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Food Photography

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Professional food photographers use a lot of little tricks to make food taste good in their photos.  
Food photography is a promising direction for a novice photographer. You cannot imagine the power of beautiful food photography. One successful photo can make an unknown chef world-famous, launch a new direction in food photography, save a restaurant from ruin and bring the photographer $ 1000 in profit. And all this can be done in one successful food photo. The phone is always with us; we do not leave the house without it. Actually, a very large number of photos are also taken on it.   
A reminder for every aspiring food photographer to wipe down your smartphone camera before shooting. The hundreds of thousands of photos could be better if the phone camera is wereclean.
In this article, we will talk about how to take great pictures with food on your smartphone so that they will fascinate and increase your appetite. It is essential to know the simple basics that will help you take photos amazing with their beauty. 
To understand what to strive for, you can look at the portfolio of other photographers. The ideas of other photographers can inspire any creative person. And you can also create your online portfolio website.

Which atmosphere can make any food photography a real masterpiece?

Each photo is a beautiful story filled with emotions, smells, colors, textures, and tastes. Try always to tell a story in your photographs convey the atmosphere. And then you will want to eat your pictures. It is the story that is most important in photography. If there is a story, it doesn't matter what the picture was taken on a smartphone or a professional camera. Therefore, the story is very important for the creation of real masterpieces.
What do you think about when you hear the word pizza?

  • Everyone has their associations. But you most likely imagine a cozy Italian pizzeria, mozzarella, parmesan, a ripe tomato cut in half, a beautiful bottle of olive oil, or a glass of Tuscan grape wine. 
  • And in the background, a fire burns in a traditional oven.
  • And also the warm light of the southern sun, a large red-and-white checkered tablecloth, and the smell of freshly baked pizza. You take one piece, lift it, and the cheese continues to stretch.
  • It is an atmosphere, a mood, a feast for the eyes and taste buds. And all this can be conveyed by making successful food photography.

Do you have other associations with pizza? 
It may be:

  • cozy apartment;
  • several bottles of cola;
  • hot pizza that the courier have just brought;
  • no appliances;
  • just cardboard boxes of pizza and bottles of cola; 
  • friends, and your favorite movie on the screen. It also has an atmosphere that can be used as a good background.

What should be the backgrounds for beautiful food photography? 

  • Matt, this is the best option for this type of creativity. 
  • You will corner yourself by playing with a glossy surface and trying to catch glare. 
  • Novice food photographers should simply shoot against a matte background and not create unnecessary problems for themselves.

Essential food photography tips from professional photographer

Essential food photography tips from professional photographer

Thanks to their extensive experience, professionals already know how to take pictures correctly and what details to pay attention to. Read the advice of experts to avoid mistakes in your photos.

  • Do not shoot food in front of a faceless background; this is the main rule of a professional photographer. Even the most delicious fondant, so fresh, chocolatey, charming with aroma, looks sad against a boring gray/white background. 
  • And put the same dessert on a beautiful plate, add cutlery hot latte in an elegant cup, cover the table with a tablecloth. 
  • Add different details to the photo. Another sprig of fresh mint, a little thick chocolate sauce, and now the atmosphere is felt even through a photo taken with a phone camera. This is the magic of food photography. It is available to you too. Therefore, shoot food in a lively atmosphere so that you can feel it through the photo.
  • But do not get too carried away if you are not going to shock people. For example, do not shoot a juicy Georgian barbecue surrounded by sweets and porcelain dishes.

Food is a wonderful subject for still lifes, with its help you can create excellent food photography. But to take an exceptional photo, it is not enough just to click on what is on the plate. Like any genre, food photography has its own rules and must be followed if you want great colors, textures, and shapes.

Use Golden ratio in food photography

Use neutral backgrounds

What is essential to consider if you shoot with a mobile phone? The camera in a smartphone has a wide lens angle so that many unnecessary backgrounds can get into the frame. Do it easier to remove the dish from the top.

  • Do you know what the Golden Ratio is, Fibonacci numbers, the Rule of Diagonals, the Rule of the Golden Spiral? This is not a spell to summon evil spirits but the laws of composition. If you do not know them, you will not create beauty. These rules are known to all cool professional photographers, artists, designers, and in general, everyone who makes beauty. And you cannot tell about these rules in one article too much information.
  • This is a theory that needs to be learned once. Then you will use it all your life, enjoy the result of your work.

Shoot in natural light

Light is a key element in creating beautiful images. Always photograph food in natural daylight, not under a lamp; it will give the picture an unpleasant orange or yellowish tint. Light is essential in food photography to convey the true colors of food, plates, and backgrounds. Why do you need yellow rice, yellow dishes, and a yellow tablecloth when everything is white?

The best lighting for food is soft, diffuse, natural daylight.

