Foodstagram or food photos are all the rave these days, people have turned into this universal habit of taking a snap of what they ate or about to eat, and post it on social media for all people to see and salivate on. You can hardly find anyone these days who would dig right away without snapping a photo or two of their meal. The same can be said of candid photos taken of food items.
Commercial food photographer Trudy Schuringa offered some pro tips on how you can take better foodstagram photos with just your smartphone.
1. Focus on the food and use a blurred background
The best food shots are those that you take when you have a very shallow depth of field with your background a bit blurred out. So, basically focus on the food. Before you snap that photo, make sure you tap twice to focus on the food subject, and then the background will blur out automatically.
2. Make use of natural light
Lighting is another important thing to consider, and you must always if possible, shot your way as against a white backdrop. This enhances the colors of the food. Always remember that most restaurants often use fluorescent lighting fixtures, so this makes food shots appear yellowish or have an orangey undertone, making it harder to edit.
3. Take a photo at a 45-degree angle
When taking photos of food, shoot from a 45-degree angle. Shooting up or from above can he tough due to the lighting issues, and taking snaps at a straight angle will never capture all the food elements.
The idea behind shooting this angle is it will not require you to stand up to take the photo, plus an elevated angle allows for more in depth shots.
4. If 45-degree angles does not apply, try shooting with other angles
There are times when the 45-degree angle won’t work, so you should try taking snaps from other angles. You can always try the three-fourth angle, where only 75% of your plate can be seen. It is not always to shoot the entire plate, as the focus can be on the plate and not the food. This is ideal for pasta dishes where people can see the texture of the food you were eating, however they cannot see the entire dish, making it a ‘teaser.’
5. Take light enhancers with you if possible
One last tip you can make use when taking a drool-worthy foodstagram snaps is bring your very own light enhancer with you. This is in case you are in an area where lighting is very poor. You can try having an aluminum foil and flashlight with you, makes wonders when your actual lighting is dark. You can experiment with various angles and place your flashlight at certain points that offer better lighting to your food subject. The aluminum foil provides a better lighting option as it can be used to reflect light.
There you go guys, now you can take that most amazing ‘foodstagram’ photos that will surely be the envy of all of your friends online. Who knows, it can even be a start of a brand new career for you!
Photo Attribution:
1st and featured image from https://pixabay.com/photos/autumn-thanksgiving-halloween-4985420/
2nd image from https://pixabay.com/photos/photography-photographer-food-405756/
