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A high-quality image can mean a world of difference when it comes to creating food content. From capturing the crispiness of a pie crust to the deep hues of a decadent black forest cake… it’s true what they say: an picture tells a thousand words.
Whether you’re a budding Instagrammer or a seasoned content creator, having the right toolkit and know-how will set your photos apart and elevate your brand.
Get your lighting right
Lighting is one of the most crucial aspects of photography, and will go a long way in creating stunning food images. But forget fancy LED rigs, to beautifully light your plat du jour all you really need is the sun, or the flash on your camera.
Feel free to move around to find your best natural light source, if your kitchen isn’t giving you the light you need, try taking your dish to a different room, or even outdoors.
If you’re shooting in a darker room or at nighttime, using a fast prime lens such as the NIKKOR Z Mirrorless Lens will provide optimal image stabilisation. This means you can shoot at higher ISO settings and keep the shutter speed fast in low light scenarios, so you can capture images without noise or blur.
Natural lighting can be your best friend when it comes to taking photos of your food.
(Credit: Getty)Invest in the right camera
Your kitchen appliances may be top of the line, but the dishes you make with them aren’t going to translate unless you have the right gear to capture all their glory.
Using a camera with a high-resolution sensor will ensure every bit is shown off in super-fine detail, from the tiny seeds of a strawberry to the crispy golden textures of a croissant. With that in mind, the Nikon Z Series Mirrorless Camera range is perfect for food photography, with an effective pixel count of 45.7 megapixels, it will perfectly capture vivid and finely detailed images. It also boasts a high-resolution screen, which means you can shoot and review images in detail without having to upload to a computer.
You can also customise your Nikon Z series camera based on the type of photography you do, with dedicated food modes available to help beginners achieve the best results without having to fiddle with settings.
Advanced white balance temperature settings allows you to capture authentic colours in your food, while auto and manual focusing options cater to both beginners and pros to allow a vast spectrum of image depth.
The wireless remote control makes shooting so much easier and will save you from going back and forth between arranging the photograph and then reaching over to fire the camera.
When looking for a camera to shoot food, ultra-high resolution is a must.
(Credit: Getty)Know your angles
Typically, 45-degrees is the most common angle for commercial food photography however not every dish is equal. Some plates, such as pizza, look better shot as a flat-lay from above, while others like burgers, shine when being shot from the side. Try moving around the plate and taking photos at various angles so you can pick your favorite later.
Try various angles to see what works best with your dish.
(Credit: Getty)Practise the Rule of Thirds
The Rule of Thirds is a classic way to help you compose your photo in an aesthetically pleasing, balanced way. It involves breaking an image down into a grid of nine and experimenting with placing the subject of the photo in different squares. Most cameras have a setting that turns on a grid to help guide you with this.
Instead of pointing the camera directly at your dish and capturing it bang in the middle of the image, try offsetting the subject to the left or the right to allow your eye to move around the space.
Positioning the most important elements of your image to one side can produce a much more natural photograph.
(Credit: Getty)Minimise clutter
Negative space can be very powerful in photography, and sometimes a busy background or too many props can detract from the subject of a photograph.
As a photographer, you’re trying to direct a viewer’s focus and if there’s something in the photo that’s distracting then it doesn’t need to be there, so take a second before snapping away to assess what’s being included in the image. If that extra bowl, vase of flowers, serviette or spoon doesn’t add to the photo, remove it.
Sometimes less is more. There’s no need to distract viewers with multiple props.
Brought to you by Camera House.
Purchase any Nikon Z Series Mirrorless Camera or NIKKOR Z Mirrorless Lens and share your favourite food snap for your chance to win a kitchen upgrade package from Electrolux. Plus a Beefeater BBQ to be won each month! Find out more here.
