Food has been an icebreaker all our lives. Let’s face it – we bond better with our family members during dinners and if it is a first date, a fancy restaurant is always considered as the most ideal place to meet. Be it friends get-together or a business meeting, we always consider meeting over food. This is the very reason restaurants and cafes consider food photography as the crucial part for their businesses to thrive. A Food Photographer highlights innumerable aspects of the dish that enables the restaurant owners to lure their clients. Having handled food photography for highly well established brands like Sakthi Masala, Aachi Masala, SGR Food Products and Niru brand – the team at FotoZone is a lot equipped to face the many challenges that this genre of photography throws at its photographers. Here are some basic tips that one should always bear in mind, should they decide to be a successful food photographer.

The Right Background

Remember the food should always be the hero in the photograph. The resultant image could be used anywhere right from menu cards to posters to a press release or social media campaigns. They could also be published in various sizes right from a thumbnail size to a hoarding. No matter where the images are intended to be used, the background used for the dish should only compliment the beauty of the dish but not take over as the ‘attention-seeker’. Never use heavy textured or patterned background. Always go for a white coloured background or a light textured background. Pastel shades with minimal texture or no texture always does magic.

Use Appropriate Crockery

Experiment with different shapes of crockery unless the chef insists on a particular kind. Quirky crockery always adds an interesting perspective to the dish. Also, the kind of crockery also depends on the branding quotient of the restaurant or cafe. If they are the ‘classic’ kind, go for elegant looking crockeries. If the branding quotient looks playful and young, get wacky with the usage of crockery. No matter the branding guidelines, ensure to use crockery without any design for this will shift the attention from the dish itself. To summarise, experiment only on the shape of the crockery but keep it plain.

Lighting

This is one of the biggest challenges in food photography. This could make or break business – both of the restaurant and of the photographers. There is so much happening in the food that the only way to give life to the very many elements is by highlighting its textures. Focus the lighting on the textures the food offer in order to send the right signals to the end clients.

Food Stylist

Food photography can never be successful without a Food Stylist. The pairing between these two is indeed made in heaven; therefore invest your time on finding the right food stylist for your photoshoots. Food stylists elevate the presentation to another level and this is where the story of the dish takes shape before they are photographed. It is highly imperative to brief the food stylist about the dish and the story behind the dish proceeding with the shoot.

Visually Appetising

We have already mentioned the importance of visual appeal of food photography. Food that is not visually appetising does loose in the battle. This is the stage where the food photographer and the food stylish work closely enough to add depth and texture to the dish. Experiment by applying oil on the dishes or if it is a kebab kind of dish, use a torch to burn the edges a bit. Add micro herbs on the plate to make it colourful.

Food Photography is all about dramatisation and that can happen only with the right photographer, stylish, lighting and of course a sense of adventure.