To get some cool ideas for your images, look towards social media or other platforms for inspiration. A great way is to check out some free food stock photography. Such examples will help you come up with new compositions and also give you a better understanding of lighting.
Water can be a beautiful feature in outdoor images, helping to add a touch of beauty and tranquility to a scene. Whether you happen upon some water that’s smooth enough to capture a reflection, or slow down your shutter speed to gently blur the surface, looking to incorporate water into your images can help to add something special to your landscape shots.
For lifestyle food photography, it is important to make the scenes look natural. One way to do so is to use a small blower to scatter some crumbs or other food particles onto and around the plate. This will give an air of realism to your scene and will make the food look like someone’s actual lunch or dinner.
To keep your food looking fresh, you can use oil and ice in different situations. By using oil, you can add shine to some food items while ice water can keep salads and garnishes looking fresh.
When you go and see a client for a job, make sure you take along some inspirational images or a mood board that everyone agrees on. This is a great way to make sure that everyone involved is on the same page and there is not a lot of room left for subjective interpretation of ‘moody’ or ‘minimalist’ shots.
You don’t need a food photography studio to take some excellent images. All you really need is a clean desk, some props, and a window to get started. You can even place items on a clean floor and create wonderful photos. Don’t feel like you need to have a huge studio for professional food photography.
Even if you have a very strong idea, it’s best to take different shots with varying angles and lighting. You never know if you might prefer another angle later on when you’re viewing the images on a larger screen.
If you’re really serious about your food photography, start writing about it for yourself. When you write about your favorite foods, you will come up with ideas about how to make them the hero of any image. Writing also often leads to a better understanding of what is more important in a certain item.
Whether you’re interested in a food photography blog or you prefer books written by experts, investing in some learning resources will go a long way in helping you take your food photography career to the next level.
One of the best ways to improve is to take pictures for yourself without any pressure of creating amazing images for commercial work. Experiment with different lighting and compositions and see what works. Practice as much as you can and your food photography will improve by a lot.