Food can make an excellent subject for shooting for still life photography, and you can achieve some tempting artistic when you shoot it with your iPhone camera. Moreover, shooting incredible food photography means a lot more than just a picture; it also depicts what’s on your plate. It is just like other photography genres, where you have to follow some steps and rules to get stunning photography.
Therefore, to help you get the most out of your iPhone photography, below, you will find the 10 Tips for Tempting iPhone Food Photography that will help you shoot an appealing photo.
10 Tips for iPhone Food Photography
1. Shoot In Natural Light
Light is a vital component for creating a tempting still life photo. Therefore, it would be great for you to shoot your food photographs in natural daylight instead of using artificial lighting. Moreover, if you use artificial light to illuminate your food, it is more likely to give an ugly yellow or shade in your photograph. Colors have extreme importance in food photography because you want the color contrast of your plates, food, and background elements to make it look more accurate. Not to mention, you do not want your white plates, white rice, or white table fabric to look yellow.
Moreover, color emits with the help of artificial light will impact your food subject’s natural beauty, whereas natural daylight will provide a neutral colored light. You should remember that soft, natural, diffused daylight would be best for your food photography. Moreover, you can even take your food photography outside when the weather is warm but make sure it’s not hot outside because it can cast harsh shadows on your food object.
2. Choose A Simple Background
When it comes to shooting a perfect image for still food photography, the background plays a crucial role. If the background is colorful or messed up, viewers’ attention will be drawn out from the food subject. Therefore, it would be great for you to choose a perfectly neutral background as it will enable you to emphasize the food instead of the background. A neutral background does not always mean that it should be bold or plain, but it should harmonize with the subject instead of suppressing it.
Generally, three essential kinds of background will work great for still food photography: wooden (brown) background, dark background, and light background. Moreover, light-colored food will look great on a light background, while dark-colored food offers more contrast when place on a dark background. Like chopping boards and tables, wooden backgrounds are likely to look great with almost every type of food.
3. Use Food Styling Skills To Improve The Image
The way you arrange the food items on your plate or the table will significantly impact the final shoot. Keep in mind that composition is the key factor for excellent and tempting food photography. Therefore, you need to choose a perfect position for each food element carefully to make the most out of your food element.
It is a fact that using the best food styling skills will help you improve the appearance of the image and allow you to add a sense of visual balance and interest. Moreover, there is nothing else worse and annoying than the photos of messy food placed on the plate. It would be great for you to arrange the food items uniquely and neatly to create a pleasing effect on the eyes.
4. Take Control Of The Shadows
Shadows also play a vital role in food photography as they can even make your photograph look appealing and beautiful or ruin the photography by breaking it. Sometimes it may happen that it improves the photo contrast by adding visual interest and depth, but other times it can ruin the picture by dominating the major part. Moreover, the intensity of the shadow will depend upon the kind of light you are using while shooting.
Therefore, strong sunlight will cast dark, hard shadows; on the other side, an overcast day will cast more diffused light making the shadows softer. Sometimes harsh sunlight can create a compelling picture when creating better and exciting shapes that can add a sense of composition. But remember that you should try to prevent clicking photographs of still food in harsh sunlight. Moreover, soft shadows are better for the subject to create a subtle dimension and depth without dominating the whole scene.
5. Shoot From The Best Angle
When shooting a perfect photograph, you will need to decide from what angle you are going to take the picture to make the most out of the subject. When it comes to food photography, you should consider clicking it from the top/above, especially when the food is placed on the bowl/plate. The best part about shooting from above is that it enables you to capture all the details of your food and the background, and it also emphasizes the bold structure of the cutlery, dishes, and other essentials present in the scene.
Therefore, it will be easier for you to create a balanced and robust composition, enabling you to arrange the surface subjects while shooting. It is also a great way to eliminate any distractions in the background of a busy room or outdoor location.
6. Create A Story
A photograph is one of the great ways to express your stories without the help of words. Moreover, you can even add more elements to your food pictures, and it will help you draw more attention from the viewers by creating an interesting story. You will have to think about what types of objects you can place in your scene to tell a tail, create a warm and soothing atmosphere or exciting story via your still food photography.
For instance, you can add up a cup of tea along with an open book to create a cozy, relaxed feeling in your picture or a healthy snack. Therefore, your photograph should tell a story, and you will have to explore different options of what you can use in your food photography.
7. Use A Human Element
The addition of human elements in your food photograph is another way to use them, and it will help you narrate unique and exciting stories. Therefore, using your hand or arm in your food pictures will help you create a sense of presence in the viewer’s mind because it will describe that the picture has been captured through their vision.
If you are going to use this tip, you will have to hold your iPhone device with the help of one hand and use another to add a human element to the picture. So, you will need to keep your hand and iPhone steady when you are about to press the shutter button.
8. Decorate The Scene
As discussed above, the food and background are both essential elements, but to make your food photo look more exciting and tempting, you should consider using smaller items to decorate the scene. Therefore, an excellent would be using some dry ingredients used while making or cooking that meal.
It will help you create a concept of the visual recipe and a sense of composition in your food photo. Moreover, you can also use species because they also look good at decorating, and even you can fill a spoon with different spices to add to your frame. Or you can spill some colored spices in the scene to create a better visual effect.
9. Keep It Classy
Every time people think about using different decorations to enhance the level of composition, but sometimes the best way to do it is to keep it simple. Using a foot element with bold color and shape, you can use a contrasting background. Thus, even a simple composition can help you create a strong impact in your photography.
It would be great for you to position the subject at the center of the frame and not use heavy decoration. Moreover, remember to prevent the use of colored dishes, plates, and cups because it can draw the attention of the viewer from the food. Thus, a white curtly will not draw much attention from the food and help you put more emphasis on the food. If you are taking a shot from close range, then you do not require any other decoration in the frame.
10. Adjust The Exposure Level
When you have adjusted all the elements in the scene and the kind of lighting you want, then there is only one thing left to do before you click the shutter button is that you need to adjust the level of exposure in your iPhone. In simpler words, exposure means the brightness of the photograph.
The main issue can arise when the background and the plates are white because it can make your food look over-exposed, and it will lack more details. To prevent the chances of exposure, you should make use of exposure to highlight, which means you need to adjust your iPhone exposure level. It will help you add more details to your photography.
Taking good photos takes more practice than theory. Pick up your iPhone and take advantage of the tips shared here, and your photos will gradually become more attractive.