Food Photography Techniques and Tips
Today food photographer Jonathan Pollack shares some wonderful food photography tips (and some positively mouth watering photos. Get more tips like this via email.
The food photography techniques in this post are ones that I use in photos I take for both a local food magazine and my wife’s cupcake blog. I’ve broken these techniques down into a few areas that give some ideas and suggestions to help you photograph and showcase your food.
Styling Your Food
I’ve never had the luxury of working with a food stylist; if you aren’t well-known, you will most likely take on this role yourself. While I lack the massive collection of props that a professional stylist would own, I do have at my disposal some place settings, backgrounds, and typically some degree of control over how food is presented. I don’t tend to use stand-ins or other tricks to get the results that I want, but remember that those are available if you need them. Whether I am at home or out shooting at restaurants, I am always challenged to use my on-hand supplies and creativity to create the right mood and draw the viewer in without distracting them. Getting started in styling food is not as difficult as you might think:
- Place solid or simple patterned papers (available at a scrapbooking store) as a background. Figure out what works and does not work in terms of contrast and similarity. Also, make sure that you have enough paper to completely cover the entire field of view.
- Experiment with incorporating serving pieces, whole place settings, napkins, placemats, and tablecloths. Set the table with silverware, drinks, and even candles to convey the right mood. If you’re budget-conscious, you can always find these items at thrift and resale stores, flea markets, and garage sales.
- If you have multiple food subjects available to you (like two dozen cupcakes from which to choose), use only the best examples. A blemish can easily ruin an entire photoshoot.
- Mist fruit, vegetables, and glassware with water to create condensation and make them look more appetizing. Shiny food appeals more than dull food, and anything you can do to make your food shine will make a more interesting photo.
- Incorporate elements from the food you’re shooting or place appropriate condiments in the frame. Slice cucumbers thinly and place them on top of yogurt soup to lend it some freshness. Accompany Thai food with small bowls of sugar, chili, fish sauce, and fresh limes. Some ideas will work, and some won’t.
Food Photography Composition
My natural inclination when I started photographing food was to anchor myself somewhere, pick one zoom length for the entire shoot, center the food in the frame, and look down on it at a 45-degree angle - after all, this is how food appeared when I sat down to eat dinner. What I realized is that it didn’t make for interesting photos. Better shots play with angles and perspective:
- Zoom - with both your lens and your feet - to put the food in its place. Whether you are using a prime lens or a zoom lens, you can always get in close to magnify a detail of the food or loosen the shot up to show the food as a component of a larger meal.
- Rotate along all three axes. Some food looks best when looking directly down on it, while other food has an interesting side profile that can only be seen when shooting across the food at its level. Slightly tilting the camera clockwise or counterclockwise can add some interest to an otherwise dull photo. Take advantage of the low cost of experimentation since you’re shooting digitally.
- Use the rule of thirds. In general, the rule of thirds helps to easily give you compositionally strong photos, and this holds true not only for landscapes and action shots but for food as well. Practice following it to learn when you should treat it as a suggestion rather than a rule.
- Take advantage of the fact that your subjects won’t walk away. While a lot of food stylists say that you only have a short time to work with food after it’s served, that hasn’t been my experience (ice cream being the exception). I always feel that I can walk around, zoom, hover, and poke and prod to get the shots I need.
Remember Established Photography Techniques
You should apply to food photography all of the other general photographic principles that you read about or already know. Aim for soft shadows, good exposure, and good color rendering. Experiment with your focal point and available apertures. Pay close attention to white balance and color casts or consider shooting RAW. Use a tripod if you aren’t going to be stable enough to keep your food from shaking. Finally, don’t be afraid to add some artistic flair to your images through creative post-processing.
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mmm … i’m hungry now.
icanhascupcake?
Thanks for a great article! I was just reading your wife’s blog last night and was engrossed with the photos.
I never thought of “misting” fruits and vegetables before. Good point.
I personally think that this food is one of the toughest subjects to take snaps of. Will give it a whirl with these tips :)
Interesting tips Jonathan. I mainly do food photography and it’s good to pick up some new ideas. I hadn’t thought of using a spray to mist with water!
AC - Please let me know how it turns out!
Sophie - normally when I’m photographing cold drinks they have no problem condensing on their own. Just in case, though, I try to bring along my mister if I know I’ll be shooting cocktails or drinks at a bar.
Good tips! Do you have any tips for taking photos of steamy/hot food? Thanks!
Thanks for the tips, Jonathan. I really like the misting one. My tripod and good natural lighting have been my best friends while shooting food!
These are all wonderful tips and I will definitely use them.
