I’m going to be honest. When I started food blogging, I had given zero to no thought about photography, yet alone good food photography. I was totally caught up in the challenge of adapting to my new, totally-different, “free of everything” diet and, well, making edible food. Everything else back then was secondary.
And so it was that I started a food blog with absolutely no knowledge of how to operate a camera. Actually, I didn’t have a camera of my own at all. I used to snap things on my phone, ensuring I had a never-ending camera roll with 300 images of the SAME DAMN FOOD ITEM because I literally couldn’t plate anything nicely or hold my hand steady.
So trust me when I say: I’ve been there right at the bottom of the food photography learning curve, right with you!
Now I’m going to bust out a clichéd line, but it’s true: the best thing you can do for your photography is practice. More than anything, real improvement is going to come from showing up every day and snapping something. Anything, really. Look around. See the light. How can you use that light to showcase the food you’re shooting? How can you manipulate that light to create the mood you want?
If all that sounds like gobbledegook… you’re not alone. I’ve put together a bunch of resources here that will help you on your way if you’re just starting out with food photography. And help translate photographer-speak into normal, easy to understand explanations that anyone can follow!
Start At The Beginning
Everything in my food photography kit
Learn Your Camera
How To Shoot In Manual Mode
Food Photography Behind The Scenes
Location & Lighting
Styling, Props and Setting The Shot
Personal Photography Style
Basic Editing in Lightroom
Learn As You Click
Creativelive
Click It Up A Notch
Gourmande In The Kitchen
Pinch of Yum
Stupid Easy Paleo
White on Rice Couple
Go A Little Deeper: Courses, Books & Workshops
Eat Pretty Things: food photography
Shot In The Dark: low light food photography
Tasty Food Photography (my review here)
Pinch of Yum Workshops
Story On A Plate: Food Photography & Styling Class
Todd Porter & Diane Cu-Porter Workshops