In warm weather, you can even try taking pictures outside. However, in most cases, direct sunlight should be avoided because this kind of light can cause exposure problems and objects throwing harsh shadows.

Ideal for a cloudy day, the clouds scatter the sun's rays and create soft light with soft shadows.

If you are shooting indoors, it is best to do so on a table by the window so that natural light illuminates the composition.

Control the shadows

Shadows are very important to photography. Their intensity depends on what kind of light you are photographing under. Bright, direct rays from the sun create harsh, dark shadows. On a cloudy day, they will be much softer. Pay attention to the shadows. Sometimes harsh shadows can add drama to a shot, especially when they create unusual silhouettes that complement the composition.

  1. But in most cases, when shooting food photography, harsh shadows should be avoided. Soft shadows work better; they create depth, add volume without     or move your composition to a slightly shaded area.
  2. If you are shooting indoors, the direct sunlight that hits the window can be diffused by translucent white curtains. You can also move the object away from the window or move it to another window.
  3. If you are shooting outdoors on a sunny day and there is no way to move into the shade, a reflector will come to the rescue. You can use a professional reflector, but a simple sheet of white paper will do.

Place the reflector on the side where the shadows fall to opposite the sun. The rays bounce off it and fall on the subject, brightening the shadows. Of course, everything depends only on you. If you want shadows for food photography, use shadows. But always keep in mind the role of light and shadow in the picture, and manipulate them to get exactly the image you intended.

Use neutral backgrounds

The background is just as important as the subject. If it is unkempt or bright, it can attract too much attention, distracting from food photography itself. A relatively neutral background will allow you to focus on the subject of photography. Moreover, a neutral background does not mean that it should be completely simple or monochromatic; it is necessary only to complete the composition and not suppress it.

Three types of backgrounds go very well with food photography: light, dark, and wood (brown). 

  1. A dark dish usually looks better against a dark background and vice versa. Wooden surfaces, tables, cutting boards are suitable for almost any food.
  2. You can use almost anything as a background. A wooden window table is a great way to combine a nice background with natural light.
  3. Compositions on a tea towel or tablecloth work well, especially white. Color options are also suitable for some foods, such as a vintage floral pattern.
  4. You can also try a blackboard, rug, tile, baking paper, baking sheet, or newspaper as a background. If you are photographing food from the side, try to keep the opposite wall neutral, soft, dull color.

Choose the right angle 

When photographing food, always choose the angle that best allows you to present your composition every professional photographer tells about it. Shooting from above is often ideal, especially when the food is beautifully presented on a plate or bowl.

  1. This perspective has several advantages. It allows you to capture all the details of the dish and the background, emphasizing the shapes of plates, cutlery, and other objects. In addition, shooting from above, it is much easier to make a strong, harmonious composition; it is enough to arrange the elements on the surface correctly. Finally, this angle is great if you want to clip unwanted elements in the background.
  2. However, shooting a drink in a glass or a cake with interesting layers is worth shooting from the side. This is also the best angle if you want to show the details of sliced ​​bread, pie, muffin, and so on. Just be sure to photograph against a neutral background, such as against a light wall.
  3. Another way to shoot diagonally. This option combines the advantages of the previous two and allows you to emphasize the three-dimensionality of the subject.

If you are unsure how best to shoot a particular composition, try photographing it from different angles. You will be surprised when you see how different the plots are.
Smartphones are great for food photography, and by following these simple rules, you will end up with some very tasty images. Pay attention to lighting and shadows. Try to shoot both indoors and outdoors. Choose a background that will complement your composition, experiment with shooting angles. Be sure to create a beautiful, clean, balanced composition. Use decorations, add the human element, create your own story. And, of course, don't forget to process the frame to enhance the colors and give it the right mood. 
Create your portfolio website where you can showcase your works and inspire other photo-artists. A portfolio website is simple and convenient and you can share your works just by clicking on the link.

FAQ

What is a food photo?

Food photography is a form of still-life commercial photography that aims to create an attractive image of certain types of food for use in advertisements, packaging, menus, or cookbooks.

How are food photos taken?

It is best to photograph with sidelight. This is the easiest way to get a good shot; the food will be evenly lit without any harsh shadows in front of it. When shooting, the window should be to your right or left. This rule works, and when taking pictures outdoors, the sun should illuminate the food from the side.

What does a food photographer need?

The photographer should have at least a small set of lenses, devices for shooting with natural light, reflectors, diffusers, flags, a tripod and remote control for shooting with long exposure, artificial lighting sources, a number of all kinds of photo backgrounds.

How do I expose the light for a photo of food?

Natural daylight is best for photographs of food. You can place a plate of food directly in front of a window on a table, windowsill, or stool to get more light. In electric light, pictures appear yellow.

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