9 Excellent Food Photography Ideas That You Can Try at Home(feature)- Appy Pie

9 Excellent Food Photography Ideas that You Can Try at Home

Abhinav Girdhar
By Abhinav Girdhar | Last Updated on April 11th, 2024 11:45 am | 5-min read

Creating and taking a good photograph of food is a massive challenge. Unlike other forms of photography, food photography is quite unique. Food photography is one of the most creative forms of photography in the world. Every foodstuff and food-related object in this world can be photographed creatively in multiple ways leaving endless avenues for creativity. There are two reasons why a photographer might consider taking photographs of food. It can either be a product photograph to sell a food commodity or photography done for artistic purposes.

Table of Contents

Whatever the purpose, a few ideas for food photography can help you out. Given below are nine food photography ideas that should help you get started with food photography. These ideas will help polish your creative food photography. Here are a few statistics about the most popular food items in photography and a graph to show you the various kinds of food photography that end up on the internet.

9 Excellent Food Photography Ideas You Should Try

Here is a list of 9 unique food photography ideas that you should try out for your next photography gig:
  1. Reflections: Playing around with reflections is a great way to make your food photographs better than they are. Reflections add a unique perspective and contrast to an image. Most reflection food photographs are clicked under artificial light and a dark background.Source: PexelsTo get a proper reflection, many photographers keep the subject on a plexiglass surface and let light fall at their desired angles. This kind of reflective food photography is well suited for electronic goods that involve food such as coffee makers, toaster ovens, etc. Taking reflective food photographs in natural light is a bit more difficult. It is, however, doable in the morning light when the sun is brighter. The reflective surface doesn’t need to be below the subject. In the example given below, the food is reflected off of the microwave glass. It adds a layer of contrast to an otherwise simple photograph.
    2. Source: Pexels
  2. Dynamic Splashes: Dynamic splashing is very popular in photography. Dynamic flashing is not limited to just photography. Videos use it to add a literal ‘splash’ of interest in bland videos. Splashes add movement to your portraits and dynamic contrast. It helps your photograph feel more ‘active’.Source: PexelsDynamic splashes are usually done for liquid food photography. They are achieved with the help of a high shutter speed camera. Another way to do splash photography is to make a resin epoxy sculpture. YouTube has excellent tutorials on it.
  3. Keeping it simple: Sometimes, the best way to take a good photograph is to keep it natural and simple. Simple food photographs can be special and can achieve the intended effect on the viewer.Source: PexelsInstead of spending time to create an induced effect on food, the photographer can spend time on getting the perfect balance of lighting and shadows. This can help click a photograph that illuminates the food perfectly.
  4. Deconstruction: Deconstruction is a relatively new idea in food photography. Deconstruction involves either ‘cutting’ up your food or showing off its ingredients. A popular example is vegetables being cut up seemingly floating in mid-air. Another way deconstruction is used in food photography is showing the final food item in the middle surrounded by its raw ingredients or simply showing the raw ingredients. The aim of deconstruction is to show the ingredients that make up a food item. This type of photography is popular with fast food and snacks that use this method to show how their snacks are healthier.Source: PixabaySometimes deconstruction is simply done by showing the raw ingredients of a product. For example, certain chips/crisps brands have potatoes surrounded by the ingredients involved in the flavoring.
  5. Bright Colors: Bright colors mostly mean good photographs. Occasionally as a food photographer, you will get to work with bright colors and capture interesting photographs.Source: PixabayFood items and desserts such as macarons and M&Ms make for photographs where you can experiment with lighting to shoot unique photographs. Look at the example we’ve given above. Doesn’t it look yummy? Try them out!
  6. Atmospheric Influences: Food Product photography often has a similar atmosphere/background. For example, whiskey advertisements usually have a product photograph in a room full of dark backgrounds and objects that evoke a feeling of sophistication.Source: PexelsAtmosphere is often used to create a perspective for the main food object in the image. Advertising utilizes atmospheric influences in photography the most. It is a tried and tested creative food photography idea.
  7. Concept Art with Food: The concept of abstract art is all about creativity. Occasionally this creativity involves food. Creating concept art with food is also an excellent yet creative food photography idea. It is a must-try for any food photographer.Source: PexelsConcept art can also be used to create messages with food that can be photographed and distributed.
  8. Play with food characteristics: The most common example of this food photography idea is a flaming chili. Showing a foodstuff’s characteristics visually such as its taste, origin, etc. can add to the uniqueness of your photograph. It can be challenging to take such photographs because it might come off as a cliché.
    9. Source: Pexels
  9. Food in the air: Another common type of food photograph involves food items being poured or being suspended in mid-air. This adds a certain dynamic and movement to the image creating an interesting look at the food product and highlighting the main food object. Just like dynamic flashes, these photos can be taken with the help of a high shutter speed camera.

Tools to Help You Edit Your Creative Food Photographs

Your work isn’t done just by capturing the perfect click. A good photographer always edits their photos to make them look better. Photo editing software like Photoshop can be expensive for someone looking to get into photography. What they need is a simple & affordable photo editing software. Appy Pie has just the solution for you. Appy Pie’s Online Photo Editor is a perfect choice of photo editor for a beginner. The tool is simple to use and provides simple editing capabilities that can help you capture the perfect click! Try it out today!If you are a food photographer that takes photographs of cooked food, you might also be someone who provides recipes for food. You can benefit by creating a specialized recipe app for your phone. A custom app can help you gather follower fasters and retain them for longer. Don’t worry! Creating an app is not a challenging task. You can create an app in less than 10 minutes! Create your own recipe app that includes an inbuilt camera app and upload your recipes today!

Conclusion

That was our list of creative ideas for food photography that can help you click amazing food photographs. One thing ignored in this blog is the basics of photography. All ideas given in this list won’t do you any good if you don’t know how to approach professional photography. Thankfully, we currently have a free photography guide in the making. Subscribe to our newsletter below to receive a notification when the guide is out!Leave us a comment with your food photography ideas. We’ll add them to this blog. Let’s create the ultimate food photograph idea list together!

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Abhinav Girdhar

Founder and CEO of Appy Pie

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