How To Be the Ultimate Food Photographer

There’s a certain kind of beauty that goes into capturing the best food photos. Thinking about the uniqueness of the dish can be an effective way of highlighting the different elements. But it’s not as easy as it seems.

Whether you’re already a food photographer or aspiring to be one, remembering these tips can help your photos stand out in becoming the ultimate food photographer. Let’s dig in to these food photography camera tips:

Angles

There are only so many different angles to choose from when photographing your dish. Think about the shape, the height or the “wow” factor of your dish when choosing the right angle.

Always keep in mind you have control over how the food is presented, allowing you to try the best angles that work for you. Overhead shots are great for pizza and pies whereas sideshots are preferable for a stack of pancakes.

Textures

You may not notice it, but the background and props used in food photos can either make or break it. A white plate, wooden utensils or mason jars are just a few key props you can use to effectively contrast your image and elevate your photo.

Surrounding your dish with ingredients could suggest what was used in creating the dish. Placing glasses or fabrics around the meal can indicate the origin of your dish and give your photo more context.

Composition

With your chosen background and props, effective composition will revert the audience’s attention to the highlight of the dish. Compositional techniques often used include layers and lines of props to frame the subject of the dish.

Utilizing negative space to your advantage will help guide the audience’s eye to the main subject. Even offsetting objects from the frame can give your photo a fresh perspective.

Light

Shedding the perfect amount of light allows for pure brightness and clarity of your photo. Since the audience is easily attracted to the brightest part of your image, you must ensure that the brightest part is the subject of your dish, not the props.

A thin white sheet placed over direct sunlight is a helpful tool in softening those shadows and diffusing direct sunlight. Black cards can also be used to block light from your props and create darker-styled images. It’s important to remember that the use of natural light in your images can be easily modified or enhanced later on.

In addition to these food photography camera tips, some of the best shots can also be captured with your iPhone. Use these iPhone tips to nail the ultimate food shot:

Overhead Shots

If you’re not sure what angle is best to shoot from with your iPhone, you can’t go wrong with an overhead shot. Shooting from this angle will not only focus on the main dish, but the aesthetic of the whole spread of the table. Make sure to keep an eye out for those shadows when shooting an overhead shot by using natural light.

Exposure

Once you secure your angle, tap and hold on your focal point to focus your shot.  Then adjust your exposure by dragging the yellow sun symbol up or down. It’s better to underexpose the photo and then brighten it when editing.

Zoom

It is best to avoid zooming into any image with your iPhone. Zooming in often results in the loss of quality and clarity of your photo. 

Edit

Use any of these iPhone editing tools to enhance the colors and exposure of your photo. Try to avoid over-saturating the colors in your image and making it look overly-edited and unnatural. Instead, use editing tools to enhance the natural colors in the photo.