Food photography is professional food photography for various purposes (restaurant and bar menus, advertising or simply for personal use). We’ll give you some simple tips to improve your photos. Here are some tips for creating delicious food photos for Instagram posts or a cooking menu, as well as a photo magazine:

Tips for creating an appetizing photo:

  • Unless you’re in a professional photography studio, it’s best to shoot in natural light, as artificial lighting adds an unwanted yellow cast and can make the photo look unnatural.
    It is recommended to avoid too bright light – because the bright areas can cross, and the shadows can be harsh.
  • Drinks are best photographed against the sun or light – this way their color will be favorable.
  • How to add contrast or depth to a frame? You can use a sheet of dark or black paper – it will absorb the additional light reflections directed at the dishes. This method will also help to suppress a too bright background from the main subject – food.
  • The choice of background for photography plays a very important role – the more contrasting the food, the simpler the background should be. You can add a napkin or tablecloth as an accent to pastel dishes and drinks.
  • A universal background for almost any meal is a wooden board in various textures and colors.
  • For a successful color scheme, you can choose colors of different shades – so the photo will automatically look stylish.
  • It is important to choose the angle first and then think about the composition of the shot. Foods that require height are best photographed from the side. It is better to photograph flatter food from the top point – this way the photo will show the whole volume.
  • You need to know for what purposes the photo will be used. The format of the photo will depend on it – horizontally or vertically.
  • For more atmosphere, you can add superficiality to the photo – carelessly scattered flour and a broken egg will indicate that the pastry was made recently, while garlic and onion peels will allow you to feel the aroma of recently cooked food.
  • It is better not to use glossy dishes or glass in the photo – they will distract attention from the dish and create unnecessary reflections. The ideal solution would be to use frosted glass and frosted cutlery.

Photographing food is not difficult, but there are some nuances. Photographing food without professional lighting can still get a great shot as long as you follow all the rules of food photography. Taking food photos in a studio will make your life much easier because all the angles and light will be chosen by a professional photographer.