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Genres in practice3 min read

LESSON 45

Food

Styling, light and the angle of eating.

IN THIS LESSON

  1. A team sport
  2. How the look has changed
  3. In practice: light and angle
  4. In practice: speed and freshness

A team sport

Food photography is a kind of still life made to show food at its most appealing. As commercial work, it ends up in advertising, magazines, packaging, menus and cookbooks. A professional shoot is usually a team: an art director, a photographer, a food stylist, a prop stylist and assistants. The food stylist often has culinary training and decides how each dish should look in two dimensions. Buying the food alone takes time, because only the most perfect items will do and several spares are needed. In advertising, food pictures are sometimes criticised for making portions look bigger or better than they are.

How the look has changed

The first known photograph of food, of peaches and a pineapple, is dated 1845 and credited to William Henry Fox Talbot. For a long time food was shot from above, as an eater sees a laid table, with items arranged flat and apart. Later came romantic lighting, lower angles and many props. The source describes the current Western commercial trend as simple, clean and natural, with few props, selective focus, tilted plates and close-ups. Dishes have grown taller and more layered in restaurants too, which suits lower, narrower views.

In practice: light and angle

This section is working practice. Food usually looks best lit from the side or from behind, through a window or a diffuser, which brings out texture and makes sauces and glazes shine. Light from the front flattens it. Choose the angle from the food: flat dishes like pizza, salads and table spreads read well from directly above; tall food like burgers, layered cakes and drinks reads best from a low angle near the table's height. Use a white card to lift shadows on the camera side. Avoid mixing daylight and warm room lights, which give dishes two different colours.

In practice: speed and freshness

Also practice. Food changes quickly: herbs wilt, ice melts, sauces skin over, and steam lasts seconds. Set up the light, angle and props with a stand-in plate first, then bring in the real dish and shoot fast. Brush a little oil on dry surfaces, keep a spray bottle for fresh greens, and wipe the rim of every plate. Leave a crumb or a used spoon if you want the picture to feel lived in. In a restaurant, ask before you move things or use any light, and keep it short so the food is still hot when the guest eats it.

Try it today

  1. 01Set a plate by a window with the light coming from behind or the side.
  2. 02Shoot it from above, then from near table height, and decide which suits the dish.
  3. 03Add a white card on the camera side to lift the shadows.
  4. 04Do a full setup with an empty plate before the real food arrives.
  5. 05Shoot the real dish within two minutes, then compare the first and last frames.