Food Photography Tips

Images are the property of Caitlin McElroy

I recently finished a dessert photography project for a high-end Italian restaurant menu. I had never done food photography before, but was excited to try it. I spent a lot of time looking at photos to see if I could find some with an ambiance that I could replicate to match the tone of my restaurant, then spent more time looking up tips and watching how-to videos. A lot of the recommendations were very similar, so here's a link to a site that was helpful:

http://digital-photography-school.com/food-photography-an-introduction 

These are the tips that the author, Darren Rowse, gives:

1) Lighting: This is probably the most important tip. I took my photos next to a large, North-West facing window on a bright, but overcast day, and used white card stock as a simple reflector to eliminate harsh shadows.
2) Props: Even simple things like a sprig of mint or a sprinkling of cocoa or icing sugar can make all the difference.
3) Be Quick: This is especially true of foods that are likely to melt, wilt or sag. I found whipped cream especially temperamental.
4) Style It: This takes time and planning. Finding other photos to use as inspiration helped me a lot when I was planning how I wanted my food to look, and prepared me for my trip to the store for supplies.

5) Enhance It: Darren Rowse suggests using vegetable oil to make food glisten. My photography teacher has suggested glycerin as an alternative as well.
6) Get Down Low: Taking photos from a bird's eye view works for some foods, but is not how most things should be shot. Darren Rowse suggests shooting down close to plate level (or slightly above it).
7) Macro: I love macro photography, but unfortunately don't have the proper lens to do this. It can be a great way though to really zoom in on the texture and colour of the food that you're shooting.
8) Steam: This is another thing that I haven't tried, but understand the benefits of. Steam can create that 'just out of the oven' look that makes food look fresh and appetizing. In one of the how-to videos that I watched, the photographer blew cigar smoke into a turkey baster, then squeezed it out onto the food when he was ready to start taking pictures.