How to take delicious pictures of food: 5 basic tips on the example of cheesecake

On the website of the food delivery service "Batch of food" appeared the most interesting, and most importantly, practical tips on how to make a food photo so that the dish looks edible. Nowadays, Instagram life is nowhere without a phone and a photo. So these five basic photography techniques will definitely come in handy for you, and you will be able to proudly post mouth-watering photos on social networks.

Building the light

It is best to shoot food in daylight by placing the object closer to the window.

When shooting translucent drinks (beer, lemonade, cocktails), the light source should be at the back. So the light passing through the thickness of the liquid will dissipate, emphasize the color and texture of the liquid.

It is better to shoot food with side lighting, because under the sun all objects will cast a sharp shadow. You can smooth it out by placing an ordinary piece of paper behind the object. For more frequent use, you can make reflectors from white cardboard with your own hands.

Choose a suitable angle

Food is usually shot frontally, from above and at an angle of 45 degrees. The easiest way is the angle from above, because it hides the technical shortcomings of the camera and is especially suitable for shooting "flat" dishes — pizza or plates with pasta.

For high-end dishes, such as pancakes, multi-layered cocktail or cake, frontal shooting is suitable.

The most versatile angle is at an angle of 45 degrees.

To fill your hand, shoot the dish from different angles. Then, over time, you will learn to immediately determine the most suitable one.

Frans Sneijders, "The Fish Shop", 1618

Build a composition

Use the three-thirds rule: you need to mentally divide the future picture horizontally and vertically into three equal parts. Imaginary dividing lines and their intersection points are the central zones of visual perception. Arrange the objects that should attract the viewer's attention along these lines and leave the space around free of all unnecessary. Food abundance in the frame would lead to ecstasy of a Dutch artist of the XVII century, a modern person will be amused by a photo with a mountain of food at best.

The rule of thirds is a simplified version of the golden ratio rule. The photos built on it look harmonious, balanced and not overloaded.

Tell a story

Those photos that seem to hint that some kind of plot is going on behind the scenes attract the most attention and will definitely be remembered better.

To give dynamics to the picture, you can place the dish in an environment of objects that seem to continue the main theme of this dish. For example, next to the pancakes, you can put an open jar of jam or caviar, cut poached eggs or a Kiev cutlet, add a clove of garlic to the steak.

Process photos

There are a huge number of various applications for photo processing. Use filters, change the contrast, do color correction. Don't be shy.