A bad photograph of a delicious dish can make it seem terrible. Food photography can be tricky business particularly when everyone with a phone and some light, natural or otherwise, is snapping away at every meal. Truly great food photography, like the work of The Girls Who Ate the World or Parikshit Rao, can inspire hunger even when you’re full.
Preparation of the food is just a part of making the final image look great. Light, angle and composition can make or break a food photograph, and this video from SORTED Food featuring Izy Hossack from the popular food blog Top With Cinnamon provides good tips for those getting into food photography for the first time.
You don’t need an elaborate lighting setup to get a great shot. A window will do just fine. Presentation, too, is key. Garry Winogrand once said, “How do you make a photograph that’s more beautiful than what was photographed?” For food photographers, it can be rewritten as, “How do you make a photograph that’s more delicious than what was photographed?”
This video’s a good place to start.
