They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but a good food picture can sell a restaurant a thousand times over! Whether you’re new to running a food and drink blog, or running an Instagram account for a restaurant, we have put together our best food photography tips to help you on the way to #instafood stardom.

Styling

Set your dish up to be shot within a natural looking setting, this will help the image tell the story of what the diner will be seeing and feeling as they dine. Set up your space with cutlery and table decorations, however there is no need to keep this looking formal. The best food photography feels naturalistic rather than staged, so pop a fork onto the plate casually, unfold the napkins and make sure wine and water glasses are filled for a natural style to your image.

Lighting

How a dish is lit can change the way it looks on the plate – too much light and you will find your images are over exposed, too dark and you won’t showcase the ingredients and colours in the best way. Using soft natural light is best, so photograph dishes close to a window, out of direct sunlight, and don’t rely on the camera flash which can cause further shadows in your images.

Rule of thirds

The rule of thirds is widely used in composing photographs and is a guideline that places the subject, in this case a food dish, in the left or right third of the image frame, leaving the other two thirds more open, drawing your eye to the dish and into the composition of the image which makes the food photography more pleasing to the eye.

Editing

Whilst the tips above will help your images look great, natural and well balanced, the trick with the best food photography is to cleverly edit and tweak images to show ingredients and dishes in the best light. Whether you use your iPhone’s own photo editing tools, or an app such as Snapseed or VSCO, it’s best to not over-do the editing. Slightly raise the exposure, and bring back the colours by increasing saturation and vibrancy in small increments to find a picture that pops whilst still looking natural.

Strong food photography is key to running successful restaurant marketing, PR and social media campaign. Drop us a message to find out how we can help you to step up food photography and social media channels for your restaurant, and follow us on Instagram too to see what we’re up to in London.

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To find out how our approach can help you - drop us a line on 020 3301 5305 or send us the form below with some basic information and we’ll be in touch to discuss the finer details.

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