12 Tips for Photographing Food

I've done some years in the catering industry, and am familiar with the problems and rewards of photographing food. Many times, I was unable to obtain photos of the food from the professional photographers working an event, or it took too long to get them. And other times a family couldn't afford a professional photographer. So I learned how to shoot food and special events out of necessity. These 12 tips for photographing food are great for average people developing a catering or advertising portfolio, or shooting the food before a special occasion like the food or cake at a wedding.

Camera Basics:

-One challenge with getting close-up photos of some small dishes is that they often look blurry. Move further back and use a zoom.

-Another challenge is the lighting. Are you photographing outdoors? Be sure you aren't facing the sun. This will place a huge ball of glare in the photo, possibly right on top of your object of focus. Or the room may be "romantically dark". Make sure your camera is set for the lighting in the room.

-If your hands are unsteady, use a tripod. Any slip of fingers or shaky hands can blur the food.

-When photographing food, a platter of one certain food always looks better trimmed with fancy greens like endive lettuce or parsley, fruit or vegetable slices of different colors. If it's just the main dish, it can look plain and uninspired.

Now for some special food preparation tips:

Roasted whole foods, such as turkey:

-Should always have a beautiful deep gold-red-brown glaze for food photographs. For poultry, brush the skin several times while cooking with a teaspoon each of honey, butter, paprika, and teriyaki sauce all mixed in about a half-cup of warmed water. This will also seal in natural juices and make it de-li-cious!A beef roast should be coated with its natural juices just before the photo.

Bread:

-If the bread must be eaten after taking the photo, it will look better with a coat of melted butter on it for shine. If not to be eaten, coat a twisted or braided fancy loaf (like Jewish "Challah") with shellac - yes, shellac - to appear fresh and shiny. This loaf will never get stale! It will hold up for repeated usage on many buffets - for example, as part of an Italian décor with wine casks and fruit around it makes a great photo.

Vanilla ice cream and whipped cream:

-Real ice cream should be used hard right from the freezer; do it quickly without a flash if possible. If not for consumption - use a hefty lump of mashed potatoes instead! Frozen Cool Whip® may also hold its shape a little longer.

Photographing food surroundings:

-Make sure the table around the food is decorated in a complementary color. Get as little empty table as possible.

-An accompaniment to the food may be desirable within camera view. For example, a slice of cake on an ornate dish with a fancy fork can have a pretty crystal glass of milk standing by.

-To make a buffet appear extremely long, the shot should be taken on the vertical angle from a position at the head of the table. However, you will need to ensure the various platters are perfectly aligned, or it will appear crooked. To accentuate food at many levels on a buffet, it should be taken straight-on from the front.

-High foods, like a wedding cake or champagne fountain, should be shot from a low position at the front to make it appear towering.

Post processing:

-I like to use Nikon's "PictureProject" Software. Even when I don't think a digital photo can get better, it can be zoomed and cropped, color-enhanced, turned to black and white from color or vice versa or even given sepia tones, sharpened, and special effects added.

See a photo of my "No-Bake Sugar-Free Cheesecake Pies" here. This is actually a photo of the original photo, and still came out great.