Food photography requires three things above all: patience, practice and a practical approach.
Setting yourself apart from the crowd with your typical crowd-pleasing favorites isn’t an easy task in an arena as inundated as the food industry. While Plate-Forms offers professional food photography services, here are a few tips to get Michelin -worthy photos of your food!
Toothpicks!
Our food photographer actually employs a lot of creativity when it comes to making their subjects (i.e., the food) look their best. While you don’t have to go all out and start super-gluing your pizza to its plate, you can definitely use toothpicks for certain dishes like sandwiches, or really anything you want to look more uniform and neat.
Olive oil
A nice coat of olive oil can entice the eye, especially for food items which are touted as “succulent” and “juicy.” If your sirloin doesn’t seem quite as juicy on camera as it does in real life, give it a helping hand and a few drips of olive oil.
Natural Lighting Looks Best
Try to shoot your food in the daytime in natural light. This can help avoid the food from appearing washed out or too dark on camera. Direct sunlight should be avoided, however, as it can cast harsh shadows around the food.
Display Against A Neutral Background
The food should be the star here, so make sure you’re photographing your food against a neutral background, nothing too loud or patterned as this distracts from the overall presentation.
Avoid Filters
But if you must use one, the top Instagram filter for food pictures is Skyline based on how many likes those food items received. But, the second most popular? Was no filter…so focus on the beauty of your food and not a fancy filter. For the most part, people just want to see what they’re getting.
With tons of different options for showcasing your awesome food pics, we understand running a restaurant and being your own creative and photography team is tough. But coming into the new year, maybe leave some of that budget for a photographer. This is one of the best return on investment options you can spend on, and these images will last years and years on print, digital and current/future social networks.
