Food photography is a flourishing photo niche giving photographers the opportunity to profitably diversify their portfolios. If you are looking for the ingredients that make the most mouth-watering photography recipe, you’ve come to the right place! Learn how to shoot and promote your photos in 10 easy steps. So, here are our food photography tips:

Step 1. Fresh or Cooked?

Selecting ingredients that best meet your food photography ideas is the first thing to consider. Be it fresh or cooked, try to avoid blandly colored ingredients or dishes.  Food photos are all about attractive shapes and appetizing colors. Once you’ve picked up the ingredients, find the perfect geometry.

Step 2. Spice it Up!

Next, you might think about adding more flavor to your food shots. Simply introduce some spices into the stage. Spices photos can be spectacular if you have the perfect eye for them. Don’t forget the basics: light, color and composition.

Step 3. Less is More

One of the mistakes beginners tend to make when it comes to shooting food photography, is using too many props. The key to best food shots is using no more than three elements. Avoid a cluttered background as photographing your kitchen is not the case here. Go for fine crockery, stylish accessories like vintage tablecloths or cutlery, and fresh ingredients or spices.

Step 4. Shoot in Natural Light

Just to highlight again how important lighting is for sharp results, I would say that light is for photography what water is for fish or oxygen for humans. Food photography requires a powerful lighting source, be it the sunlight or a flash. I would recommend using the first variant to get that realistic touch that tickles your appetite.

Step 5. Capture the Whole Process

Take before cooking, while cooking and after cooking shots so that you’ll have plenty of options to select from. Sometimes uncooked dishes are more eye-catching than final results.

Step 6. Make it Look Professional

To make your food shots look professional, you may consider using a more professional equipment beside your digital camera. Holding it still is essential that is why I recommend letting a tripod do the work for you. Also, a reflector can save you from moving around the house with the plate in search for best light sources.

Next, try out different effects and angles. Here’s what I find to be the ideal options for food photography:

• Close-up Shooting

Surprise your viewer with close-up details. Look after crispy or juicy textures, steamy dishes and yummy crumbs. Try not to zoom in. It is better to get your camera closer for a better contrast and coloring.

• Blurry Background

Use longer lens to get a blurrier background so that your focused subject appears more distinct.

• Photographing with a Wide Depth of Field

Broaden the focus of your image to sharply capture a greater area.

Step 7. Make Adjustments

Not all your food photos will be magazine-like shots. Food photography is not as easy as it may appear. If you encounter shooting issues such as blurry images, or unnatural colors, play with settings until you achieve the result you want. If, for instance, the light source is not satisfying enough, you’ll need to make some manual adjustments such as increasing your shutter speed and opening your aperture more.

Step 8. Learn from the Best

Search out for the most delicious food photography projects online. Not all of us are professional food photographers. That is why learning from the best in business is not only normal, but also advisable. There are plenty of websites and books on the topic you can have a look at.

Personally, I enjoy following up the work of award-winning photographers. Penny de Los Santos is one of them. Visit her website and check out her amazing portfolio. You can also get some useful food photography tips from here.

Step 9. Search for Creative Ideas

If you want to add something special to your portfolio, think about food time-lapse videos. It is true that this kind of projects are time-consuming, but otherwise are worth trying!

Also, consider food landscapes. Sometimes it is good to capture imperfections, especially when it comes to food. As long as you are not shooting for a stylish magazine, go wild and create a moment out of messy scene.

Step 10. Promote Your Food Photography

If you have a photography blog, why not enrich it with a page on food photography? Entice your viewers with a story. Food photography is also about different cultures and the way we relate to what we eat from diverse perspectives. Write about your projects as naturally as you can. Share your experience and connect to your viewers both visually and verbally.