Ten tips for food photography that beginners must learn.

Lead: Food photography should be the one we have the most contact with on weekdays, and sometimes it is even more frequent than portrait, architecture and landscape photography. Although most of us are not professional food photographers, we always want to take some beautiful photos as a souvenir or share a happy time with our friends. Here I will share with you ten simple tips for taking good food photography to help you get started easily.

One of the ten secrets of food photography that beginners must learn: choosing a good light source.

If you want to shoot good food photography, the first element is the light source. The type, direction, quality and shadow of light source are the key to the success of a gourmet photo. It is suggested that beginners can first find a single light source as the main force, such as natural light outside the window, a single lamp, and a simple reflector or whiteboard, which can achieve good results.

▲ The effect of natural light is often unexpected. (Source: diyphotography)

Second, use artificial light sources.

If the weather is bad and you want to take rich food photos, you can only use artificial light sources to fill the light. Advanced players can use off-board flash and large soft mask to create the ideal light source.

▲ Soft mask is a professional way to use light. (Source: diyphotography)

Third: use multiple angles.

Most people are used to composing from a fixed angle, because it is more convenient and brainless. But in fact, we can try shooting and composing from many different angles. On the one hand, we can improve the richness of the image, and on the other hand, we can find a more ideal composition method, especially when you want to give your photos to customers for selection, we should take photos from different angles.

▲ low-angle shooting method. (Source: diyphotography)

▲ High-angle shooting. (Source: diyphotography)

Fourth: Pay attention to the depth of field.

Although a photo of the depth of the scene with a large aperture is very stereoscopic and pleasing to the eye, it seems that it is not the case when used in food photography. Sometimes the aperture is too large, resulting in a shallow depth of field, which can not correctly distinguish the outline and shape of food, but ruin a good photo. It is recommended to turn on the preview mode of depth of field before pressing the shutter, confirm the desired depth of field, and then press the shutter to shoot. Don't always use F 1.8 and F2.8.

▲ Appropriate depth of field can set off the special three-dimensional sense of food. (Source: diyphotography)

Fifth: How to make ice cream?

Ice cream should be the most difficult subject to shoot, because it will melt quickly because of the rising temperature. In view of this, professional photographers have come up with a good coup, that is, first prepare a piece of dry ice, then stir-fry the ice cream on it for a while until it is almost there, and then gently blow off the ice water or suck up the melted part with a straw to take a complete picture of the ice cream.

▲ Ice cream is a difficult project. (Source: diyphotography)

Sixth: win with details.

In addition to shooting the whole picture of food, we can occasionally start with local details, such as finding interesting rules, textures and details in a pile of coffee beans, which makes the photos full of texture and touch. It is also a good expression.

▲ Details often contain special beauty. (Source: diyphotography)

Seventh: Prepare clean dishes.

Try to clean the dishes, which is the basic technique. Some professional photographers even use tweezers to keep the dishes clean. Although we can still use Photoshop to fix it afterwards, why not take a little time to fix it once and for all?

▲ Clean setting is the basic skill. (Source: diyphotography)

Eight: Try a messy style once in a while.

Whether it's a broken biscuit or a few steaks, it's a theme that can show your personal photography style. Although it can attract people's attention occasionally, don't rely too much on this shooting method.

▲ Occasionally, you can break the routine and rebel. (Source: diyphotography)

Nine: Change the background

There are many choices of background, such as changing plates, chopping boards or desktops. The easiest way is to change a tablecloth. A good background can add points to the work, but don't let the background lead the way and interfere with the food itself.

▲ Good plates and napkins can immediately improve the texture of food. (Source: diyphotography)

Tenth: Understand the use of photos.

Thinking about the use and layout of photos in advance is helpful for thinking about composition. For example, social networking sites, blogs or magazine pages are usually more suitable for horizontal composition. If you want to shoot the cover of books and magazines, it is suggested to try to compose vertically to facilitate the selection and arrangement of photos.

▲ Horizontal composition. (Source: diyphotography)

▲ It is also good to try straight composition. (Source: diyphotography)

After reading the above ten secrets, are you a little eager to try? As long as you remember to master the lighting, composition and viewing angle, it is not difficult to take good food photography. You can become a professional food photographer by showing off when you have dinner with friends on weekends.