page, enjoy its gifts and please pass it on to your friends.

SBI!