How I Am Improving my Food Photography and I Finally Made it onto Food Gawker and Taste Spotting!

I have been blogging for a long time and my photos have been mediocre to poor to say it nicely.  It really does make a difference in the quality of your online presence and the information you are presenting if your images are captivating and make your readers want to read more.  

I recently came across an ebook that has transformed the way I photograph food for my blog.  The book is Tasty Food Photography.  It is written by a very successful food blogger Lindsay, from Pinch of Yum.  She shares everything she has learned over the years and practical information that will improve your food photography.  

I have completely changed the way I photograph food since reading this ebook. I used to quickly snap a few shots in our dimly lit kitchen right before we sat down to dinner.  Now I am setting up photo shoots during the day when I can get lots of natural light.  

I pull the curtains up as much as I can to let in the natural light.  

I set up a basic backdrop with a reflector board facing the window to bring as much light to my subject as possible.  I have been taking photos in my bedroom because it gets so much great light during the day.  I have actually figured out that by leaning over the back of the reflector board I can get great overhead shots with lots of great natural light.  I haven't used this side light much since I have been photographing in the daylight.  

I bought two boards for $5 each at PACA, a salvage resale store that saves old buildings and anything that can be salvaged from old buildings.  These are actually not real wood which makes them easy to move and store.  They were a really ugly peachy beige color so I painted them both white.  Then I used some watered down blue paint and a shop towel to whitewash one of the boards to give it some dimension.  I plan to procure a variety of boards to add more textures and colors to my photos.  

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You can also add texture and dimension to photos with textiles and props.  I have been studying photos on foodgawker and Taste Spotting before photo shoots to get ideas.  Another tip I learned is too take lots of photos.  Take your time and try various angles and set ups.  I took at least 75 pictures of muffins during this photo shoot.  I probably would have taken 5 to 10 photos before.  

I only very recently started doing any photo editing.  I am still very new to it and haven't made any major adjustments to my photos, but I have made some minor adjustments.  Lindsay explains how to use several photo editing tools in Tasty Food Photography.  I need to reread this section of her book and reference it often until I feel more comfortable with editing tools.  She also talks a lot about camera settings which is helpful if you are using a DSLR camera.  I have been mostly using a point and shoot camera which goes to show you that you can take good photos with simple equipment too.  Lindsay gives a lot of good advice about taking pictures with an iphone too.  

Here is a comparison of an old photo to a new photo.

I don't think this one would make it onto foodgawker or Taste Spotting.

Much better.  This photo did get accepted on both foodgawker and Taste Spotting.  You can see this delicious recipe here.  

Don't get discouraged if you have submitted photos and been rejected.  I have been rejected a lot, but I keep learning and improving and submitting new photos.  I have had some luck submitting recipes on Healthy Aperture too.  I don't think they are as picky on the quality of the photo, but the recipe needs to be a healthy one.

Are you into food photography?  If so, what are your best tips?  

Disclosure:  The photo link for Tasty Food Photography is an affiliate link.


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