Food Photography Tips for Bloggers
How to Do Food Styling and Take Great Digital Photographs
May 12, 2009
One of the first things a person notices when they surf to a new food blog is the photographs. Small, hard-to-see photographs, photographs with dull lighting or a messy kitchen in the background, or photographs of food that looks unappealing will cause a viewer to click away quickly. On the other hand, stunning photos of delicious-looking food will make the viewer want more, bookmark the blog, and recommend it to friends.
Pairing Food Photography With Food Blog Content
Like a food magazine with the typical gorgeous picture of a mouthwatering dish on the cover, food photography in a blog is all about getting the reader to stick around – to buy the magazine, or in this case bookmark and recommend the blog. Photographs are what initially tell a reader that the food itself is appetizing. A great tasting recipe doesn't always look great, but the photo is a reader's only indication that a new blogger is posting tasty recipes, so especially at first good food photography will go a long way.
Photography is important whether the content is original recipes, personal food-related stories, restaurant reviews, or something else. Someone visiting a blog is looking for unique content, something they don't see every day. Poorly lit restaurant photos, or shots of a disorganized kitchen, only remind a reader of their own mundane life - what the blogger wants is to fascinate and draw the reader in.
This focus might mean that in a poorly lit restaurant, no photos are possible, but another photo that matches the content, such as a picture of the restaurant's façade, can suffice. In food blogging, it's important not only to know how to take great pictures, but to know when not to take a picture, or when to get creative.
Food Styling and Lighting for Photographs
Assuming that there is a situation where it's possible to take photographs of the food - cooking at home or a well-lit restaurant, for example - there are a few simple tips that can make photographs really stand out.
A food blogger should also learn to be an amateur food stylist. Though most bloggers are actually eating the food they make, so they probably won't be using food styling tips that involve fake food or other tricks that make the food inedible, the food blogger should think about the photograph and how to set it up, even before cooking.
Most importantly, the shot should be uncluttered and well lit. In most cases, simple is better. A plain table or tablecloth, situated so that indirect natural light is coming in through a window with the food arranged on a simple dish in a contrasting color, makes a striking shot. The flash should always be turned off, and natural light used whenever possible. Once the food is set up, the photographer should take many photos from different angles, careful to keep the hand steady and using the camera's macro feature if the camera is very close to the food. Photos taken from an angle are also usually better than a straight-on shot from above.
Finally, the food itself should be arranged attractively on the dish. This may mean that the portion for photographing is smaller than the portion for eating. A garnish such as an herb or a sprinkling of nuts might be used, or a drizzle of sauce that cuts across the plate can also make the shot look more "restaurant-like." Of course, bloggers photographing food in a restaurant have less control, but the same principles of shooting from an angle and trying to keep other things on the table out of the way should be observed.
After following these tips, it's simply a matter of uploading the photographs and choosing the best ones - generally one to four photographs is a good rule of thumb, though some bloggers who write more per post have up to ten photographs in one post.
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