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Level 2

5 tips to consider when styling food

Whether you’re trying to capture the shape of your perfectly cooked scotch eggs or photographing your favorite cup of coffee, taking an excellent dining photo can be harder than it looks. Luckily, anyone can do it—as long as they’re armed with the right techniques.

 

That’s why we love to share food photography tips on Connect. We hope they help you better capture the dishes you love (and the ones that look better than they taste).

 

One way you can transform an ordinary plate into a mouthwatering dining photo is through food styling. Food styling helps you to get the best of each dish and make it look great in front of your camera. Here’s how.

 

1. Seek out natural light

 

My number one tip when styling and photographing food is to always use natural light. Many restaurants have harsh artificial lighting that can make food photos look unappetizing. Artificial light often creates harsh shadows and an ugly orange or yellow color cast on your food.

 

To avoid this, look for soft natural daylight coming through a door, window, or in an outdoor area of the restaurant. Then compose your dish on a table in that spot. Sunlight will showcase your food with true to life color, as seen in the photo below.

 

Caption: A photo of avocado toast topped with smoked salmon, cheese, and microgreens next to a window at Flour Flour slice in Chiang Mai, Thailand. (Local Guide Aikapat Sittichai)Caption: A photo of avocado toast topped with smoked salmon, cheese, and microgreens next to a window at Flour Flour slice in Chiang Mai, Thailand. (Local Guide Aikapat Sittichai)

2. Arrange your food neatly

 

Nobody likes to see a messy meal on a plate. When a dish is presented this way, it can be hard to tell what it is. Plus, it won’t tempt the taste buds! When getting ready to take pictures of food, it’s important to arrange your food neatly to create visual interest. I suggest taking a few photos of the dish before you take your first bite, in order to keep the plate as clean as possible.

 

Caption: A photo of an overhead view of Indian thali on a marble table with various dishes and naan at Echoes Kolkata in West Bengal, India. (Local Guide Pooja Agrawal)Caption: A photo of an overhead view of Indian thali on a marble table with various dishes and naan at Echoes Kolkata in West Bengal, India. (Local Guide Pooja Agrawal)

3. Know your props

 

When styling great food shots, it’s helpful to know what props could make your composition more interesting. When you arrive at a restaurant, look around you to see what objects are available on your table. Is there a colorful napkin, unique utensil, or fresh flowers that could help add visual interest in the frame? If so, then try experimenting with using them in your photos. However, don’t overdo it! If extra objects overwhelm or compete with your main dish, then it’s best to leave it out and let your food shine on its own.

 

Caption: A photo of an overhead view of a crepe topped with fruit on a plate, a cup of tea, and a colorful napkin on a wooden table. (Local Guide Kouzi Kasai)Caption: A photo of an overhead view of a crepe topped with fruit on a plate, a cup of tea, and a colorful napkin on a wooden table. (Local Guide Kouzi Kasai)

4. Emphasize the most mouth-watering part of a dish

 

Showcase the part of the dish that’s the most appetizing. For example, there’s nothing better than the gooey cheese in a grilled cheese. So try capturing a closeup of the soft cheese oozing out of the sandwich, as seen in the photo below.

 

Caption: A photo of a pulled-apart grilled cheese sandwich next to a cup of tomato soup and small metal bowl with olives. (Local Guide Sang-Duk Seo)Caption: A photo of a pulled-apart grilled cheese sandwich next to a cup of tomato soup and small metal bowl with olives. (Local Guide Sang-Duk Seo)

Another example would be to showcase the decadent part of a dessert that you love, as seen in this photo of custard filled donuts below.

 

Caption: A photo of a plate of custard filled donuts stacked on top of each other taken at 玫瑰烘焙坊 in Taichung City, Taiwan. (Local Guide 陳坤志)Caption: A photo of a plate of custard filled donuts stacked on top of each other taken at 玫瑰烘焙坊 in Taichung City, Taiwan. (Local Guide 陳坤志)

5. Add a human element

 

Adding a human element can tell a more interesting story and add a sense of “life” and movement to your photos. If you include a hand or arm in your frame, make sure to have your subject hold still so there isn’t motion blur.

 

Consider adding a human element to show an action, such as swirling pasta on a fork or pouring mint water into delicious panipuri.

 

Caption: A closeup photo of a person swirling spaghetti on a fork at Xang Khoo Restaurant in Vientiane, Laos. (Local Guide Gilbert Barrier)Caption: A closeup photo of a person swirling spaghetti on a fork at Xang Khoo Restaurant in Vientiane, Laos. (Local Guide Gilbert Barrier)

 

Caption: A closeup photo of hands pouring mint water into panipuri at Bhoj Restaurant in Victoria, Australia. (Local Guide Melb_belly Rza Lam)Caption: A closeup photo of hands pouring mint water into panipuri at Bhoj Restaurant in Victoria, Australia. (Local Guide Melb_belly Rza Lam)

Have you tried any of these food styling tips? Share your best food photos with us in the comments below.

