Foodie photos are part of vacation memories, 5 food photo tips

Food photo tips, hamburger, photo by Cristine Struble

Focus on the food, not the table

If the purpose of your foodie photo is the food, make the food the focus. The busy table cloth, the brick pattern in the wall or the table full of glasses may not be necessary. Bring the photo’s focus back to the plate.

When I look at a food photo, I want to see the details in the food. Does the steak have a perfect sear? How melted is the cheese? Is the pasta sauce chunky or pureed? These little details can make a huge difference in a dish. If the photo shows a small portion of food and a big portion of table, how can I experience the food?

While the food photo is capturing a memory, the photo needs to convey a story. The old saying that we eat with our eyes is true. I can look at photos of some of my favorite meals and instantly recall how they tasted. But, those delectable photos came with practice. Many, many photos were Instagram fails.

Experiment with shooting distance. Sometimes moving the phone super close to a dish is the best way to get all the details. Other times, it is better to further away and crop the picture. Every situation is different. Unfortunately, there is no easy to follow rule. Again, practice helps.

If you can’t avoid having other items in the food photo, try to make the non-food items blend into the background. Some photo editing software can help. The blur technique is an option. In the end, keep taking photos and see what works for you.