What I learned from food photography for my art blog

If you have been around for a while then you know that I have struggled a lot with photography for this blog.

Photography is just not my strongest point. But like all things in life, if you keep learning you will get there (I hope).

One source of beautiful photos is magazines. I used to spend hours reading cooking magazines and Pinterest posts with wonderful food and the first thing I always noticed was the amazing photography. Food photography is by no means easy, but when you get it right you can get your reader drooling over it.

I began to notice some things that make food photography so good.

Choose one style

What I love most about some of my favourite food blogs and boards is their consistent style. Everyone has their own favourite style.

For example, greenkitchenstories.com a the most beautiful pictures. What I love about those are all the natural colours and such. A simplicity but not overly empty.

A great way to find your style is making a Pinterest board with the kind of images you love. Just pick the elements you love and play around. You can find exactly the kind of images that you like and try to recreate the atmosphere in those.

Example; T a s t e by cucciolinas

Don’t forget that there is a lot to win in editing but part of the game is starting with a good image.

Styling is everything

When I make dinner it definitely doesn’t look like the pictures in the magazine. The styling in those pictures is amazing.

That gets me to my next point. Styling is such an amazing element of any picture. It can make any simple dish look like a five-star meal.

You can simply start with looking for something you love and try them out in your pictures. Styling your art can be hard and your definitely shouldn’t do it if you don’t feel comfortable.

But you can still style your environment or the pictures you take additionally for your blog.

Added bonus; the right props can even make your photo fit the brand. For example; if you have a bright colourful brand. You can simply use colourful and bright props.

See my props haul here or see how I used them in my Esty shop.

Read more; Blog photo prop must-haves for any type of blog!

Show some ingredients

Many food pictures show some basic ingredients. This is part of the styling as well of course but it all got me thinking about ingredients in my work.

The paint I paint with and the pencils I paint with are just as many ingredients as those in food photography.

Using them in styling can not just look amazing but also tell others how you’ve created your piece. This can serve as additional content for your blog.

I really want to implement this in the future for my own photography!

Want to read more about food photography?

5 steps to discover your food photography style // Two loves studio

tips on food photography // my cooking hut

Overall every kind of photography just needs a lot of practice. Good photos are not that easy to make.

One of the favourite tips I have read on food photography is more about the plates than the food. You can’t have all the plates you want at the beginning just like you don’t have the props you want. You start with a small collection and keep expanding it!

Let me know what your favourite tip is!

Practise makes perfect!