Top Secrets To Making Your Food Photos Look Deliciously Tempting (Part 3)

 Gastronomic photography has received significant recognition in recent years, thanks to social networks. Every day we see on Instagram or Facebook a photograph of a very elaborate dessert that makes us drool. Yet, we do not consider that behind many of these photographs, there is meticulous work. To get a good picture, we not only need a camera, but we must also plan our work as if we were working with a demanding model. To achieve the best result, we’ve listed some practical and easy-breezy tips to help you get started in culinary photography. If you haven’t read the second part of this blog yet, check it out and become a food photography guru in no time!

Tell a Story

Do you remember the one we talked about in the first part of this article, about making a storyboard? The underlying idea is to tell a story. No one can deny that in every kitchen, there are endless elements that go into preparing food. Capture them with different compositions, highlight the species’ tones, place them in spoons or small plates, play with utensils, with fruits and vegetables, add a piece of fish or meat…

Spices not only spice up food, but they can also add that special touch to your photos. There are different ways to make them stand out:

• Placing them on utensils,
• Creating a colourful composition, and
• Even making a few lines with a few more ingredients.

To give mixology variety and not have the typical photo of glass with a coloured drink, tell a story and add the ingredients that make it up. For a mojito, you will need lemon, mint sprigs and sugar. That’s it: play with these elements to add variety to your photo. Look at the one below, better than a glass on a table, don’t you think?

Drinks Look Better on the Go

The milk falling from the carton and the foam of the beer crumbling. If the liquid is the protagonist, it is better to present them in motion. Taking these pictures is not difficult at all. With practice, you will soon want to carry out new experiments. In this case, a tripod is essential because, to capture movement, very high shutter speeds are handled. Here you must have perfect coordination: without a correct approach, it will not do any good. Many prefer a manual focus, as the automatic is not always successful, and instead of focusing on the liquid, the focus falls on a glass or other element.

Start by taking pictures in natural light, so it will be easier for you to master your equipment: shutter speed and focus. If you do it with flashes, it will be a bit more challenging to coordinate more elements if you are starting. The best advice for these images is patience; the first shot is never the best.

Do not forget always to seek to capture your image from the side or centred. A bird’s eye shot is more complex to achieve and will hardly give you that allure you’re looking for. Experiment with other liquids to bring out the bottle or the colour of your drink.

The Kitchen and the Chef

Imagine that you have the opportunity to be with Enrique Olvera for 6 hours; what would you photograph: him or his work? Think of the whole environment in which the chef operates, from his arrival, the meetings and conversations he has with his restaurant staff to preparing a new dish. Consider everything that surrounds a chef, what he does before the food arrives at your table, look for details that captivate your audience. Since he chooses the ingredients in a garden, he prepares his kitchen instruments to the movements he executes to create those unique and delicious dishes.

This can be done in any restaurant, food truck or even a small stand on the street. Many stand out with colours, and even the china they handle can be peculiar. You will see that regardless of the place’s category, they all have magic that unfolds each dish.

Want to learn more hacks? Check out the fourth part of this blog!