No Brainer Tips On Taking The Best Food Shot
Sunday, February 25, 2018
1. SHOOT IN NATURAL LIGHT
Light is the key to creating beautiful still life photos. Always shoot your food pictures in natural daylight rather than under artificial lighting. If you illuminate your food with an artificial light such as a lamp, it’s likely to create an ugly orange or yellow color cast in your photo.
Color is extremely important in food photography as you want the colors of the food, plates and background elements to appear accurate. You don’t want your white rice, white plates, or white table cloth to look orange.
Color casts from artificial light will ruin the natural beauty of your subject, but daylight provides a much more neutral colored light. When you’re shooting indoors, use the natural light from windows to illuminate your subject. Having a table positioned near a window allows you to easily set up your composition to make use of natural window light.
2. BE QUICK
Dishes don’t keep looking their best for very long: bread gets soggy, and food generally looks worse the longer it sits there. Make sure to have everything ready to take pictures as soon as the food is plated and perfect.
3. SHOOT FROM VARIOUS ANGLES
Different dishes look good from different angles. Burgers photograph best from the side, so you can see the condiments, while pizzas tend to look better when shot from above. Most dishes have multiple flattering angles, so the more you experiment, the better your chances of nailing the shot will be.
4. USE PROPS
Props create an interesting atmosphere for your gourmet meal. If you’re at a restaurant, your options may be limited, but a wine glass or a vase of flowers can add an interesting touch to your photo. If you’re snapping pictures at home, grab some fresh herbs or fruit to add color to your plate!
5. KEEP IT SIMPLE
We’ve talked a lot about different kinds of decorations that you can use to enhance your composition, but sometimes the best option is to keep it really simple.
If your food subject has a bold color and shape, and you have a contrasting colored background, a simple minimalist composition can often create the strongest impact.
For the strongest visual impact, position your subject perfectly central within the frame, and don’t use any heavy decorations.
It’s usually best to avoid using patterned or brightly colored plates, dishes and cups. Simple white china is often the best option as it won’t compete for attention with the food.
If you’re shooting close-ups of food, you don’t tend to need any additional decorations in the scene.
Your smartphone is a great tool for food photography, and by following these simple tips you’re guaranteed to create incredibly tempting food photos. There is a plethora of photo editing tools as well that you can download on your phone to make your food photo more dramatic and drooling. Personally, I use VSCO most of the time 😉
Here are two of my favorite food photos that I recently took:
Speaking of great tool, I'm sure you've heard a lot already about #OPPOF5. Yes, if you're currently looking for a smartphone that can help you achieve great results on food photography, why not give this one a try? Aside from the fact that it's cheaper than the other brands, it's way more equipped in giving you still life looking photos. Why? Here are the SPECS:
So why not cook up a delicious meal, bake some cookies, cut up some fruit, make a healthy smoothie, or even go out and buy some pretty cakes? Then use the techniques covered in this post to create some exquisite photos of food.
Remember to pay careful attention to the light and shadows in the scene. Try shooting both outdoors and inside using window light.
Choose a background that complements your subject, and experiment with different shooting angles. Arrange the food and other elements to create a clean and balanced composition.
Don’t be afraid to experiment with different color combinations and decorations that can add interest to the scene. Use props and human elements to help you tell a story through your food photography.
And finally, take some time to edit your photos to enhance the colors and create just the right mood for your photo.
And do you know the best thing about food photography? You get to eat the delicious food at the end of your shoot! Nomnom 😋 #CaptureTheRealYou moments now with your delicious food using #OPPOF5.
Do you photograph food? Do you have any additional tips to share with us? Please add your comments below.
Disclaimer: This post is for Nuffnang's blogger contest. All opinions and words are solely mine. Thanks to Nuffnang Philippines and OPPO Philippines.
Light is the key to creating beautiful still life photos. Always shoot your food pictures in natural daylight rather than under artificial lighting. If you illuminate your food with an artificial light such as a lamp, it’s likely to create an ugly orange or yellow color cast in your photo.
Color is extremely important in food photography as you want the colors of the food, plates and background elements to appear accurate. You don’t want your white rice, white plates, or white table cloth to look orange.
Color casts from artificial light will ruin the natural beauty of your subject, but daylight provides a much more neutral colored light. When you’re shooting indoors, use the natural light from windows to illuminate your subject. Having a table positioned near a window allows you to easily set up your composition to make use of natural window light.
2. BE QUICK
Dishes don’t keep looking their best for very long: bread gets soggy, and food generally looks worse the longer it sits there. Make sure to have everything ready to take pictures as soon as the food is plated and perfect.
3. SHOOT FROM VARIOUS ANGLES
Different dishes look good from different angles. Burgers photograph best from the side, so you can see the condiments, while pizzas tend to look better when shot from above. Most dishes have multiple flattering angles, so the more you experiment, the better your chances of nailing the shot will be.
4. USE PROPS
Props create an interesting atmosphere for your gourmet meal. If you’re at a restaurant, your options may be limited, but a wine glass or a vase of flowers can add an interesting touch to your photo. If you’re snapping pictures at home, grab some fresh herbs or fruit to add color to your plate!
5. KEEP IT SIMPLE
We’ve talked a lot about different kinds of decorations that you can use to enhance your composition, but sometimes the best option is to keep it really simple.
If your food subject has a bold color and shape, and you have a contrasting colored background, a simple minimalist composition can often create the strongest impact.
For the strongest visual impact, position your subject perfectly central within the frame, and don’t use any heavy decorations.
It’s usually best to avoid using patterned or brightly colored plates, dishes and cups. Simple white china is often the best option as it won’t compete for attention with the food.
If you’re shooting close-ups of food, you don’t tend to need any additional decorations in the scene.
Here are two of my favorite food photos that I recently took:
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| TAKOYAKI - FOOD PARK, LUCKY CHINATOWN |
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| PIZZA LAGURIA - PIZZAEXPRESS, UPTOWN MALL BGC |
So why not cook up a delicious meal, bake some cookies, cut up some fruit, make a healthy smoothie, or even go out and buy some pretty cakes? Then use the techniques covered in this post to create some exquisite photos of food.
Remember to pay careful attention to the light and shadows in the scene. Try shooting both outdoors and inside using window light.
Choose a background that complements your subject, and experiment with different shooting angles. Arrange the food and other elements to create a clean and balanced composition.
Don’t be afraid to experiment with different color combinations and decorations that can add interest to the scene. Use props and human elements to help you tell a story through your food photography.
And finally, take some time to edit your photos to enhance the colors and create just the right mood for your photo.
And do you know the best thing about food photography? You get to eat the delicious food at the end of your shoot! Nomnom 😋 #CaptureTheRealYou moments now with your delicious food using #OPPOF5.
Do you photograph food? Do you have any additional tips to share with us? Please add your comments below.
Disclaimer: This post is for Nuffnang's blogger contest. All opinions and words are solely mine. Thanks to Nuffnang Philippines and OPPO Philippines.
