The process stays the same even as the restaurant changes: we’re seated and the waiter rattles off the specials; we painstakingly ogle the menu and place our order; we munch on bread until the food arrives.
And then I pull out my camera.
My more generous companions often offer me their plates, which I diligently snap before hastily (and a bit bashfully) returning to them. I take a number of photos until I’m satisfied with the finished product. I have become pretty good at expediting this process so that when I finally dig into my food it is not lukewarm.
Yes, I’m one of those: a food blogger. Together, we are an amorphous crew, from dilettantes to savants, dieters to hedonists, specialists to just plain eaters. But, while sifting through all of the food writings that the Internet has to offer, I have noticed one component that is nearly universal to every one that is fit to read: the pictures.
Sure, good writing speaks for itself and is not to be discredited. But in an eating culture that’s dominated by the media, we are spoiled; we eat with our eyes, and the blog world values instant gratification very highly. Pictures add intrigue, accessibility, and dimension. They attract readers and perhaps do better justice to the intoxicating crimson of strawberries in almond cream, or the rapturously adorned bacon in a Grant Achatz dish as it quivers on a thin silver arc. Visuals are universally perceived, so by documenting our meals on camera, we can share them with people across the world, regardless of native tongue or suppertime.
Most of all, as humans we are wired to respond to aesthetics. Well-arranged food photography, exploding with color and texture, taps into that same basic impulse and attraction we feel toward any other form of visual art. At its most basic, food photography is the recording of a meal, but when we take out our cameras at the dinner table, we are interpreting and expressing not just the food in front of us but the memories and sentiment that accompany it. In that light, I’ve compiled a list of basics for food photography. All you need now is a camera and some snacks.
Natural lighting: I cannot stress this enough. A perfectly crusted steak under fluorescent light (or the light of your camera’s flash) looks completely different than said steak under the gentle rays of the sun. This might result in your choosing to cook or dine at an unusual hour, but it’s the single best thing you can do to capture the kind of food photo you could practically eat. When you turn the flash off, though, the lens stays open longer to compensate for lack of light, so you’re more likely to get blur. Easy solution: stay super still (or invest in a tripod—tiny ones that fit discreetly on tabletops are available in most places).
Macro mode: I went years without knowing about this and lament that lost time. As a preteen with her first camera, I would get super close to cool-looking trinkets and hit the shutter release, inevitably ending up with blurry shots. I was a n00b. The macro setting, on the other hand, is made for this type of thing, allowing you to position your camera inches away from your subject and get clear images.
Composition: Bear in mind that you are trying to capture and relay the atmosphere of a meal or a restaurant in the confines of a single photo. Use that space efficiently. Things register differently when they are on camera, so you want to negotiate everything on the plate — nobody wants to see an expanse of white dish between the pan-roasted Hawaiian walu and the accompanying maque choux, so inch them together until they snuggle to make the picture as voluminous as the dish itself. Also, don’t be afraid to add a garnish for color and dynamic. When you’re angling your camera, the trick is to convey your 3-D impression in a 2-D medium. Really make it a point to capture the grain of the steak, buttery crumb of the crust, the vibrancy of the vegetables; don’t just point and shoot. Lastly, all food looks best on a simple white plate — let the food speak for itself.
Editing: …or, as the professionals say, “fixing it in post.” Sometimes (often!), what you see on your camera is not going to be the finished product. You as the photographer have permission to tweak the contrast, boost the saturation, and blur out the tiny flaws like stray crumbs or smeared sauce. Editing can definitely take a photo from good to outstanding, and playing around will help make you more aware of your goals next time you take a camera to a subject.
So go forth, intrepid readers, armed with your cameras and baby tripods, for just five short minutes stand between you and your newly registered food blog. Start documenting; no matter if it’s your latest home cooking creation or a luxe five-star meal. Turn off your flash, turn on your macro, and get intimate with your dinner. You’ll have a book deal in no time.
