Ever wonder how the dishes on your feed look so incredible? We have some tricks of the trade!
Like photographs, not all foods are created equal. While some foods vary in color, shape, and size, others always seem to look the same across social media. They’re gorgeously shot, drool-worthy, and always trigger your cravings. (We’re looking at you, pancakes.) Nothing makes your feed better than some beautiful food shots, so luckily, we have some tips to ensure your food always looks stunning and worth that double-tap!
The Basics of Food Photography if you want a pleasing IG Feed
1. Lighting of the area
This is basic in photography. Lighting tells your eye where to look and what to make of what you see. Finding that sweet spot between dimly lit and overexposed can emphasize your food’s natural textures and colors. Making use of soft natural light can also create subtle shadows that add to the overall visual depth and composition of your shot. The best set-up consists of A) overcast daylight and B) a diffuser — something like a semi-transparent white window curtain or even white paper for when you’re outdoors, combatting the harsh shadows of direct sunlight.
2. Color
An awareness of color and its power to evoke emotion will inform everything else from composition to decoration. If you think about how the earthy muted tones of coffee are comforting while the bright pop of oranges is exciting, you already have a guide to what objects you can arrange together. While it’s best to start with neutral or wooden backdrops and give maximum attention to the food, you can level up on complements and contrasts by referring to color palettes and corresponding themes like ‘vintage’ or ‘pastel.’
3. Composition
The difference between an ordinary snapshot and a striking post can be a shift in composition. For this, you can use your camera’s grid feature, apply the rule of thirds, and reposition different objects in your shot. Is the placement of silverware complementing the food? Will it be interesting to go minimal and use a lot of negative space? Can we emphasize shapes by adding table napkins or sprinkling some dry ingredients and fruit pieces around? It’s trial and error!
4. Shoot from different angles.
The most popular choice is often flat lay, or shooting from above. This allows you to include all details like the backdrop and the relationships of the different objects within the shot. You can also consider shooting from one side, especially with layered subjects like cakes or decorated fruit shakes. Shooting diagonally allows you to capture the food in 3-D, its shape and size visible along with your decorations.
5. Editing
Editing photos now goes beyond fine-tuning tones or cropping out unwanted elements (for which our top recommendation is Lightroom CC Mobile.) Other photo-editing apps offer film or vintage effects that can flaunt your personal style or match the look of your feed. The possibilities are endless! Just a tip before running off with presets and filters: take one last Before-and-After peek just to double-check if your edits made any damage to the photo quality or sacrificed some elements you liked in the original photo.
5 Quick Tips and Techniques:
1. Don’t add a lot of unnatural filters
Sure, slapping a sepia filter on a sunset or a shot of your OOTD might work. But when it comes to food, try to practice that the more natural the better. Keep your blacks and whites true (meaning, as naturally white and black as they can be), and don’t mess around too much with color tones and temperature.
2. Focus on the food
When starting out, it can be tempting to add everything in your frame to add interest, — however, it is called a food photo for a reason. Make sure your dish is the star of your shot and doesn’t get drowned out by unnecessary details!
3. Use a neutral background
We’re not saying you can’t include beautiful backgrounds for food photos, but think carefully about whether or not the background detracts from the dish. Related to tip #2, keep your food in focus. More often than not, a few neutral backgrounds can do this well.
4. Tell a story
Just like all photos, some of the food shots aren’t just meant to be aesthetically pleasing. They can have a mood, emotion, or even tell a story. Perhaps your dish includes a unique ingredient that’s worth including in the shot. Or, maybe if you have a meal that is deeply tied to a location (think fish from GenSan or Lechon from Cebu) and including a little bit of scenery makes your photos more real. Bring this story to life, and it will be more exciting than an ordinary flat photo.
5. Explore and experiment
Lastly, don’t be afraid when you get your hands dirty! If you really want some serious food shots, go ahead and style your table with a little more pizzazz. Move around the food, deconstruct some pieces, or experiment with the plating. Just make sure no one else is waiting on you to eat!
If you are really becoming what you eat, it must pay to eat beautiful and exciting food, worthy of being captured. These memories allow you to relive the experience and share it with loved ones. Great food, after all, is a non-negotiable in the beautiful life that everyone deserves. So whip out that camera, go on a food trip escapade, and create yours now.
Just like taking time to ready up a perfect shot for your food photo, looking for a house and lot for sale or a condo for sale takes time and a lot of research in order to come up with an ideal location, house model, and lifestyle fit for you and your family. Choose a house for sale by a developer that is trusted and ticks all the boxes for an ideal home for your family. A developer like Crown Asia offers homes for sale may it be pre-selling or an RFO home for sale, the brand has you covered. An aesthetic home for your aesthetic lifestyle, only at Crown Asia Properties.
Related Blog: On Choosing the Best Camera For Your Photography Hobby
