We asked award-winning food & drink photographers, Eat & Breathe, to provide advice about food photography to help you take stunning food shots to wow customers online.
Examples of Eat & Breathe's work.
M&S Food Photographer, and Eat & Breathe Director of Photography, Darren Hickson, gave us 6 top tips about how to get the perfect shot:
6 Top Tips for DIY Food Photography from food photographer of the year Eat & Breathe
- It's not all about expensive equipment. You can still get great results from entry level DSLR cameras and even phones - the majority are equipped with high resolution cameras.
- Use natural light if possible. Don't be tempted to use your on-camera flash or phone flash. It washes out your photography and will make the most beautiful looking dish look unappealing. If you can, find a window/source of light that will give you a one direction light source that will create shadow, contrast and texture to the dish.
- Master the best angles. The best angles are
the bird's-eye view and the diners view. Get high above the subject
(grab a chair if needed) and capture your shot from above and make
sure the entire subject is in frame. Alternatively, come down low
as if you are sat ready to eat. This angle will give you the
opportunity to see the depth and detail of the food. Play around
with the depth of field - the subject is sharp in the foreground
with the background going out of focus.
- Props are your best friend. Think like a food
stylist and bring objects such as condiments, drinks, knives and
forks, into the frame to enhance your composition and add some
interest to your shot.
- Play with space around your subject. Sometimes
less is more. You don't need to fill the entire frame to get an
amazing shot. Detailed images do look great but don't be against
the dish only taking up a third of the frame. Placing the dish in
front of a simple background works really well. Nothing too busy
though. You want the focal point to be the food. Some backgrounds
can fight with the food so keep it simple.
- Take lots of pictures. It's better to take a lot and get one shot that you're really happy with than quickly grabbing one or two that come out poorly.
