10 creative Food photography tips to make your mouth water
How to make your clients hungry for your menu
Food photography is quite a specialized genre of photography and can require quite a lot of conceptualizing. This is why we have put together these food photography tips – whether you are an amateur food photographer or you own a restaurant and want to take your own food photographs, then these food photography tips can help you take your average food photos to something that people really want to bite into.
This food photography session with Out and About is a perfect example of how to go about it. Out and About is a cozy child-friendly restaurant in Boksburg, and SC Marketing partners created this rebrand and conceptualised their new look and feel for the restaurant. Samantha contacted me to do the food photography for their menu, website and launch event.
- How to prepare for food photography
- Food photography tips to make your photos stand out
- More about me as a food photographer
- conclusion
How to prepare for food photography
As I mentioned, food photography is quite specialized – there is a lot to consider before you even begin with your food photography photoshoot. Here are a few food photography tips to prepare before the photoshoot.
Food photography tips – preparing for the photoshoot
- Consider the look and feel you want from your food photography – are you looking for warm comfort food vibes or a classy haute cuisine look? knowing how you want the end result to look determines the next point
- Gather props you want to use in your photos. items such as flat lay boards, textured surfaces, small plants, cutlery etc can all be used to dress up your food photography
- What will the lighting be like where you do your photoshoot? Natural lighting really works the best for food photography, but you need to see if there is enough natural light where you will be doing the shoot. if not then you need to improvise with soft artificial lighting that will not change your food colour or create too many highlights and make the food look flat and bland
- Are you prepared to sacrifice a few dishes in the kitchen to get the right shot? This is the reality of food photography – you cannot photograph it as it is going out to a client to be eaten – getting the right shot may take some time and often things need to be added to the meal to make it look even more delicious. This can ultimately change the flavour of the food, and of course it will most likely go cold while the photos are being taken or lose its consistency.
- Are all your staff ready for the shoot? Set a day aside for the photoshoot – normally a Monday is a quiet day or a restaurant may be closed anyway. You need all staff hands on to make sure you get the right shots.
- Do you have a small step ladder or something you can stand on? Food photography often needs to be taken from a top angle which requires a bit of height.
Food photography tips to make your photos stand out
Now that you have all the elements to make your food photographs, its time to start shooting. Getting the basic shots is always important – but then its time to get a little more creative . here are the steps I generally follow with food photography to get these shots spot on.
- Try to set up the food photoshoot for early morning or late evening when the sun is not too harsh and will reduce the highlights
- Find the perfect location to set up your lay flats or backdrops for your food photography. The best is where there is a diffused sidelight that is not too harsh – this creates interesting shadows and gives depth and texture to your photos. Light from the front will just make the photo flat.
- Set up the look you want before the food dish comes out of the kitchen. Conceptualise it and have people ready to remove things, change boards if necessary, or wipe away a smudge on a plate etc if necessary.
- Make sure you know what the colours on the plate are going to be and that you have something that complements this on your background. You focus should still be the food so dont use anything too distracting in your food photography background.
- As the food comes out, try to angle the first photos to creatively catch a shot with any steam, smoke etc that makes for a more dynamic photo
- From there you can go up onto your step ladder and get a shot from the top of your plate of food. Make sure you have the angle at 90 degrees to make sure you get the whole plate and no distortion in the photo.
- For cold food and drinks look for things like bubbles, condensation on a glass, water droplets etc. try to get these small details into your photo as they can really bring the picture to life.
- Then take the dish at different angles – from far away and close up, and focus different parts of the dish. Having more of a gallery to work with will allow you to play with different options for your menu and see what really pops.
- Think outside the box – use things like spices, sprinkles, herbs to add a pop of colour, or use elements in the dish to add something extra. Like the runny yolk in the egg above really adds an extra element to the photograph . doesnt it make you just want to bite into it?
- Finally get an action shot with the food – A slice of pizza? get someone to be taking a slice out of it – it can just be a hand shot, it does not have to be full body – but this can make a photo a lot more engaging . Or a sandwich with a bite out of it, or samoosa being dipped into sauce. All of these are action shots that go beyond your standard food photograph.
BONUS TIP – If you want to make your photos stand out and look professional for your menu or restaurant then hiring a professional food photographer is the way to go. They have normally had a lot of experience with food photography and will know what will work best for your brand and make the most eye-catching visuals for you. Food photography tips are great for social media or everyday photography but for a more professional look, it is best to hire a professional photographer.
Furthermore Hiring a marketing manager to conceptualize your brand and give you a clearer vision of what you want is also a great idea, as the message they convey to your photographer will also be clearer and you are more likely to get the exact photos you are looking for.
More about this utrecht based photographer
my name is Romaen, I am originally from South Africa but I now live in Utrecht the Netherlands. I have a limited background in food photography, but even so, the practical experience of creating food photographs has given me a lot of insight into what and what not to do. That’s why I think these food photography tips are invaluable, and although they may be small adjustments they can make a big difference to your food photography and make it stand out.
Blog Categories Menu
Follow Renphotos
Final Thoughts
These food photography tips are only meant to be a guideline and are in no way set in stone. After all every situation will be different – different lighting, different food types and different overall looks . So it is important to conceptualize your photoshoot beforehand and have a clear idea of what you want to achieve. Then use these food photography tips to enhance your food photos and make them even better. And keep practicing! It will only get better with time.
Please be sure to check out the blog If you want to see more marketing photography
or contact us if you need a food photographer!