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• Beginner Photography
Food Photography Tips: Introduction • Landscape Photography
• Wildlife Photography
BY LOLA ELISE | 36 COMMENTS
LAST UPDATED ON APRIL 4, 2018 • Portraiture
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My personal food photography journey started slightly earlier than my love for
wedding and portrait photography. Since I cook a lot, one day Nasim suggested
that I document it and possibly turn my recipes into a blog. It started with one Take Your Photos
single shot of the final look of the dish before we devoured it, and ended up
developing into step-by-step recipes that started gaining popularity. Although I FARTHER
took a break from food photography, I still kept on getting questions regarding
the craft of food photography. So, I decided to start writing articles dedicated to
food photography tips and techniques and how to work with food in various
situations.

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In this first article on food photography basics, I will talk about where to chirp the
PHOTOGRAPHY LANDSCAPE
inspiration for food photography and how to develop simple techniques for BASICS PHOTOGRAPHY

capturing food. As I mentioned above, my food photography experience started

from actually cooking for my family. I believe that if you cook the food before you
photograph it, you have a special connection with your subject (food!). You know
what to eat it with, you know what color it will be and you have a sense of
WILDLIFE MACRO
presentation, more or less. Even if you do not know how to cook, understanding PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTOGRAPHY

food, knowing the background of the recipe or being just a food lover will give
you tremendous flexibility to develop your personal unique style. With a little
technical help like simple knowledge of design, color and shapes will add to the
plethora of information to make your task a success.
COMPOSITION & BLACK & WHITE
CREATIVITY PHOTOGRAPHY
For me, getting my eyes trained was a big goal. What I mean by that is, I thought
if I exposed myself to as many food journals, recipe books, quality recipe blogs
and food photography books, my mind eventually would come to terms with my
desire to learn this craft. I like to think of this as a repetition process to train the
NIGHT SKY PORTRAIT
brain.
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My first step was to search for food blogs where I could find the content I
needed. I signed up for Foodgawker and this ultimately gave me a good head
start. Foodgawker is not just a site with pretty pictures – the recipes are often
equally delicious. Small steps at a time, I kept on learning from other bloggers
and developing my own style.

NIKON D300 + 50mm f/1.4 @ 50mm, ISO 200, 1/200, f/3.2

The second step was to get my hands on as many food journals I could; this
would include spending some time in the library, looking through journals in book
stores and purchasing the ones with the most content.

My third step involved purchasing books which would help me master technical
skills as a food photographer. Among us there might be some who have an eye
for design, color and patterns. But I consider myself a pretty average person,
who needs to acquire skills of food styling by learning and training myself. I also
think that no one is born a great photographer :) If one has a desire to learn, with
the help of simple tools you can learn ample in order to deliver the photographic
product. For food photography, I would start with learning the styling techniques
along with understanding how light works. If you have been shooting for a while,
learning the lighting side of food photography will be much easier for you. The
initial knowledge can be gathered through various literature out there.

Remember that no book will give you complete training or knowledge of food
photography. You will still need to learn and practice a lot. If you wish to have
some material as a reference, here are my favorite books which teach the food
styling and techniques to some extent:

From Snapshots to Great Shots

A Guide to Creating Your Own Appetizing Art
Plate to Pixel: Digital Food Photography and Styling
Food Styling: The Art of Preparing Food for the camera

Go to your nearest book store and if these are available give them a skim through
and see what you like. I will be posting more and more techniques regarding food
photography, along with different lighting techniques to show you what you can
achieve at home using inexpensive lighting equipment. Also, I will teach you to
use natural light to your advantage without using artificial lights.

I am looking forward to sharing more info with you soon and if you have any
questions, please do not hesitate to contact me using the comments section
below.

NIKON D300 + 50mm f/1.4 @ 50mm, ISO 1400, 1/100, f/4.0

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FILED UNDER: PHOTOGRAPHY TECHNIQUES

TAGGED WITH: FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY, PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS, TIPS FOR BEGINNERS

About Lola Elise

Lola Elise is a professional wedding and portrait photographer
based out of Denver, Colorado. She is the co-author of
Photography Life and author of the Lola Elise website. Read more about Lola
here.

