After years of doing food photography, there are some important aspects when it comes to photographing foods. Here are some advice that I usually give to my customers and my fellow food photographers
Speed
Foods needs to be taken as fresh as possible. Generally all foods will lose it freshness after being left out on a long time. Manage your chef and food stylist so you can have your foods to be ready for photography as soon as one is done
Dummy Food
It is always good to start shooting with a dummy food for me to warm up especially if it’s the first time working with a client. Sometimes it will take around 1 hour for me to get accustomed with client’s style of food and I’ll be ready to shoot the real thing.
Close up
I love to close up. Closing up will give great details and texture of the foots. I also find it easier to compose while I’m going close up on a food and give details to finer attractions.
Crop the plates
Shooting with the full plate is often boring and is more suitable for replicated style shooting. I love shooting fine dining where I can get to crop a lot and the limits are only my inmagination
Time vs Budget
Not everyone has the budget for you to concentrate on every single photos. There are always the fine line between time and budget. Manage it properly
Lighting
Needless to say, lighting is possible one of the most important aspect in photography. However, it is tremendously important with tiny subject such as foods.