Food photography used to be a specialized skill set for photographers in general, but today with smartphones and social media, pretty much anyone can call themselves a food photographer. Instagram/Facebook is predominantly filled with food pictures before everything else, so clearly getting your pictures to look good is of utmost priority if you want those likes. Here are some simple, easy tips to follow to make your overall food photos much more appealing:
1 Do a flat lay
Flat lay’s are the new in-thing; for those who don’t know what a flat lay picture is, it basically means taking a top down view of a bunch of different items/dishes preferably on a monochrome background for the ‘hipster’ effect. Doing this gives you the added advantage of showing off multiple food dishes, which means showing off your entire meal including drinks and dessert.
2 Add a fade filter
Another rising trend on Instagram especially is to add a fade to all your food shots. The faded low contrast look seems to work judging by the number of likes these posts get, so you might wanna try it out. The fade filter gives the picture a monotonous melancholy look which is super trendy it seems, especially if paired with some deep philosophical caption.
3 Close-up shots
Food porn is actually a thing now. And no, it’s not sexual in the slightest. Sexy food photography is all about going real close – the in-your-face approach with your food. However note that doing this definitely requires a decent camera or your picture will essentially be a bunch of grainy pixels – not attractive at all.
4 Plate your food
Some people have the ability to make fast food look like gourmet style dishes, and you must be wondering how. The trick is that it’s all in the plating. A burger would definitely look way more appetizing on a nice white plate rather than the cardbox boxes they usually arrive in. Here’s another simple hack, make your sides look as good as possible to complement the burger. Plating fries or a salad correctly can result in the entire meal looking like a restaurant grade set meal.
5 Focal blur
Yes while a proper focus requires quality capturing from a DSLR or something equivalent, we now have apps that can help you create a similar outcome by adding a blur behind your focal point. This gives your picture more structure and well, makes people believe you’ve taken it with some fancy or expensive camera – maybe this will give you more likes?