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36 COMMENTS Newest

ishi nora
December 10, 2021 11:57 pm

Everythings looks so tasty

This is a very informative piece of writing. I would definitely try your photographic
techniques. The photos are lovely and the color combinations, immaculate. Thank you very
much for sharing.

0 Reply

zebra
April 11, 2015 2:51 pm

Great food photography. Did you use Nikon d800 for these? Just wondering because the
photos actually “pop.” Thanks!

0 Reply

ron
December 1, 2013 11:27 am

Hello, enjoyed your shots and looking forward to your future comments/tips/suggestions. My
wife is a Food Stylist (for the last 25 years). She is enthusiastic and knowledgeable for all
things Food. Subsequently she knows and can prepare virtually every variety of food. One of
the things she constantly reminds photographers and production people is “the food is the
star” . Also, not all food for photography is for eating; a lot of spices are not used for the
shots tho they would be required for eating. Salt and other spices change the “color” in the
lighting and sometimes deteriorate the ‘stamina’ of the food for the shoot. There is always a
‘stand-in’ then the ‘Hero’. Lights and camera angles and placement are the work of the
‘stand-in’.

0 Reply

Andrew
October 18, 2013 9:17 pm

I have been involved with food for the last 7 years and just recently I bought myself a very
nice point and shoot camera (Coolpix P510), only because I couldn’t justify spending so
much for a DSLR. My problem is trying to get the depth of focus spot on. I want the place
setting and food to pop; however I don’t care to get the background. Any tips or
suggestions? Appreciate it.

0 Reply

Bibi
August 16, 2013 2:52 am

What a wonderful blog! I’ve just bought my first ever DSLR (the modest Nikon D3200) and I
stumbled uspon your site by chance and I absolutely love it! So much useful info, concepts
explained in a comprehensible way, accompanied by some great shots. Thanks so much
guys for all your hard work and the passion you put into it.

A very enthusiastic beginner :)

0 Reply

Bali wedding photography package

July 1, 2013 2:22 am

very helpful, hopefully the photos that I take will be great.

0 Reply

Roberta Briffa
June 20, 2013 5:39 am

Hi Lola, great article. I have been running a foodie blog for more than two years now and am
learning to take photos of what I cook myself, rather than asking my hubby to do all the
photo work plus editing. Poor guy, I promised him a break! Looking forward to reading more.
Thanks!

0 Reply

DEL B
June 10, 2013 4:10 am

Great post! I’ve learned a lot from it. I will try to incorporate these with my photography
techniques. Thanks, Lola!

0 Reply

Johny Wong
June 6, 2013 1:09 am

Hi Lola,

I just finished my lunch when I read this post. And now I’m hungry again :)
Do you cook all those food yourself ?

0 Reply

Lola Elise
Reply to Johny Wong June 6, 2013 8:40 pm

Hi Johny,

Yes I do :)

1 Reply

Anna
June 6, 2013 12:28 am

Hi Lola,
THANK YOU! for such a great topic. I love your photography style and the recipes. The foo
looks edible, approachable, delicious, and like an average person can do it. It doesn’t feel
“staged” or somehow “plastic” or “fake”. It looks like it just came out of your pan (is that
“chicken tabaka” by any chance?).
Can’t wait for the next installment.
Oh, would you ever considering having a class on this? Something hand-on? If I remember
correctly, you guys had a class a few years ago, but it wasn’t food photography specific.

0 Reply

Nasim Mansurov Admin

Reply to Anna June 15, 2013 5:39 pm

Anna, we will have some photography workshops later this year. We did not plan on
workshops specific to food photography, since it would probably be hard to attract more
than 1-2 people…

0 Reply

Anna
Reply to Nasim Mansurov June 30, 2013 10:10 am

Nasim,
I’ve been looking forward to your workshops for a few years now. :) Would you
happen to have any indication as to when it might be (time of year of month)? I’ve
been trying to come for a few years and my schedule hasn’t worked out in the
past, so I’m hoping to make it this year and hope to plan around it. I understand
about a food photography-only workshop. I suppose the tutorial on here are the
next best thing. :)

0 Reply

Nasim Mansurov Admin

Reply to Anna July 10, 2013 2:42 am

Anna, I posted our 2013 workshop schedule.

Please let me know if you have any questions!

0 Reply

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