Food Photography

Food photography is a very appealing art, but there are a lot of steps that go into making spaghetti from your favorite Italian restaurant look way more appetizing then a snapshot of it on Instagram (with its crappy filter included). The art of food photography is used in advertising, product marketing, and so many other outlets of entertainment. I personally found this topic really interesting because I love to bake! Learning how to take an interesting photo of my not so famous inside out cupcakes has been a goal of mine.

Image from: http://clickitupanotch.com/2015/09/4-dramatic-lighting-tips-for-food-photography/

Taking photos of food is extremely depended on light- just like any good photograph. The key to a crisp looking dish of scrumptious cookies is to have a clean and balanced light bouncing around the object. The more illuminated the plate, with a soft white light, the fresher the food looks. “When trying to achieve a look with dramatic lighting, it’s actually much better to find a single, directional light source. I do this by closing all the curtains in my house & then opening one single shade.”

Images from: http://www.asweetpeachef.com/food-photography/food-photography-tips/

Angles are also important. Depending on how you choose to portray your meal different angle of a shot can change a plate from a sultry dinner course in a fine dining restaurant, to a light puff pastry in a cute bakery. “Especially with food photography, shooting from a lower angle can create visual interest in the food. Shooting from a lower angle enables you to see the thickness of the food, different layers and the sides of the food. This technique also mimics the perspective we all have when sitting at a table about to eat food, so it makes sense this would be an appealing angle. Shooting from an even lower angle and looking up to the food creates more of a grand presence as well.  Shooting from above, on the other hand, or from a “bird’s-eye perspective,” works very well with food such as soups, mashed potatoes, and cookies — food types that aren’t very interesting from the side and may even look like mush. This angle allows you to see inside deep bowls and maybe even get more into the shot for the composition to tell a story.”

Image from: http://www.asweetpeachef.com/food-photography/food-photography-tips/

Overall food photography can be a really fun way to play around with props, lighting, angles, and a million other things. It’s an interesting way to get creative with your photography, and make someone jealous about what’s on your plate.

-mbennett

http://clickitupanotch.com/2015/09/4-dramatic-lighting-tips-for-food-photography/

http://digital-photography-school.com/food-photography-an-introduction/

http://www.asweetpeachef.com/food-photography/food-photography-tips/