Food photography is one of the most essential pieces of creating a successful blog post. But the process of getting a good photo can be daunting. In today’s episode we’re chatting about your food photography process, how you can streamline it and ultimately how you can go from good photos to ones that make an impact!
Dyutima Jha joins us today to talk all about the food photography process and how it affects taking not only good photos but photos that make an impact!
After 15 years in architecture, designing healthcare facilities around the world, Dyutima found her passion in food styling & photography. She runs a successful business helping clients and other photographers around the world. A commercial and editorial photographer, she’s worked with several prestigious clients and her work has been featured in a range of food magazines. She is also the host of My Food Lens a podcast for food photographers.
Today we’re going to be talking about food photography and the power of good food photos and the impression that it can make on the viewer.
The phases of your food photography process
When we talk about the food photography process, it’s actually just a series of steps that you need to take to be able to have an impactful photo in the end. It is different than something like landscape photography where you are capturing what is in front of you.
The challenge with food photography is that you have to create a story from scratch.
Someone who uses the food photography process is the difference between an effective photo and one that does not make an impact.
Our goal is not a good or beautiful photo. What we are talking about is a photo that brings results!
That type of photography is the sum of several decisions that come together to have the final photo that has that impact!
There are three phases to the food photography process:
Pre-production Phase
- Establish the hero of the photo vs the sidekick
- Decide the mood of the photo and the emotion
- Establish your color palette (bright, monochrome, etc.)
- Choose your story – set the props and backdrops
- Choose your camera angle
- Create the concept – doodle or sketch it out!
- Decide the position of your light
Shooting the photo
- Tether to a laptop so you can see your focus
- Shoot on a tripod
- Modify your light
- Then take your shot troubleshoot and problem solve!
Post-production
- Edit and enhance the photo to make it come to life!
Impactful photos vs good photos
With an impactful photo, you get the result you are looking for! Results like inspiring someone to create better photos, having a reader come and drool over your photos, or having a brand collaboration where the product is highlighted and sold.
An impactful photo will help someone to take the action you want them to take!
Preparing for the pre-production phase
As bloggers, sometimes we get use to doing things a certain way but this is one of those situations where a change can be massively beneficial!
If you look at the steps in the pre-production phase and see that you are already doing some of them, add one additional step to your process the next time.
When you begin the difference in putting in those extra steps, it will motivate you to do more of it in the future.
Time wasters in the food photography process
- Not knowing where you want to go with the photoshoot
- Skipping steps in the process because you don’t feel that you have time
- Not preparing for the photo before you begin shooting (which leads to more time and mental exhaustion during the shooting)
Energy efficiency during your photoshoots
Use your energy correctly! This comes down to being organized and planning in advance.
Dyutima recommends making the food the night before your photoshoot, so that the only thing you have to do the day of the shoot is assembling your food together. The night before your shoot, get your backdrops and props out.
The problem is we spend so much time going back and forth from the kitchen to your photo area which exhausts us. Set yourself up for success by doing the physically exhausting parts the night before so you have creativity left!
Photo misses that could be hurting their page views
The one deal breaker in creating an impactful photo is the light. The biggest mistake one can make in food photography is relying on the light available to you. You don’t need props or compositions, you need one ingredient to make a powerful photo. Light has the power to hook the viewer!
The second thing that food bloggers could be doing is not showing enough of the recipe (or the right photography angle!) Food bloggers love overhead photos, but for some recipes another angle has the power to showcase more of the recipe and therefore make your viewers excited to make the recipe!
Exploring the angle and finding the photogenic side of food is important to capture the reader’s attention.
The third thing is focusing on storytelling. Come up with a scene where your viewers can imagine themselves in the photo. This type of photography brings the viewer through the entire cooking process.
The last thing to hook the readers into your images is the power of colors. Create colors that make a viewer get immersed into the page. Sometimes food photos are undersaturated or oversaturated. People will not relate to images that are not realistically colored.
Dyutima Jha is an architect-turned food stylist, commercial food photographer & the first South Asian woman to host a food photography podcast, My Food Lens.
Download Dyutima’s guide:
10 Step Photoshoot
Be sure to connect with DJ on Instagram, Facebook or Pinterest.
Related episode: How to Create More Content (with tips for your photoshoots!)
Call to Action
Share in the comments what you will be trying from Dyutima’s tips in your next photoshoot!
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