Whether it’s Christmas or New Year, festive seasons bring a lot of food and photographs around to enjoy as a family. We now live in an era, where even the restaurants make their regular food look Instagram-worthy. This prompts people to click and post. However, this season also brings the food photographer in you encouraging you to take festive food pictures and post them on all the possible social media platforms. Clicking food and making it presentable for the picture is not only fun but also creates a wonderful opportunity to tell your food story to the world. However, capturing the festive energy and the delicious food in one frame could be quite tricky if you are new to this.
Food photography is not just about clicking pictures of food for Instagram or any other social media platform. It is a fine art of storytelling where you capture a balanced frame in which food is the main subject in focus with the right elements and composition of light, complementing the subject and occasion. Ultimately, a good picture captures the textures and colors of food and gets the viewer emotionally connected to the mood of the picture by virtually evoking their senses, as if the food is right in front of them.
If you have a natural flair for photography and culinary arts,then food photography becomes second nature to you. However, these skills can also be developed in a professionally-trained enthusiastic culinarian by learning some basics of photography. Now, since the festive season is on, I would like to share some tips and tricks that I make use of in the making of a perfect food picture.
1. Nothing Like Natural Light
Photography is all about playing with lights in the right way, and when it comes to food photography, sunlight plays a crucial role. Artificial lights are usually not recommended in food photography as it tends to take away the visual essence of the food.
When you are shooting for a festive season, you can always usedecorative led lights or candles as props but avoid using any of them as asource of light for photography as it will never help you show the actualcolors or textures of the food. Also, for best results, stay away from anydirect flashlights.
Now that you have understood the importance of natural light, keep in mind that the best time to photograph food is either early morning or in the afternoon when the sun shines at its best giving soft lights without falling harshly on the subject. If you shoot pictures using the early morning light, it can add a beautiful bokeh effect to the image giving it a natural festive touch.
2. Use your props wisely
Props are very important in food photography. More than food, itis the accessories that create the tone and mood for the picture. They tell thestory and communicate with the viewer. At the same time, one thing you have tokeep in mind is that no matter how tempting or beautiful your food looks, aprop can easily make or break the whole image. Therefore use your propscarefully and wisely. Also, while using props make sure it complements the foodwithout overpowering it. After all, beauty and deliciousness are what we arelooking for in a food photo.
3. Keep it Natural
When photographing food, consider its flavor aspect and highlight that in the picture. For example, a piece of chocolate cake with some ganache dripping down or a little uneven icing on the sides gives you a rustic and dramatic feeling that a fine dining worth piece of cake fails to do. It feels natural and automatically puts the viewer at ease. The thing is, presentation is important but find a balance and try not to make the plate look restaurant perfect. Keep its natural self which will enhance the overall effect on the image.
4. Be Instinctively Creative
Although there are so many rules in photography to get things right, food photography is about having fun and following your instincts.Despite a clear idea at the beginning of the shoot, sometimes the results are different due to various angles and styles to get that one picture.
When you follow your instincts, you will know the right composition, light, and angle of the picture. Just keep the basics in your mind and let your creativity go with the flow to capture the essence of the food in the frame of art.
Whether it’s Christmas or New Year, festive seasons bring a lot of food and photographs around to enjoy as a family. We now live in an era, where even the restaurants make their regular food look Instagram-worthy. This prompts people to click and post. However, this season also brings the food photographer in you encouraging you to take festive food pictures and post them on all the possible social media platforms. Clicking food and making it presentable for the picture is not only fun but also creates a wonderful opportunity to tell your food story to the world. However, capturing the festive energy and the delicious food in one frame could be quite tricky if you are new to this.
Food photography is not just about clicking pictures of food for Instagram or any other social media platform. It is a fine art of storytelling where you capture a balanced frame in which food is the main subject in focus with the right elements and composition of light, complementing the subject and occasion. Ultimately, a good picture captures the textures and colors of food and gets the viewer emotionally connected to the mood of the picture by virtually evoking their senses, as if the food is right in front of them.
If you have a natural flair for photography and culinary arts,then food photography becomes second nature to you. However, these skills can also be developed in a professionally-trained enthusiastic culinarian by learning some basics of photography. Now, since the festive season is on, I would like to share some tips and tricks that I make use of in the making of a perfect food picture.
1. Nothing Like Natural Light
Photography is all about playing with lights in the right way, and when it comes to food photography, sunlight plays a crucial role. Artificial lights are usually not recommended in food photography as it tends to take away the visual essence of the food.
When you are shooting for a festive season, you can always usedecorative led lights or candles as props but avoid using any of them as asource of light for photography as it will never help you show the actualcolors or textures of the food. Also, for best results, stay away from anydirect flashlights.
Now that you have understood the importance of natural light, keep in mind that the best time to photograph food is either early morning or in the afternoon when the sun shines at its best giving soft lights without falling harshly on the subject. If you shoot pictures using the early morning light, it can add a beautiful bokeh effect to the image giving it a natural festive touch.
2. Use your props wisely
Props are very important in food photography. More than food, itis the accessories that create the tone and mood for the picture. They tell thestory and communicate with the viewer. At the same time, one thing you have tokeep in mind is that no matter how tempting or beautiful your food looks, aprop can easily make or break the whole image. Therefore use your propscarefully and wisely. Also, while using props make sure it complements the foodwithout overpowering it. After all, beauty and deliciousness are what we arelooking for in a food photo.
3. Keep it Natural
When photographing food, consider its flavor aspect and highlight that in the picture. For example, a piece of chocolate cake with some ganache dripping down or a little uneven icing on the sides gives you a rustic and dramatic feeling that a fine dining worth piece of cake fails to do. It feels natural and automatically puts the viewer at ease. The thing is, presentation is important but find a balance and try not to make the plate look restaurant perfect. Keep its natural self which will enhance the overall effect on the image.
4. Be Instinctively Creative
Although there are so many rules in photography to get things right, food photography is about having fun and following your instincts.Despite a clear idea at the beginning of the shoot, sometimes the results are different due to various angles and styles to get that one picture.
When you follow your instincts, you will know the right composition, light, and angle of the picture. Just keep the basics in your mind and let your creativity go with the flow to capture the essence of the food in the frame of art.