10 tips for food photography & styling

 

These are a few of my top tips geared for people starting out taking pictures and styling food. This article was first published on Yuppiechef’s Spatula magazine.

If you want to take a really good photograph of food, you have take a number of factors into consideration.

1. mastering the technical aspects of the camera
2. understanding light and how it affects your subject 
3. the overall mood you want to create through your props and styling 
4. the presentation of the food

Much like any creative endeavor, some skills can be mastered, but for the most part it is an art and personal expression. As you practice it, you will find your own style and voice.

 1. Learn as much as you can about your camera

This is the more technical aspect of the process and can easily be learned. I am a self taught photographer and have read numerous books and tutorials on the subject. I continue to read as there is always room for improvement. You can find everything you need online. Just keep looking, reading and learning. Read your camera manual. Shoot in manual mode if you are not already, as this is the only way you will learn about setting up your exposure and having control over your shot.

2. Understand light 

Start developing an understanding of light and the relationship it has on your subject. Play around trying to find the best light you can in the place where you shoot. I only shoot using natural light as a source because I prefer it. Often this may require taking away some light which can easily be achieved with scrim, sheets, or net fabric. Consider how much shadow you want in your shot, it can often give a lovely 3 dimensional feel to your image.

You can achieve excellent results using artificial light and can set it up so that it mimics natural light. It can also be more convenient If you are not able to shoot in the day.

Never use a build in flash (unless perhaps you filter it or deflect it).

3. The mood of the shot

Decide what your overall style and mood is that you want to create and work towards composing that. Do you want it to be casual or formal? Do you want it to be dark or light? I find that the seasons and the type of food will often dictate how you present it. So for example if its winter and you are shooting bowl of thick comforting soup, you may prefer to set it up so that it looks warm and cozy vs. in a very white and ‘cool’ environment. If its summer and you are shooting fruit and ice cream, you may want to show it looking light and refreshing.

4. Subject placement 

Decide what the focus area of the shot is and place your subject in it. Use the rule of thirds as a guide. You can either have it centered or it can look more interesting off centre. Don’t pull the eye away form the subject through props that are bold and stand out, have a clear focus area and ensure that your food is always the primary focus. Decide where you want the viewers eyes to go, and direct them to that area. So if the best part of the food is the topping, make sure when you shoot it, that the topping is the focus area. If you want the inside of a dish to be the focus, ensure that you make that part the focus area of the shot. 

5. Depth of field

This is the amount of subject matter that retains focus. A photograph with a shallow depth of field has a small part of the subject in focus and the background out of focus. This creates a lovely mood and can work really well with food photography. Medium depth of field has more of the subject in focus. A deep depth of field has everything in focus. Think about the food you are shooting and what sort of depth would suit it. My advise is to mix it up.

 6. Choose your perspective and angle

How close up do you want to go in on the food? Do you want show a whole scene or just a specific part? A lot of this will depend on the type of food what you want to show. Some food can look very good close up, and other food looks better shot from a bigger distance.

You can add a lot of interest by adjusting your angle too. Think of which shows off the food the best :

1. Overhead angle
2. 45 degree or 3/4 angle (varying degrees of this)

For example a pizza looks best shot from above and food with intricate layers will always look better shot side on to see these.

 7. Plan your props and garnishes 

Think of the recipe and ingredients in it and use these elements as garnish to make the picture more interesting and tell a story about the food. Choose the right colour props to match the food – contrasting colours work well. Build your shot, move things around, compose and add to it. Use very fresh herbs as garnish or small leaves, whole spice etc. Keep food looking fresh with a spritz of water or a drizzle of oil.

Think of ways to make the picture more interesting to look at and choose props that are linked in to the style of dish you are presenting. Ensure the props do not dominate the food – just like make up on a fashion model, they are there to enhance. You could start with a basic selection and white crockery which always looks good for food. Colour does add vibrance and life. Vintage cutlery, crockery and textured backgrounds make the image more interesting to look at and helps make it richer to look at vs just white linen.

 8. Colour

 

The colour wheel shows which colours work together and which are opposite to each other

Sometimes contrasting colours work really well to make food pop out. Play around and explore what colours look good next to each other. Look at food photographs that you like and notice the colours that are used.

9. Create texture in your food

At the end of the day the food is the most important part of the food shot so you need to make sure it looks delicious and has big appetite appeal. Using herbs as garnish – from ingredients in the recipe is an easy way to lift the look of a dish and add colour. It is important that the food does not look flat and lifeless. Smaller plates allow it to look fuller.

Give the food height if it needs it and add some texture. Salt, pepper, other spices sprinkled on / around the food works really well to achieve this. This can be added on at the end, like croutons on the soup, a generous dollop of cream, or a dusting of cocoa or sugar on a dessert.

 10. Practice

The only way to become better at anything is to practice and then practice some more. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes, its through the mistakes that we learn the most.

My book is available for purchase on Yuppiechef.co.za

To track where else my book is sold and any other news on it, visit my Drizzle and Dip Book page.

I look forward to connecting with you again in the future.