Food photography is a unique way of showing people just how fantastic, delicious food can look. The pictures should make people desire the food so much that they consider going out and getting it right away.
Since this is something that takes a lot of talent, patience, and perseverance, here are 12 tips for producing compelling images:
#1. Lighting Should Be Used Well
When food is being photographed, the lighting needs to be well placed. Every part of the food must look wonderful at all times. This can be very difficult at times since there will need to be special lights hitting the food object from different angles. This is where it will take time in order to make it look its best.
Investing in special lighting is a necessity. For many photographers, they will want to have a variety of lighting sources. Some of them prefer to use natural lighting as much as possible while others love the special effects that they can get with sources of light that are unusual.
Since this will take time to master, trying various lighting sources is necessary when a photographer wants to capture a certain mood in their pictures. This gives a lot of information about various myths about lighting and people who want to take good food pictures should look at this source.
#2. Height Is Very Important
Making use of props is very important in food photography. Cake stands, different sized glass and other types of stands will allow a person to shoot the food at varying heights. This makes the photo more interesting and can give all kinds of great effects. Finding various heights to create a total look that is both dramatic and exceptional is something that will really capture the audience.
In Amanda, A Cookie Named Desire, people can read all about the various props that can be used in food photography. In fact, using one’s imagination is completely necessary and will allow the photographer to create all kinds of unusual finished photos that are unreal.
#3. Make Use Of Negative Space
When taking pictures of food, people should not be overwhelmed. Negative space can often lead them to want to see more. This is when a person will not zoom in all the way but just enough so that the viewer will really love the picture.
The photographer can play around with what they are doing and decide how much and when they want to zoom in closer for some really detailed work. Mannon Krikke gives lots of great advice on how to use negative space to capture the audience and have them really want to taste the food that the photographer is taking the picture of.
#4. Shutter Speed
Learning and mastering the shutter speed is essential when dealing with food photography. A person needs to become a master at the depth of field that they are dealing with and understand when and how to use their shutter properly. It will allow for some very nice pictures that will show the food in awesome texture and form.
Using the shutter to blur the background is something that is evident in a lot of food photographs. In the article How To Cause Blur In The Background, people will be able to understand just what they need to know about adjusting the shutter speed and a bit about which reasons you would want to do it for.
#5. Angles Are Premeditated
When a person is dealing with food, they want to have their picture angle figured out ahead of time. Looking closely at the food and the details in it will allow a person to get a good grasp of the angle that will be most appropriate for the picture that they are taking. They want to get the best shot possible so that it will allow the viewer to really admire it.
According to Erin Helland, this is the best way to create the most awesome food photography ever. Knowing what angles a photographer is going for is very important and will allow for the rest of the picture to fall into place and look amazing. It will increase the ability of the photoshoot to carry on a flow that will just move right along until the final results are reached.
#6. Using A Tripod
A tripod is very important in food photography. The tripod needs to be controlled by a remote also. Sharp images are what people want to see when they are looking at food items that are placed strategically in a setting that will make them appealing to the masses. With the tripod, a person can capture so much more detail even when there is very low lighting and this is very important to the overall look of the photograph.
This article has a lot of information about tripods that can help any photographer find the right one. It also gives a lot of advice on how to use them too. When using the tripod, it’s important that the photographer use it to help them with their picture but not rely on it to create the mood. It’s just to assist them so that they can make a photograph really capture the essence of the food products.
#7. Balancing The Whites
The white parts of the photograph need to be balanced. For the best pictures, the whites should be very sharp and contrasting with other colors of the food. The shadows should be very noticeable against the white parts of the picture and this can be accomplished through editing.
Taking time to do this is essential to creating the best food photography that creates a sense of desire in the people that will see them. Making sure that the whites are balanced can be tedious and this article goes into more depth on this. It is very difficult for some people to understand and even more so to master. The best thing that they can do is to stand back and take a look at it from another viewpoint.
This helps in food photography in many cases because looking at it from a different aspect can give the photographer an opportunity to add to the flare of the photographer instead of diminishing its effects by either doing too much or too little with the whites of the foods and the background. That is why they need to take their time when they are creating their masterpiece.
#8. The Best Prime Lens
Having a prime lens is another essential to creating fantastic food photography. This may take an investment. It’s important for a person to shop around with various companies so that they are able to find just the right lens for the best price.
A simple search online can produce quite a selection for a photographer to choose from. They will want to take advantage of any sales, promotions, or discounts that they can find. There are plenty of are deals that can be found online for photographers. Getting a great lens is one thing that photographers know that they will need to do and in this article.
They will get the information that they need to make sure that they are going to be able to make their pictures stand out from the rest when they are completing food photography for any reason. Having a really good prime lens is what they want to have at all times in order to make sure that they are able to get the best pictures for their needs.
#9. Using Mirrors
Mirrors can help a photographer do wonderful effects, especially with food. The light hitting off of the mirrors will allow for the high contrast between the various colors of the food. This will also enhance the details so that the photograph is very beautiful and stunning. For many photographers, this is a needed aspect that will assist them in creating the photographs that they want to.
Without using mirrors or some sort of aluminum panel, they won’t be able to get the same kind of effect with the lightings aspects when they are taking the picture. For shooting with mirrors, having a 50mm lens, is important. It will really allow for the excellent contrast to be given when the light is reflecting off of the mirrors. A person will need to make sure that they are placing the mirrors in just the right places to give the best effects that make for a dramatic finished piece.
#10. Background Is Of High Importance
The background that food photography will be taken against is very important. It needs to be well planned out so that it will give the picture the added allure. People should remember that floors make great backdrops too, especially wooden floors. That’s because pictures of food contrast well against the wood and the details can be seen even better than with other backdrops. In SLR Photography, the background is there for a reason.
It can make a picture come to life and many photographers know this all too well. They know that the background can make or break a picture, especially with food. That is why they experiment with various ways in order to make sure that they have the background that is necessary to make the picture stand out as one that other people will admire for a long time to come.
They make sure that the background pays the food in the picture credit and that it not only is there for a reason but also makes the entire photograph have an unreal appeal to it. Backgrounds set the mood and allow for the details of the food to stand out even more.
#11. Telling A Story With The Picture
While planning out the photograph, the photographer will want to tell the viewer a story about the food. It’s important that they use this type of imagery as they are putting together their scene. They will be able to do this when they are concentrating on the various aspects that they want the viewer to take.
All of the five senses should be appealed to while they are setting up their scene so that the viewer understands just how the food tastes, smells, looks, feels, and sounds. It’s so important to get the people involved in the picture and that takes great talent in order for it to accomplish these goals. Jodi in A Happy Hearted Kitchen, says that telling a story is very much what a photographer does when they want to show people their best work.
#12. Being Passionate And Taking Risks
The best food photography comes about when people take the risks that they wouldn’t normally do with their photographs. Sometimes, the best pictures are accidents and they come about when a photographer is trying something new. They shouldn’t be afraid to use various different ways to accomplish their goal of making the food look tantalizing and fabulous in their picture.
Going all out in various ways will show in the finished product and the photograph will be amazing. That is why many food photographers do take risks and try new ways all of the time because of the results that they can get on a regular basis by doing this. Being passionate about the art of photography is important according to Aneta Nowakowska. It can make all of the difference in the world and it will show in the food photography when it is finished.
Conclusion
Now that people can understand the benefits of applying the tips in the article to their food photography, they can really impress people with what they can do. Their talents will be noted and admired by many people. They are welcome to leave comments in the section below and to share the article with other people that they know so that they too can benefit from the information in it.