Tips for Taking Great Food Photography

Tips for taking great food photos

It’s all about the light! My best tip for beginners is to become aware of the intensity of the light and how it hits the food, and learn to adjust accordingly. Here are some tips for getting started.

Lighting – Most food photography is backlit or side lit. This creates specular highlights on the food. Light, be it a softbox,  just behind the subject and use fill cards to fill the front of the subject.  It’s tricky, but keep trying!

Lens – I use a Canon 100mm lens in manual mode to create the depth of field required for my Food Photography.

Composition –  Watch that your hero (Subject) is the key to the shot.If your props are more colourful the viewers eye is drawn to it and not the key element.  Quite often food photographers will use props that are matte and not glossy. Watch out for patterns in your props they can be distracting.

Focus Stacking – If you cannot get the entire dessert sharp you can use focus stacking.