I wish I lived in St.Louis so you could take the pictures for me but, I don’t so I will have do make do with the crappy camera I have. :)
Thank you so much for the tips!
Those photographs are gorgeous and I am so hungry right now. Loving the textures!
I’m a big fan of the idea of using scrapbook paper for backgrounds. It’s something I’ve been doing for a while since you can get packs of 20-25 different solid colours for only a few dollars, and it gives you the ability to change your background colour quickly and easily.
Thanks for these. Since getting a CSA, I’ve started doing more food photography, and these are good tips. Hadn’t thought of the rotating slightly (counter-) clockwise. Great photo example.
Everyone - Thanks for the comments and feedback!
JD - There are a few tricks that come to mind to capture the essence of hot food:
1) Don’t get right up against the food or your lens will completely steam up! While this can yield some interesting effects, your food won’t be clear. Back up and use a longer zoom.
2) Try to do a longer exposure if you have a tripod and you can catch some of the motion of the steam rising. In this case, I would avoid using flash as it will stop the motion that you’re trying to capture.
3) Use a dark background to create some contrast. This may be obvious but I still forget to do it sometimes.
4) Try shooting at food level with a wide-angle lens, keeping the dish in the bottom 1/3 of the frame. This kind of positioning seems like it would lead the viewer up and away from the dish along with the steam.
Very timely tips. Thank you!
I have a weight loss blog that I sometimes share my personal recipes on and I like to take pictures to help show my readers that healthy food doesn’t have to suck…but my pictures end up making them look pretty bad.
I’ll definitely bookmark this and go through these tips again next time I try.
for glasses, and even for fruits and veggies you can use a mixture of glycerine and water to create a lasting mist effect. of course, it renders your product unedible afterwards.
i guess one of the things about food photography is how much you want to style your product — do you want to eat it afterwards or not? :)
A variation on the misting technique: Adding salt to the water will increase its surface tension and make larger drops.
Great article, will take these tips in mind if I have an assignment like that again.
Food photography is fun, the sucky part is you cannot eat the stuff you make pictures of :-(
Great post! Tastespotting.com is one of my favourite sites, in part just because of the often amazing food styling done by the different bloggers. I love food, and seeing it organized stylishly is just great.
Thanks for the great tips! I like to create my own healthy recipes and always take a digital pic of the finished product so I can keep it with my recipe.
Real ice cream is not used in food photography. Mashed potatoes are used instead. For flavored ice cream, the mashed potatoes are dyed.
Actually, I have never heard of anyone using real ice cream in print ads and TV ads.
it also seems like a short field of view is a good idea for food photography, as it helps to really make the subject pop out. Are there exceptions to this rule ?? Nice post, and I’ve found the most important thing is to do TONS of experimentation so you become totally familiar with the camera and techniques… :)
Regarding eating the food after I’ve taken pictures of it: Is this a superstition? Will eating photographed food make me ill? :) Most of the time I don’t destroy any food in the process of taking its picture, and the chefs really want me (and my wife/assistant) to eat up. We oblige.
Dexter - A chef at one point used a tomato where the ice cream wouldn’t be visible but rather would just hold a shape under some other item. I have photographed ice cream before, though. One thing you can do is ice the bowl beforehand and keep it extremely cold during the shoot. You obviously have to work quickly and not use an extreme amount of lighting.
colin - Narrow DOF is typically what you want, but there are always exceptions. The two Canon lenses I use most frequently are f/2.8 zooms that are image stabilized so I have a lot of flexibility.
Great tips. As an amatuer cook AND photographer, I love food photography. I read Food & Wine as much for the photos as for the food. I’m not sure I have any tips to contribute unfortunately, except that I like to use natural light the most.
Here’s my latest food photo, straight off the grill, last weekend:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mark_k_nj/2559059147/
Thank you Jonathan - I want a cupcake!!
Nice tips.
And Mark K - you have me missing NJ! Yummy food, great shots of it too…
Think I’m going to eat the monitor..
Hannah - You mentioned Tastespotting. I found that Tastespotting was a great way to both find inspiration and also get my photos out there. However, as of yesterday it seems that their legal issues made them decide to shutter the site. I’d love to find an alternative!
Mark - Shooting with natural light is ideal but not always possible. A lot of food photographers refuse to use flash because of the fake glow it gives food; I tend to bounce it off the ceiling or walls if I can and then it looks fairly natural.
So those are the secrets to great food photos! I always wondered how they did it - I thought maybe a lot of the food was really wax.
Labour has become plain With these wonderful tips.
Thanks
great tips! i think i know your wife hehehe…
cheers!