Have you ever seen the musical Oliver? If not, it doesn’t matter much. After all, we all know that food is glorious. Most of us love eating. In fact, food is involved in many, many social pastimes, including picnics, baby showers, weddings, game nights, and more. But when you can’t smell the food, can’t see the real thing, or can’t taste it because it is only depicted in an image, how do you make it seem glorious? Doug Davis not only loves playing with food, glorious food, to make it look glorious, he is good at it, too!
Food Photography
Food photography has become big due to the popularity of shows such as Iron Chef, Top Chef, Good Eats, and more. Food culture has become huge. There are cookbooks, blogs, magazines, billboards, and more, in need of professional food stylists and photographers. How do you capture the sizzle of a steak in a photo? Or the juiciness of a thick burger with fresh tomato and crisp, fresh onion? And what about the smell of garlic and basil in that tomato-cucumber salad, or the creamy tartness of a log of goat cheese? YUM! Do the words make your mouth water? Well, so can the pictures.
Secrets to Photographing Food
There are certain ways you can make food look mouth-watering including:
Lighting: Natural light is best when photographing food. Setting up next to a large window on an overcast day is generally a good idea. However, on a sunny day you can use a white sheer curtain to diffuse the light.
Angle: Your angle will depend on the food itself, but in most cases you will be shooting from above (for instance, an artichoke could be photographed from above to capture its geometric shapes) for an aerial shot, or taking a close-up.
Colors: Color balance is very important when photographing food. Using complimentary or contrasting colors is very effective.
Body: Full body dishes are more attractive. You may need to add support under the food to make it appear fuller than it actually is.
ABOUT YOUR DALLAS, TX, PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER:
Doug Davis has been producing professional, engaging videos and product, food, and lifestyle photography from his Dallas, TX, studio for more than 20 years. D-Squared Studios is located at 4312 Elm Street, Dallas, Texas, 75226. Contact our office at (214) 746-6336 or email Doug at doug.davis@d2studios.net.