2022
When you're about to shoot your food photo for Maps, think like an art director. You're not going to replicate this shot that I made yesterday shooting behind the scenes stills on a movie set with its amazing lighting setup but you can replicate the image by thinking of the balance of the artefacts. This shot made use of the movie lighting from an angle the lighting director hadn't thought about to get depth and colour for the pure foodie. Interestingly a lot of this food isn't even real because it needs to be the same for countless takes and scenes over several days. You'll note the balance of the dark plates complementing the bright yellow brioche and white table. This is a use of contrasting negative space. It forces your eyes to the food. The balance of cups and food also keeps your interest. The only thing I'd change of I did this again would be a highlight on the fruit. There's plenty going on in this image you can think about in your food photos. Remove all distractions like unnecessary things on the table. Keep everything clean. Think about where your light is coming from then use the light sources and shadows to your advantage. Focus on the food and keep your exposure set to not blowout the white but still keep the darks visible with good detail.