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Professional Photographers on Composing Better Food Photos

Chris Gampat
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01/12/2015
2 Mins read

Last Updated on 01/12/2015 by Chris Gampat

Screenshot taken from the video
Screenshot taken from the video

All of the master food photographers will tell you that great food images should suck you into the moment and should deliver an experience of some sort. Part of this creation has to do with having solid composition. The folks at We Eat Together put together a video showing how to do just that. Their first time has to do with getting rid of your light source in the image and also making sure that it isn’t visible lest someone focuses on that instead of the delectable bites in front of you.

The host comes up with a load of difference scenarios and compositions involving various angles that draw the viewer in. The use of reflectors really helps.

Their video on composing better food photos is after the jump. But we’ve added quotes from other food photographers that we’ve interviewed to add extra value to this post.

“I’m most drawn to food photography that feels natural and has a bit of soul (maybe it comes from the way the napkin falls, or a particular crumb, or the light through the water glass). If I can sneak a bit of environment in there to suggest where one might be having this meal, that’s a bonus.” – Alice Gao

“I might add a splash of oil if something looks too dry or ask someone to remake a dish that doesn’t look right, but overall I let the kitchen do their thing and I do mine.” – Daniel Krieger

“A reflector might represent the white wall opposite the window so that would be placed opposite the table. Lighting is the single most neglected part of studio photography nowadays if you ask me. Good lighting should complement good composition and add the all important underrated element: the mood.”- Howard Shooter

““They shoot too high and too wide,” Manna says of many new food photographers. There’s a pull it seems to get as much in the frame as possible, rather than properly composing the image.” –Lou Manna

You’ll also want to check out the work of Shea Evans, Cara Livermore, Andrew Scrivani.

composition Daniel Krieger food photography lou manna reflector we eat together
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Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.
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