Food photography: how to make food more detailed and attractive

12 May Food photography: how to make food more detailed and attractive

Eating food is one of the greatest pleasures of life. For the rich food in front of the table, it is inevitable that there will be the urge to take pictures of them and share them with everyone, and at the same time to be a souvenir for yourself. The May Day holiday is approaching. I think everyone has a good chance to have a big meal. How about taking a few food photos?

However, photographing food is actually a technical job. How can you make the food you photograph more attractive? This article will briefly introduce the food photography skills and help you take pictures of food that will make people salivate.

1

Ideal equipment

Shooting food is not very picky for equipment, and you can shoot with your mobile phone. But for the best results, you still have to use a SLR. It is recommended to choose a lens above 50mm or a zoom lens.

It is inevitable that you need to fill up the shadows when shooting. If you don’t have professional equipment such as reflectors, you can use a mirror instead. A lady’s makeup mirror is enough.

It is best to carry the lens cloth with you in the cold season. Food can only be taken when it’s just served on the table and it’s hot. It may cause the lens to fog and you need to use a lens cloth.

2

Various settings

For food photography, a large aperture is a must, at least you have to open the aperture to f/4.

Since the food does not move, this is a good opportunity to master the manual mode. Switch to manual mode and experience the feeling of different shutter and ISO combinations.

Do not use flash. The concentrated light and high brightness of the flash will make the lines of the photographed objects firm and clear. It is suitable for shooting stable and strong men, but not suitable for food.

The food under the flash doesn’t look delicious enough

Finally, there is another point that needs special emphasis, which is to use RAW format for post-processing. Post-processing has become an indispensable part of photographic art.

With just a few simple adjustments of hue, brightness, contrast, and saturation, you can make your food photos more attractive all at once.

3

Perspective selection

The most commonly used is the 45-degree viewing angle, which is also the actual viewing angle of the human eye, which makes the picture appear natural and the field of view is more comprehensive.

The dishes can also be placed at a 45-degree tilt, which is more lively and lively.

The side angle of view is closer to the food and has a stronger sense of substitution, which will give the audience the illusion that they are sitting at the table, possessed and ready to eat.

The disadvantage is that the field of view is limited and only the side can be seen, so it is more suitable for shooting hamburgers, cakes and other hierarchical food.

The bird’s-eye view has the richest field of vision, but the details are not obvious. Shooting a single dish will make the photos lack interesting and connotation, but this perspective is very suitable for shooting a combination of diverse dishes.

The “family portrait” of the whole table of dishes was taken with this angle of view, and it couldn’t be more appropriate.

A single dish with various colors, complex composition and exquisite structure is not a must.

4

Application of light

Compared with artificial light, natural light is more divergent and softer, with stronger color rendering and softer lines. Almost all top food photos are taken under natural light.

Choose a dining table close to the bed and let natural light shine through the glass obliquely on the dishes for the best effect.

If the food itself is brightly colored, it is best to choose a light background to make the picture brighter. The light background can highlight the bright colors, and the bright picture can make the audience feel more comfortable.

When you cannot use natural light and need to light yourself, you should pay attention to choosing the direction of the light.

Try to avoid front lighting. The front light distribution is even and flat, without highlighting the hierarchy and structure, and lacking the effect of light and shadow.

Try to let the light come from the side and back. If the shadow is too obvious, use a mirror to fill in the light. The 180° ring-shaped side rear lighting is the most ideal effect.

Side rear ring light shooting effect

5

Use the environment

The key to the attractiveness of food photos lies in the sense of substitution. Reasonable use of the elements in the environment to create a sense of substitution for the audience can add a lot of points to your photos.

The plates are staggered, and environmental elements such as tableware, table textures, and desktop accessories are added to the screen to highlight the dining atmosphere. It is worth a try.

Adding interaction with characters and food is also a good way to make the picture more lively and more dynamic.

The turkey meal being cut

Flaming beef just served

Summarizing the points mentioned today, Sun Lake will show its talents at the dining table and take photos of the food that is eye-catching!