The most important thing in food photography is making the food look interesting and appetizing. Determining the best lighting, picking a nice background, choosing the depth of field in the photo and finally composing the shot are all important steps in making the final photograph appealing.
The Best Lighting
Making food look good in a photo is not easy. Improper lighting can make food look greasy, yellow or unappetizing in general. The best lighting for food photography is natural light. Try placing the food near the window or even outside, but make sure the subject is in diffused light rather than direct sunlight. Adjusting the direction in which the light hits the food will result in different shadows. Experimenting with various angles may yield fantastic results. Try taking the picture with cross lighting to create more interesting shadows.
Flash Photography
In most cases, using the camera's flash will give undesirable results. However, delicious food is often cooked late at night when there is no natural light. Using an externally mounted bounce flash will work well, and with a little post processing the lighting can be made to look nearly natural.
Of course, those wishing to make a career out of food photography should invest in much more lighting equipment, but for home food photographers, one external flash will do wonders. For home photographers who can't afford an external flash, try holding a white index card on an angle in front of the pop-up flash, this will help to bounce the flash off the walls or ceiling and diffuse some of the harsh direct light.
Presentation and Composition
Professional food stylists spend hours setting up the perfect shot. While hobbiests don't need to go overboard on setup, they should consider how the food is displayed. Spend a minute arranging things and making sure the dish is wiped clean. Set the dish on a nice surface. Make sure that the background is free from clutter and distractions. Compose the shot from different angles. Try getting low and close, try taking one from overhead and try new creative ideas. Before eating the food and putting the camera away, make sure the pictures are in focus.
Editing the Photograph
It's always best to make the original image look as good as possible, but sometimes a little editing may be necessary. Fine tuning things like color temperature, brightness and contrast may help the picture's overall appearance. Make sure the image isn't too dark or too yellow. Crop the picture if necessary to remove any distractions. When finished editing, take a step back from the screen, ask someone else to look at it or look again later to see if anything else needs to be adjusted.
Christopher Brown - Chris is a California native currently teaching at a University in China. He loves just about anything that has to do with water or ...
