My Food Photography Journey and Lighting Tips

When I first started blogging, I didn’t realize how important food photography was. People visiting your blog can’t smell it, touch it or taste it, but they can eat with their eyes. I am not claiming to be the best food photographer or know everything about food photography. This is just one of many posts I hope to share about my journey in learning the skill of food photography.

Some of the things I think about even before I start cooking:

• LIGHTING!!!
• Time of day I’ll be shooting
• Color of the ingredients
• Color of the finished product
• Potential props
• How I will be plating the food
• Picture angles

This is a Samsung Galaxy. It was lent to me by Verizon to try out and retails for $449. It’s a sweet, little compact camera. Perfect for restaurant reviews because of it’s size. A great starter, point-and-shoot camera. If you’re not into carrying huge DSLRs, this camera might interest you. The best feature about it is the WiFi compatibility. You can take a pic and send it to Instagram, Facebook, etc. However, I didn’t really use the social media features. I sent all my pictures to Dropbox, and from there, I edited.

If you’re not sure how to set your shutter speed for light exposures, the Samsung Galaxy has automatic settings to help you like “Action Freeze” and “Landscape.” My favorite for food pictures was not the “Food” setting but the “Macro.” I took this picture of the Watermelon Arugula Salad using the “Macro” setting.

Let’s talk lighting, shall we? Don’t EVER EVER EVER use the built in flash on your camera for your food pics. The picture above is a close up, showing the true colors and details of the food. You can’t do that unless you have good lighting. This picture was taken in natural light outside by a pool and in the middle of summer in sunny San Diego.

Study. Learn. Practice. I look at food pictures ALL day long. I check out what other food bloggers are doing with their food photography. They each have their own style. Over time and practice (a lot of practice), I finally feel like I’m developing my own style. Right now, though, it’s all about practice.

After all that, I’m also learning video editing for my shows. Sigh…

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