How to take pictures of drooling food

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

A good picture differs from a bad one, as a rule, not at all by the subject of photography, but by a professionally composed composition. Even a photo of a dinner can be a masterpiece if the background and angle are chosen correctly. But there are other important aspects of the perfect food composition.

There are a few things to consider when creating every food photo:

• the mood that the picture creates;

• history that remains behind the scenes;

• the rule of thirds, which is important for almost any genre of photography;

• location of objects in the frame;

• shooting angle and image orientation;

• and, of course, a harmonious color palette.

Now about each in more detail.

The mood of the shot

The food in the photo should look natural, as if you had no difficulty in capturing it perfectly. Instead of tensely building a shot, try the food, enjoy the taste, the serving, and take a picture in a great mood. This way, according to Deeba Rajpal, the author of the blog, you can achieve better results.

History behind the scenes

Composition can tell a story. Looking at the photograph of Sandhya Hariharan, it's easy to imagine her telling her mom about her last trip.

Rule of thirds

No, of course not every photograph has to tell a story. But, if you want the viewer to come back to you, he must want to reach out to your dish and try it. The simplest thing you can do for this is to use the rule of thirds: 4 lines, 9 areas - we wrote about this more than once.

Here are a couple more numbers to remember for the perfect food photography:

1. Make sure your subject is about 75% of the frame.

2. There can be several objects in the frame (ideally - 3), creating lines, but the focus should be exactly the main object, in your case - the food.

Here are some great examples of using the rule of thirds:

Location of objects

To create an appetizing photo that stands out from the rest, you need to pay attention to a couple of planes: the one in the back and the one under your dish.

The background determines how much your subject stands out. There are no hard and fast rules here. Someone argues that you should use a background that contrasts with your dish. But aren't these pictures of Sujitha Nair beautiful?

However, the background should always remain just the background so as not to distract attention from the main subject. Therefore, be careful when using bright colors.

The surface on which you place your dish is of the same importance. Compare:

The dish is one, but the compositions are different.

Like the background, what your dish stands on should only be a support, not the main subject of the photo.

Shooting angle and image orientation

The features of the dish are very important here. For example, a pizza or pie looks good on top. But sandwiches and burgers are best shot at an angle.

It's best to always shoot from multiple angles until you find the perfect angle.

Colors

Regardless of what color you like the most, it is precisely the well-chosen shades that will make an artistic image out of a banal photo of food. Remember the color wheel and complementary colors (those that are in the color wheel opposite each other) when choosing a harmonious combination.

In an orange plate on a red tablecloth, this curry would not look so attractive at all.

As a last resort, use a white background.