Basic Food Photography Tips

March 11, 2011 | 17 Comments

Food Photography

Food Photography has a big role to play because we feast with our eyes first.

Nowadays, it is very common to see people taking photographs of the food before they start eating, and most of them are probably not food bloggers. Many people like to take food photographs with their iPhone and compact cameras to share with their friends on facebook and personal blogs.

I will be blogging a series of Food Photography Tutorials to share my experience, and I hope that it will help you to gain a better insight on how to take a good photo of food to make everyone hungry.

Here is my guide on how to take food pictures:

Since this is the first post, I will not be going into the boring technical aspects. Instead, I will be touching on some of the basic food photography tips. These will help even those taking photos on your compact camera or iPhone improve your food photography.

My subsequent Food Photography Tutorials will be more in-depth and will cover topics like: a) do you need a Dslr to take good food pictures b) food photography equipments and lens c) things to look out for when taking food photographs in a restaurant d) advance food photography tips e) food photography post production (photoshop), and f) whatever I think will be useful for food photography.

#1 Understand your camera.

I will probably be doing another post to explain more on this. For now, just know that it is very important to know your camera well (be it a Dslr, compact or even a phone camera) so that you can maximise the full potential.

Food Photography Tips

#2 Visualise the picture in your mind.

The above photo was originally just a plain-looking chocolate cake. But right from the start, I knew how I wanted the photo to turn out, so I constructed this final look step by step. Of course, this is only when you have the luxury of playing around with the food. If you are taking a photo whilst having dinner in a restaurant, there will definitely be constraints.

Nonetheless, it is still very important to visualise the final look in your mind. You must know how you want the photo to look like on the computer screen, and work towards taking that perfect shot.

It is kind of difficult to explain to you, but this is the first thing that I do all the time when taking photographs of food. On many occasions, the thinking process actually helps to save me a lot of time.

Food Photography Singapore

#3 Know your subject well.

There are some food that look good on their own and do not require much effort to take the shots. I call them the photogenic food – burgers and desserts are my favourite, as well as anything with a good contrast of colour and texture.

Certain food like soup, cheesecake and ice cream can be difficult to shoot. They often do not have any contrasting texture, and it makes things complicated as there is nothing to focus on. In the case of soup, add some garnishing and prop up the ingredients with a spoon.

In short, know the subject well. There are many different ways to play around with food.

Macro Photography

#4 Keep things simple.

People tend to be greedy and try to include many objects in a shot. You must know what is the main objective of that particular shot. For instance, if the highlight is the flowing chocolate from the warm lava cake, do a close-up macro photography shot of it.

If the plate has many different items, focus on the main dish and blur out the rest of the unimportant ones. There is no need to try and capture everything in a single frame.

Cliche as it may sound, simplicity is beauty.

#5 Shoot in natural lighting.

What is the appropriate food photography lighting? Well, obviously professional food photographers use studio lighting and artificial lights when necessary, but for most people this won’t be realistic. The main challenge for any photographer will always be lighting. Forget about studio lighting, or Dslr external flash, natural lighting is your best bet for a good photo.

Food Photography Tutorial

#6 Get feedback from others.

I am sure you have friends who are also into photography. Never be afraid to exchange ideas and ask for their opinion on the shots that you took. You can learn a lot through comments and constructive criticisms from others.

#7 Always have fun.

Do I really need to elaborate on this? If you are not having fun while taking photographs of food (or for that matter of fact, anything else), then forget it. Always have fun.

Food Photography Technique

#8 Practise, practise and practise.

How to improve my photography skills? This is the question I get all the time, and the only answer I have to that is practise. Personally, I don’t believe in going for photography classes to learn how to take good photos. Whilst photography lessons/courses/workshops can indeed teach you the basic photography techniques, I do not think that it can help you to improve tremendously. Photography is something that can be learned, but not taught.

If I can only choose one amongst my food photography tutorial, it will be practice.

#9 Hold the damn camera steady.

And lastly, learn to control your shaky hands. This may sound simple, but there are people who always end up taking blur shots.

About
Brad Lau, or more popularly known as ladyironchef, the blog where he has been regularly dishing out reviews of food and his dining experience of both new and long-standing restaurants since 2007.

He is also a food photographer based in Singapore. Check out his photography portfolio, and feel free to contact him at bradleyfk@gmail.com.

Category: # Restaurant Review, Dining Guide Singapore, Editorial, Food Photography, Singapore Food Blog
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Comments

17 Responses to “Basic Food Photography Tips”

  1. Kaiyi
    March 11th, 2011 @ 2:36 pm

    Do you mind sharing what lens/external flash do you use? Some restaurants have super dim/orange lighting, but your photos always look like they’re taken under broad daylight! What is the trick to do this?

  2. Summer
    March 11th, 2011 @ 2:38 pm

    I am sorry if i sound prudent buy are u male or female? :)

  3. ladyironchef
    March 11th, 2011 @ 5:08 pm

    kaiyi: I will be writing another post on my photography equipments, as well as how to take photos of food in restaurant

  4. sengkangbabies
    March 12th, 2011 @ 12:43 am

    tq for sharing the gorgeous pics and tips. Looking forward to part 2. andy

  5. David Koh
    March 12th, 2011 @ 1:55 am

    Thanks for sharing! Def looking forward to your other photography posts.

  6. Larissa
    March 13th, 2011 @ 6:23 pm

    Thank you for this,
    Your blog is one of the best I know and this is brilliant thing to share with all of your fans

  7. ivy
    March 14th, 2011 @ 11:50 pm

    Hi Brad, are u a professional food photographer? Or do u have another day job? Are all of your food real food or are some of them fake? Do you use those artificial chemicals to make the food look nicer?
    I ask these questions cos i am interested in food photography too and i just got a dslr and am aiming to be an amateur food photographer…

  8. ladyironchef
    March 15th, 2011 @ 12:01 am

    Ivy: All the food photos that you see on my blog are real food. There are some tricks to make the food nicer, I will be sharing some tips in the subsequence food photography tutorials.

  9. Gerard Iribe
    March 17th, 2011 @ 12:14 am

    Awesome stuff and those photos have made hungry!

  10. Janine
    March 19th, 2011 @ 11:56 pm

    Thanks for sharing – the light in your pictures always look lovely! Definitely looking forward to more tutorials :)

    Btw, just wondering if you tend to use manual focusing instead of auto focusing when taking the close-up shots for food?

  11. ladyironchef
    March 20th, 2011 @ 9:04 am

    Janine: I shoot with auto focusing

  12. megan
    March 20th, 2011 @ 11:29 am

    Your pictures are always beautiful and I look forward to learning so much more from you.

  13. Tanker
    March 21st, 2011 @ 10:45 am

    I always cant seem to get the lighting right.. using a noob Nikon D60 with 18-55mm lens. Should I use A or M or S or P mode for best effect? I am still learning ^_^

    thanks in advance!

  14. ladyironchef
    March 21st, 2011 @ 11:14 am

    Tanker: When i started, I only used the A mode. But M gives you much more control over both aperture and shutter speed. Hope this helps : )

  15. lenia
    May 5th, 2011 @ 12:13 pm

    Your food photos are incredible. Have you ever considered conducting workshops on food photography? I’d definitely be interested to join! :)

  16. photography lover
    July 8th, 2011 @ 10:06 pm

    interesting and helpful tips, btw the food looks real tempting!

  17. Curt
    August 1st, 2011 @ 7:25 pm

    Good article. #9 is where I really need help. Even with ASR set on, I still get blur. Tripods help.

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