Tools
- your food
- a camera
- background/props/etc. if any
- lighting [if needed]
- your lovely self!
Background & Area
While your main piece is the food, you still have to consider the background. So what can you use?! Well; my first suggestion would be your cooking area! There's a variety of ways you could do this, from photographing one with more in the background or using the tools or ingredients you used to make it with! Or you can simply use a plain background from a plate, counter or otherwise. [For plain backgrounds I use fabric, a 12inch x 12inch piece should usually be sufficient; it's like a mini-backdrop!] and finally another easy way to create a background is bokeh or out of focus objects.
Keep in mind while props [other objects, food, garnishes, etc.] can add to your photo, they should not be the photo. However you decide to set up, make sure your food is still the main focus of your photograph.
Once you've got your food; I suggest picking ONE piece/plate to photograph. If you want to have more in the background; that's fine, but pick one to be your main focal piece that shows your best out of it all to be your center of attention; your "shining star".
Lighting:
First of all lighting, I highly, highly recommend not using flash. I [as many others] would suggest using as much natural lighting as you can; try to set up by a window with a good amount of light coming in to keep the natural atmosphere to the photo. If you can't go ahead and get some lamps in the room if you need more light but flash turns most colored food [especially in cakes, cupcakes, cookies and anything with food coloring] into something that looks more like a lsd trip over an appetizing photograph. People at woodstock didn't see colors so bright as food coloring under a camera flash. My best suggestion is try using natural light and work with your camera settings first.
One thing I've used for lighting without having a lighting kit is I bought some "daylight" bulbs, you can get them at decent prices and almost any store. [seriously; I bought mine at the market down the road that doesn't even carry fresh produce past October.]
Angle & Framing:
LSD trips and food coloring aside; after you've found adequate lighting the next two things to worry about are the positioning and angles to use.
There are 3 main angles you see in food photography
1. downwards [capturing the top]
2. straight forward [photographing the sides]
3. tilted towards [catching a bit of the sides & the top]
Now you have to decide which one is right for your food. Decide which part of your food you want to show the most, which part stands out and is going to give the best appearance to your subject. Is most of your work visible from the side [for example, cakes with multiple layers, fruit & vegetable work, etc.] or is it mostly at the top [like decorated cookies, soups, etc.] or is it on both top and sides [cakes, entrees, salads, etc.]
Once you've decided what you'd like to capture most out of your food, pick an angle that will show the best and most of what you're photographing. For example: If you're photographing soup, it's in a bowl so you can't go from the side, you can either do from the top or tilted towards. The next questions are do you have props to add to a from the top shot, without adding something to it along side the bowl it will feel flat and uninteresting. You could add some crackers on the side and one along side of the bowl in the soup to add some depth to the image without taking away from the soup. If you decide to tilt towards it; you can add some garnishes [herbs, sour cream, cheese, etc.] to give it life as well.
Keep in mind if you're working with flat food [i.e. a dish, soup, cookies etc.] build the dish itself up with garnishes [herbs, sauce, ingredients [for example, put some cinnamon sticks in your pumpkin soup, sour cream in your chili, a wedge of lemon on your fish, etc.] to give it less of a flat feeling to it. You can also stack them [like cookies], make a stack to take a photograph of rather than have a bunch of them flat on the surface, it will give a more natural and appealing feel to it.
Now it's time to actually take your photo; I suggest a more shallow Depth of Field, it will help hold the focus on your main piece while keeping the background subtle but still there. You want your food to stand out from any props, background or anything else you use.
When it comes to framing, forget the rule of thirds and almost everything else you've learned about framing. Fill your frame with your food. Take your best angle and frame around it giving a little room around the food, but allow it to take up a great deal of the frame, allow enough room for any props/background you used, but try to make your food take up the most allowing the details to be seen better.
It's okay for it to be centered, it's fine for the edges to be cut out, and it's perfectly find to be a little tilted.
Diptych:
I'm sure you've seen these before; they usually have 2-3 different photographs in one image. These are great for food photography because it lets you display different angles. stages or give better view of the smaller details.
Everything Else I Forgot: Have fun with it; this is one of the few times you can break most of the rules of photography! Take multiple shots and try different things, soon enough you'll find your niche and style for photographing food.
If you have any questions or there was something I missed please don't hesitate to ask!
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