139 comments
Connect Moderator

Re: 5 tips to consider when styling food

Hi @Christina-NYC,

thank you for this nice and yummy post, all very interesting tips. A well done photos enhances dramatically the quality of a dish. Please find below one of my recent picture, the intention of the photo was to compare the plate to a kind of painting due to its shape and the well placed food inside it.

 

 

Seafood mixed chef plate at Sax & Jazz restaurant in Veghel, The Netherlands - Local guide @LuigiZSeafood mixed chef plate at Sax & Jazz restaurant in Veghel, The Netherlands - Local guide @LuigiZ

 

| | | | - La decisione più coraggiosa che puoi prendere ogni giorno è quella di essere di buon umore 🙂

Level 8

Re: 5 tips to consider when styling food

@Christina-NYC 

I'm hungry now.

 

Thank you for sharing these tips with us. I'll try to apply them next time.

 

Here is my latest shot of signature hot chocolate.

Signature hot chocolateSignature hot chocolate

 

Level 8

Re: 5 tips to consider when styling food

Hi @Christina-NYC,

thank your for sharing these useful tips when taking photos of foods, I will definitely make treasure of your advices. 

Your photos are simple amazing and just looking at them we cannot resist to the temptation to taste them  

I love so much to take photos of foods especially when they present unusal shapes or great natual colors

I have to say that sometimes in the restaurants it becomes so hard to seek natural light or worst we have to face with a very low light around the some plate and may become so funny to get the good photo 😉

Below two photos where I wanted to underline the colors of Pasta and of the colored salad

Spaghetti with clams , Restaurant "San Marté" ,Parma Italy , Local guide @Giuseppe75Spaghetti with clams , Restaurant "San Marté" ,Parma Italy , Local guide @Giuseppe75

 

Salad with tuna, tomatoes, mais, mozzarella. Bar Pizzeria Bei Tonino, Parma , Italy, Local Guide @Giuseppe75Salad with tuna, tomatoes, mais, mozzarella. Bar Pizzeria Bei Tonino, Parma , Italy, Local Guide @Giuseppe75

 

Level 8

Re: 5 tips to consider when styling food

Thanks for the tips. I was aware o light importance in photography, arrangements of the food. Nicely presented here @Christina-NYC ! Here is one of mine:Caption: Haxen, kraut and beer  (Local Guide Gigi Roman)Caption: Haxen, kraut and beer (Local Guide Gigi Roman)

 

Cheers, Gigi 🙂
Level 8

Re: 5 tips to consider when styling food

Да, я пыталась применять эти советы. Ну, не всегда очень хорошо получается, но я надеюсь, что в будущем будет лучше.

 

Ресторан в СингапуреРесторан в СингапуреДомашний салат с сыром и апельсиномДомашний салат с сыром и апельсиномРесторан в ГонконгеРесторан в ГонконгеДомашняя закуска из кабачков и мягкого сыраДомашняя закуска из кабачков и мягкого сыра

Level 8

Re: 5 tips to consider when styling food

Еще крупный план мороженое с бальзамическим соусом и клубникой.

 

03039-785x600

Level 8

Re: 5 tips to consider when styling food

Thank you for the tips! Easy to follow and makes sense.

Level 7

Re: 5 tips to consider when styling food

This has to be the best article on food photography. Upto the point and includes every point. I especially love the (5)th point!! 

Level 7

Re: 5 tips to consider when styling food

Goulash soup in Hungarikum Bisztro, BudapestGoulash soup in Hungarikum Bisztro, Budapest

 

Kurtoscalacs (Chimney Cakes) of BudapestKurtoscalacs (Chimney Cakes) of Budapest

 

Kulcha with curry in le barKulcha with curry in le bar

 

Pav Bhaji in le bar, NurembergPav Bhaji in le bar, Nuremberg

 

Thai Prawns curry with rice in Bao HanThai Prawns curry with rice in Bao Han

 

Sweet white wine recommendedSweet white wine recommended

 

Berries and ice cream in Anonymus, BudapestBerries and ice cream in Anonymus, Budapest

 

Chicken main course in AnonymusChicken main course in Anonymus

 

Chicken with aubergine in Mandragora, BudapestChicken with aubergine in Mandragora, Budapest

 

Foie gras in Mandragora, BudapestFoie gras in Mandragora, Budapest

 

Falafel with hummusFalafel with hummus

 

Glass noodles in Bao HanGlass noodles in Bao Han

 

Shawarma with hummus in BudapestShawarma with hummus in Budapest

 

Bamberg style sausages with sauerkraut & bread and kesselfleischBamberg style sausages with sauerkraut & bread and kesselfleisch

These are some of my good shots captured on Canon.