Photo by @foodfaithfit via Unsplash

Lighting First

Lighting is everything in photography. And when done properly, lighting will give your photo the professional look and feel you’re aiming for. With food photography, light from the sides or front is the best as these are the area you want to highlight. Use natural light from a window or softbox for days where the sun is not cooperating, these are perfect for at-home DIY shoots.

Shoot In Manual Mode & Raw

Understanding manual mode and knowing how to shoot in RAW are huge contributors to your photography in making them look professional. Having control of your camera is important in food photography as it will help increase your depth of field as well as give your more creative control. As for shooting in RAW, it increases the quality of your and editing abilities as it provides more data vs a JPEG. Interested in learning more about these classes? Check out our Virtual Photo 101 Class where we go over these camera functions as well as many more!

Photo by @brookelark via Unsplash

Photo by @brookelark via Unsplash

Spends Time On Your Backdrop

Backdrops give your photo a great composure as well as sets the mood of the photo. As this is a key part of the image take your time working on your backdrop and composing it so it fits your colour scheme and the food you will be featuring. Some great objects or ideas you could use are a wooden cutting board, parchment paper, linens, burlap, bristle board, ceramic floor tiles, or paint some wood for some great textures!

Change Your Camera Angles

During your photoshoot, most people set the tripod up and are afraid to move around the image and usually only shoot in one spot. Try using a prime lens and moving around the image instead of zooming in out and you will turn out with some great shots. Angles we suggest trying is an above shot, level with the food, right and left angle.

Photo by @miracletwentyone via Unsplash

Photo by @jeztimms via Unsplash

Get Up Close And Personal

It is always great to have some close-up shots from every shoot, it may not be exactly what you are looking for but is great to use as social media content, infographics, and backgrounds for your website or advertisements.

Clean vs Messy Platting

Having your plate/backdrop be clean or messing depends on who you are shooting for and what type of food you are photographing. If you are shooting for a restaurant, they typically prefer clean platting and crisp lines as they like to keep their content clean and professional. But, if you were shooting for a bakery they usually prefer to show that they are fun and creative through their content. This also goes hand in hand with the type of food restaurants provide. For example, main course dishes are usually photographed on a clean plate and display what this dish looks like after ordering. No one wants to see a half-eaten salad on their menu. As for deserts the best part is seeing what is inside and are known to be messy like the cookie shown in the image.

Photo by @foodess  & @shootdelicious via Unsplash

Photo by @biglaughkitchen  via Unsplash

Use Depth Of Field

A shallow depth of field is where you adjust your aperture to let in more light resulting in the foreground and the background to become blurred. This will help emphasize your subject and help draw attention away from your background and to the delicious food in frame. This is extremely useful when you have multiple versions of the food in one shot, take cupcakes, for example, you want one of the cupcakes to be in focus and the rest to become a part of your background as they are all the same. You can learn this technique as well as many others with our Photo 101 class!

Watch Your White Balance

With food photography, photographers tend to use a lot of shades of white and/or black in their image to make the food pop. It is important to correct your white balance first as it can result in your image ending up with a blue or yellow tinge to it. These tones can be fixed in Lightroom afterwards but is much easier to fix beforehand. If you are looking to understand your white balance and taking control of your camera join our Virtual Photo 101 Class and master manual mode.

Photo by @emilianovittoriosi via Unsplash

Photo by @miracletwentyone via Unsplash

Minimize Clutter & Fill Your Frame

Your photo can easily become cluttered and look unappealing to your viewers. Try keeping it simple and easy while filling your frame with the main dish, not the other additives around it. This will help compose your image and draw your viewers’ attention.

Use A Reflector & Tripod

A reflector and tripod are key for food photography, as the reflector will give you the option of highlighting specific areas in your image as well as give an overall great exposure. While the tripod will give you pin-sharp images as well as allow you to focus more on the food and less on holding the camera.

Photo by GTA Photography Classes

Photo by @chuklanov via Unsplash

Take An Online Class

Where you are new to food photography and looking to learn more or are an advanced shooter and need a refresher on the basics, an online course is a great idea! Join our variety of 5-star rated Virtual Photography Classes, including Food Photography where we go over tips and tricks like these as well on how to do your DIY shoot, or Photo 101 return back to the basics and master manual mode.