The holiday season has finally arrived! There is so much to love about the holiday season: the gathering of the family, the spirit of giving, and for you foodies out there it’s all about the eats! Not only is it about eating the food, but savoring it through snap shots! We thought we would give you a crash course on how to photograph those scrumptious dishes this holiday season.
Welcome to Food Photography 101:
Lighting-
Use window light. Go ahead, pull back the curtains and let the light in. If you can, try to shoot as close to a window as possible for maximum effects. You can also use a small reflector to bounce the soft window light onto the subject.
Style the food-
Whether it is adding a garnish, sprinkling on spices, using fresh veggies, or just balancing the photo with utensils, styling is very important when it come to photographing food. Don’t be afraid to mess the food up a little bit. Cut a slice out of the pie, or have a bit of food on the fork. It adds more life to the photo.
Set the scene-
Capture the holiday with a photo of the table setting or the place cards. Have fun and get creative with your camera angles. Take a photo of the whole Thanksgiving spread from above, or maybe even at table level. Anything to gives your photos some variation.
Use props-
This goes along with styling the food. The most important rule when using props is to make sure they are relevant. Use things like glasses, utensils, or my favorite: a cutting board. Napkins and placemats make good backdrops, it gives the picture a pop of color/texture and can make all the difference in your photos.
Invest in a lens-
The type of lens you use can make or break photos. A 50mm 1.8 is a great lens for food photography and is also wonderful for things like portraits and everyday use. So this holiday season you can easily go from photographing food, to snapping some shots of the fam.
Get action shots-
I know what you’re thinking, “action shots…of food?” YES! This can take your photos to the next level! Get shots of the family passing the rolls at the dinner table, snap some pictures of the cook sifting flour, pouring gravy on the dish, carving the turkey, or even pulling food out of the oven. Just something other than a dish sitting on a table or blank background will really add some UMPF!
Share your photos with us on social media using #BuyItAtBedfords or tag us @bedfordcamera , we enjoy seeing how everyone celebrates the holiday season and even more, we love seeing what’s cooking.
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