We encounter the beauty in the art of plating everyday whether or not we’re actually eating! It’s become the norm for us to see beautiful poised photos of food, drinks, and desserts while scrolling through our feed. But it’s not just the top bloggers, models, and Instagram figures that can display their meals in such an appealing way. We’ve got the best tips on making your next food boasting pictures look amazing.
Natural Lighting – A rule of thumb in photography is that it’s always better to capture product (in this case food) with more natural lighting than artificial ones. That’s because most indoor lighting is quite harsh and can result in your photo looking over exposed, draining out the natural vibrancy in the colours of your food. Try sitting by a window or outside on the patio the next time you’re out and you know you want to snap a pic!
Table Top Organization– This is key for making your photo stand apart from any normal food pic. Decide what the frame of your photo will be before you start to rearrange what’s on the table. Do you want to show the entire plate of all the different dishes you ordered? Or do you want to focus just on a few key dishes you know will captivate your audience? Determining your frame and the range of what you want to photograph is important! We believe that you don’t need to show the entire product or plate of food to make the photo look good. A lot of times, plates are pushed together to show about 1/3 of the food with equal distance to each other. Also, remember to make sure that your table top is clean and free of any marks or spills. The arrangement of even the silverware counts so play around with what you feel looks the most natural!
Birds Eye View– This is another key factor in presenting your food in the best way possible. Taking a photo from above allows the plates to look flat and really present itself in its entirety. It’s also the most flattering for the food. However, in the case of photographing food that is stacked high, go for a direct side shot.
Food Colours/ Presentation– It’s important to ensure that your food looks good despite how organized you’ve made the table look! Take for example if you’re trying to photograph an exquisite bangers and mash, it might not translate as the prettiest on camera. Also, the colours might be a bit dark. Think about whether the colours are contrasting against each other right. Feel free to rearrange your food and also pay attention to the colours of what’s sitting next to what. If sauce is dripping over the side of the plate, make sure to wipe that clean and check that any “drizzles” are still in its correct zig zag shape!
Filters– In our opinion, it’s best to tweak the image with just a few edits rather than using harsh or intense filters. A favourite of ours is the fade filter, giving our photos a more vintage yet classy finish – like you’re looking through your favourite pair of Chanel sunglasses. And we always encourage that the photo be bright! Don’t be shy with turning that brightness up! It’s been proven that people tend to like brighter photos over dark ones.