There’s nothing like scrolling through social media and seeing a wonderful photo from an account of a restaurant or hotel. The shine on the pastries, the melting of the cheese, and the perfectly rounded scoops of ice cream. It really does make the mouth water and entices us to order the items. However, have we ever stopped to wonder what goes into taking that picture? Let us take a look through the lens and see what food styling and photography is all about.
First, we should define what food styling is. If you’ve been on Pinterest then you would have already seen a whole array of food photos with warm homely backgrounds and perfectly set fruit baskets. That, essentially, is food styling. It is the process of staging food and dishes to look as appealing as can be. However, it goes deeper than just putting a dish in the middle of a million dollar kitchen and adding some props. Photography is an art and so is styling and they must work together to tell a story.
Photographs are also important to the branding process of a company or an establishment. For example, if a coffee shop prizes itself on their daily homemade baked goods, then the photographs of the products must reflect that. It wouldn’t make much sense for a quaint corner store coffee shop to put out photos that are let’s say black and white or have a very monochromatic feel to them. When we think of a well beloved family run establishment we think of warmth, community, and a laid back experience. Which brings us back to the importance of food styling and photography. A picture really does paint a thousand words after all! And that picture should best represent what you have to offer and the kind of customers you are trying to attract. Especially now that we are in a digital age, some of us don’t even bother to read the menu before going somewhere new. We just do a quick Instagram search and if the feed looks nice and presentable, most of the time that is enough for us to make the reservation or to send it to the girls group chat for the next brunch spot.
One thing about food photography is that it has to look good enough to make us want to order that dish or item but it also has to look realistic. There’s nothing worse than seeing a great picture on the menu only for the actual dish to be served and look nothing like it. There’s a fine balance in showing your best and making sure you can deliver to the same standard each time. Some may say it doesn’t have to be 100% perfect. The pie doesn’t always have to be perfectly rounded, the garnish doesn’t have to always be strictly placed in the center, and the brownies don’t have to be cut into exactly the same sized squares. Sometimes a little blemish or touch of humanness makes the photo more believable.
Just as any art form, food styling and photography also have elements that need to be considered. Some of these are color theory, composition, communication, layering and dimension, as well as motion. All of these elements are important when it comes to showcasing the best parts of the dish. Along with lighting and background, a lot of thought goes into every food photo.
Any given dish usually has more than just two colors or shades. Color theory can help a stylist arrange a backdrop and props to compliment or bring out the colors of the food. You always want the eye to look at the food first and not the things around it. Colors also have certain psychological effects and some colors are better than others in evoking an appetite. Composition is the placement of objects and the angles along with the other elements in the photograph. Should it all be in the center, or off to one side, or maybe spread out to fill the space? There are many ways to go about it, and different ways to highlight the dish.
When it comes to communication, this has more to do with what message you are trying to convey. As with the example earlier with the local coffee shop. If local is what you are trying to promote, then maybe adding locally made ingredients in the backdrop may help promote that. Think of a fruit pastry on a rustic looking chopping board with some locally sourced or made butter and fruits on the side, it will really highlight the agenda of promoting local. Layering and dimension are also important parts of styling and photography. Is the dish itself quite tall like a multilayered cake, or is more flat like a crepe? These characteristics will help determine the best way to style and photograph the food to highlight its best features. Height and dimensions can be added through the table setting as well as the props, such as glasses, utensils, candles, flower arrangements and more.
Lastly, we have motion. Motion can be conveyed through not only a video format but also in a photograph. For example, a hand reaching for the serving spoon conveys motion, the same way two people sharing an ice cream also conveys some sort of movement even though it is just a photo. If it is a series of photos of one item, props and the food may be moved through each still, which also conveys motion and can help tell a story.
Now that we have some basic knowledge of food styling and photography, maybe we can appreciate the posts online or the menu photos a little better. It’s more than just cooking and snapping a pic. It is an art form in its own right, and deserves to be acknowledged every once in a while especially if the photo makes us feel a little hungry!
