We put so many efforts in cooking such amazing dishes. Thus in order to do full justice to our hard work we should also click some tempting pictures of our delicious recipes. This is where food photography comes in picture.
Food Photography is one of the hottest trend these days as many of us have blogs and want to share our culinary art with the world in a tempting way. Even if you don’t have a blog nothing stops us from documenting our creations with beautiful pictures.

Food Photography

Initially my focus used to be always on getting the recipe perfect but today it has also moved towards getting a tempting click of my recipe and it certainly compliments my blog name Crave Cook Click 🙂

There are some basic things which you can keep in mind while getting started with food photography:

1. Lighting

For me photography is all about capturing light thus it’s very important that we understand the available light while taking food shots.  While capturing food , natural light is a boon. By far, the absolute best results will come from using natural light, i.e. no camera flash. I always find it best to photograph near a window, but one that does not generate direct sunlight, as that will typically wash out the photos. So typically a north or south facing window will allow generous light through a window without direct glaring sunlight. The color and intensity of the light will also change throughout the day, so on a free day when you have time to play around, try taking pictures of the same object in the same place at different times and see how the light changes affect the pictures. Simple natural light with an inexpensive reflector can get you amazing food pics.

Natural Light with simple reflector

2. Camera

Firstly no camera is bad camera or the beauty of the picture is not directly related to your camera model. I am a Canon girl and truly happy with my gear. I started with a basic DSLR and now shoot with a full frame. The first thing we should do is know the gear which we own. And trust me the only way to do that is by reading the manual. Later obviously google is our best friend. It gives you the basic understanding of different modes which you can use to click food or any other kind of photography. Currently I own a Canon 6D for food photography and I prefer AV mode or Manual Mode for food pics.

Canon 6D

3. Lens

For my food, my lens is my eye. You don’t need to empty your pockets buying the high end lenses. First start with basic kit lens which was canon 18-55mm in my case and once you start understanding the specs move towards higher investments like buying a macro lens etc.

4. Styling, Composition & Props

Do you ever go out without grooming yourself? No right 🙂 Even our recipes like to presentable. Try to make them look beautiful by adding different backgrounds, serving in unique bowls and garnishing with other colorful ingredients.

Adding Props

5. Angles

I always love to take my food pics in different angles. By different angles I mean sometimes I stand upon a stool and click my food from top. Sometimes I lie down on the floor and capture my recipe. I take horizontal shots, vertical shots, etc. Try to experiment with your angles and you will see how interesting the picture comes out.

Date Walnut Cake with different angles

6. Post Processing/Editing

We all are beautiful but still we like to apply some kind of makeup which ends up enhancing our natural beauty. Same rule applies to post processing of food pics. Adding some contrast, popping out the colors, increasing light and sharpness are minor changes which can get major improvement in our pics. But never overdo it as it can hide the natural beauty J
Lightroom,  Google Picasa, etc are amazing editing tools which can do wonders to your creations.

Editing Food Pics with Lightroom

The bottom line is I don’t want you take a food photograph but to make a food photograph, add some story and life to it. Make it feel special, pampered and present it in the best way you can.

This was my first article and we will go in detail to all kinds of photography, gears, techniques, props, etc  in my upcoming articles. Stay Tuned

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