Food Photography is no wonder a captivating form of art. It requires a lot of attention even to the minutest details in the scene. In the beginning, everyone makes mistakes, there’s no denying it.
Only practice can help you get better at it. However, there are a few things you can keep in mind to avoid a few common mistake during food photography:
1. Blue: less is better
In case you’re relying only on natural light for shooting, then the bland color is not gonna help you. The results might be acceptable to you, but after a certain level as you advent in food photography, natural light coming right through the window won’t be of much help to you.
Try working with artificial lighting, even if it’s not your way to get things done. Trying something different is the key to get better at photography.
You might come across images, taken on sunny days, with elevated blues. Color Blue, considered to be the least tempting of all, appears because of direct light from the blue sky. This unpleasant breach in highlights can be taken care of during post processing. Just lower down the blue saturation of highlights in Lightroom.
2. Plane of focus isn’t well planned
Having a clear mindset of what you need to capture can drastically improve your food photography skills. As a photographer, working with a mess of thoughts in mind during the shoot is only gonna make things worse.
While shooting a scene, always ask yourself which parts of the photo must be in focus and which should be out of focus… and why! “Why?” is the question you need to ask yourself every-time. If you have no reason for it, then you don’t exactly know what you’re doing, it’s all in vain.
Envision your photograph, gather all the gear necessary, frame your subject and click!!
3. Styling Just Like Others
Advertisers and publishers always quest for things which stand out and can attract/interest their audience. It’s next to impossible to survive this industry if you’re just another food photographer. You need to develop your own unique style.
Whether it is propping, lighting, photography techniques or anything like that; you need to develop a style of your own. Try experimenting with different elements of food photography until it reflects your way of seeing the world.
I’m not saying that it’s going to be easy, but it’s definitely worth it.
also read: Top 7 Tips For Low Light Food Photography
4. Shooting Too Close
I’m sure you’ve been committing this mistake, but no more! In hope of getting clear/sharp texture and details of the food, many photographers go way too close.
Details shots are no doubt great but we want more. Viewers love images with tableware and complementing props. Perhaps texture of the tabletop is as important as the texture of your food.
5. Over-editing
People nowadays are obsessed with filters. Don’t believe me? Check Instagram yourself!
Filters and presets must be used, but in limit. Natural “essence” of food must not be lost in artificial filters.
A little editing indeed makes a photo look better, but don’t overdo it.
6. Plating color
Plates and other tableware are immensely important part of food photography. Don’t overlook them. It’s wise to choose plating color that complements your food.
Odd colors like dark red or bright green rarely looks good with any food. I prefer cooler, sober colors like while, gray or very light pink/blue. Most of the food or prop colors look great with these colors.
7. Shooting at same angle as you eat
Many photographers tend to ignore the importance of angles in food photography. Classic 45 degree shooting isn’t always great. You need to see which angle makes the food look more delicious or highlights the details creatively.
Try shooting straight from the top. You must already know, these images are loved by Instagram (social media in general). Or how about a side shot?
Keep your camera a few inches above the tabletop. A sideways clicked picture shows more details (for some foods) than the top-view clicks. Try to add props or tableware in the frame by adjust camera angle a little when clicking sideways.
Well, there you go! That’s all I had to share. Don’t forget to drop a comment down below if this post helped you in some way or if you’d like me to write about something or maybe just to say hi!