Sep 26th, 2012
Get your food looking its best by following these simple suggestions as used by the Simply Beef and Lamb team:
1. Make use of Natural Light
Food always looks better in natural light rather than under harsh studio lights. Make the most of natural light by placing your food near to a window in bright daylight or photographing outside. To make the most of the natural light cover a piece of cardboard in some tin foil and direct the light to darker areas such as the face of a joint of beef to better show the texture and other details.
2. Act Quickly
Make sure that you set up the area where you will be taking the pictures in advance as food always looks better when it’s piping hot. Items such as gravy can congeal and look awful if not taken quickly. Put your camera on a tripod and manipulate it into the right position so that you can start snapping as soon as the food is ready.
3. Shine on
While you’ve probably heard about food photographers ‘enhancing’ their shots with paint, motor oil or other inedible items, we always make sure that everything in the picture is edible. A fine facial mineral water spray adds a dewy finish to salads, fresh fruit and vegetables while a little extra oil painted on with a pastry brush adds a satisfying sheen to meat.
4. Create a background
Some colours can clash with the dish that you are photographing so keep your background simple and light. Adding a few extra touches such as pretty napkins, plates and cutlery will make the food look as though it’s ready to be eaten, while other details such as flowers on the table will add to the composition.
5. Take a View
Don’t be afraid to take another view of your dish. Use the macro setting on your camera to get a close up shot of an aspect of the dish or cut the item that you are photographing. We often take several photographs of joints, burgers and sandwiches in a cut and uncut state. Cutting into the dish often gives you a better view of what’s inside, but make sure you take a photograph of the dish in its entirety just in case your slices don’t work out how you’d hoped!
For ideas of recipes to photograph, browse some of our delicious recipes and see what you come up with.
See how we do it:
Browse Simply booklets: http://www.simplybeefandlamb.co.uk/recipes/simply-magazine
