Arrangeyourfood
andpropsforan
appetisingresult
Style
4 the shot
Evenwiththemostbeautifullighting
andcomposition,sloppyfoodstyling
willproduceimagesthatarelessthan
appetising.Manyprophotographers
workwithafoodstylist(whowill
preparethefoodforagivenshoot),but
wedon’tallhavethatluxury,sofood
stylingisanimportantskilltodevelop.
Stylingstartswhenyousource
subjects,sowhenshopping,always
buythefreshest-lookingingredients–
thosewithoutlargedentsorbruises.If
you’recapturingready-madeitemslike
desserts,choosethemostsymmetrical.
Manyfoodswilldeterioratequickly,so
makesureyouhaveyourbackground,lightingandcamerasettingschosen
beforeyouintroducethefoodtothe
scene.Whileyou’reexperimentingwith
thesettingsandstylingfortheshot,
youcanalwaysuseastand-initem
ofasimilarshapeandcolourtoyour
intendedsubject.
Stylingisaboutchoosingtheright
propstocomplementyourdish
orsubject.Aswellaschoosing
shapesandtexturesthatsit
welltogether,considerhow
thecoloursofyour
backgroundcontrast
orcomplementthose
ofyourfood.Settingupashot
Createtheperfectfoodiemood
LEVELCROCKERY
Onunevensurfaces,
placesomeBluTack
underplatesand
bowlstostopthem
lookingasiftheyare
sinkingdownonone
side.Thiswillalso
helptoachievemore
evenshadows.ADDGARNISHES
Ensurethatany
garnishyouinclude
issomethingthat
complementsthe
dish,forexamplea
sliceoflemonwith
fishorabrightly
colouredherbtostand
outanddrawtheeyein.CLEANTHEPLATE
Onceyou’vefine-tuned
thepositionofthe
dish,checkthatitis
freefromstrayfood
orfingerprintson
theedgesofbowls
orplates.Remove
distractionswitha
pieceofkitchenroll.Tidy your setup
Taking a few seconds
to make the dish look
perfect before you shoot
is much easier than
editing the flaws out later
© Esther Ling3x © Dan Mold
FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY