Does this photo make you want to eat it?
Food Photographers think this way.
Food Photography can be simple to quite complicated where there are Stylists involved to glaze and spray and even use tweezers to carefully place each crumb!
I admit I can never be a Food Stylist because I find the natural crumbs and even sauce splatters appetizingly beautiful. I also can’t be a full-time Food Photographer because I don’t have the self-control to walk away without tasting it! (I love Food, what can I say?!!)
Here are a few basic tips to get you started with Food Photography…
BASIC FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS:
1. Watch your angles.
Take a top view then a side view. Variety is the spice of life. (Spice, get it?)
2. Minimize what’s in the frame.
You don’t have to get too fancy with what is under, behind and next to the food item. Let the food be the star.
3. Use natural light.
Food looks better in natural light, so take the shot during the day and set the food near a window. Make sure you turn off the indoor lights, so there isn’t mixed lighting on the food.
4. Prepare it to be eaten.
When you are photographing food, it can help to prepare the food like you are ABOUT to eat it. Sometimes seeing a piece on a fork or a heaping spoonful makes the food look more scrumptious!
5. Consider the ingredients.
Example:
I recently baked banana blueberry bread. Instead of photographing it as a fully baked loaf, I sliced it to cool (photographed it) and then plated it (and photographed it again). I also photographed some of the ingredients, like the locally grown blueberries right after I washed them and the two perfect organic brown eggs. The dough mixture even looked good to me because it had chunks of fruit, so I photographed that too.
Do any of these images make you want to eat it? I know MY answer! Mmmmmmmm….
Preparation
Cooling
Ready for a Bite
As a reward for reading this far (haha), here is my recipe. It is seriously delicious!
Annie’s Blueberry-nana Bread
Ingredients:
Butter, for greasing the loaf pan 1 1/2 cups flour, plus extra for dusting the loaf pan 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup vegetable oil 2 large eggs, beaten 2 tsp vanilla extract 3 ripe bananas, peeled and coarsely mashed to yield about 1 cup 1 cup of fresh blueberries
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9 x 5 x 3″ loaf pan. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon). In a large bowl, beat the wet ingredients (sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla) until blended. Add the dry ingredients and stir until blended. Gently fold in the bananas and blueberries at the end. Careful not to over-blend.
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 55 minutes (times may vary slightly depending on your oven). You can check by using a toothpick and inserting it into the middle of the loaf. If it comes out clean, then the loaf is done. Set the pan aside to cool. Then remove the loaf from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack, about 2 hours.
Enjoy with your favorite beverage! And don’t forget to share. 😛