Food photography may seem like the easiest job in the world! But if you go for a scroll through Instagram you will soon discover some very… shall we say…amateur pictures, that really prove there is more skill involved than just point and shoot. Keep reading if you want some tips to help your food and drink pictures come out a little more professional and keep your customers coming back for more.
When it comes to food that you serve at your venue, one of the main things you want to do is manage expectations. What I mean by this is if you have captured the perfect salad picture; the leaves are crisp, the dressing is lathering it perfectly and there are stacks of croutons and other fillings all over it but when a customer orders it, the leaves are limp, dressing is nowhere to be seen and there is one soggy crouton on top – your customer isn’t going to be pleased. To avoid this happening, be honest with your food photography and make sure the chefs know what the plate should be looking like for every picture and every customer alike. You want to ensure they have an accurate expectation vs reality moment. You can combat expectation vs reality by posting user generated content too, the public will trust other customers’ non perfect pictures more than perfect ones you put out. This doesn’t have to be a bad thing, unless your customer plates are terrible in which case you’ve got other problems.
Food photography is all about angles and lighting. Poor lighting means your images will come out grainy and the food will likely not look its best. Have a look at the example below. The image on the left is half in the dark and you cannot clearly see the toppings. The angle also isn’t the best and there is so much space above and below the nachos (which are the focus). Compared to the image on the right which is shot from above, centering the nachos much better. The lighting and background highlight the food and you can clearly see the whole plate and toppings. Even the worst looking food can be made to look delicious with the right lighting. So start practicing! Trial and error is the best way to learn what looks good and what doesn’t.
Steaks are one food that can be hard to capture in all their glory. The steak on the left looks dry and tough while the one on the right looks juicy and tender, so what’s the difference? To start with, the one on the left has a slight filter over it so the image has lost some quality. The background of the left image is brown which doesn’t allow the steak to be the hero like the one on the right. A nice solid background will give your pictures a level of professionalism that a cluttered background won’t. The image on the right is also shot from a slightly higher angle which is always more flattering. The last difference is the steak on the right is cooked slightly better too, which always helps. Capturing a perfect steak is always the goal but if your chefs don’t make the perfect steak each time then this is an issue you should try and address with them. Putting a few customer photographed steaks is also a good way to manage expectations.
These two pictures are another good example of good vs sub par photography. The left picture is dark and the main focus is the metal in the foreground. You cannot clearly see the food or the sides it comes with. The picture on the right is very well lit and you can clearly see the ingredients in the burger. The lighting is much warmer and you can see part of the venue in the background, this creates a vision for customers. It tells them ‘when you come to our venue you will feel welcomed’, by adding a drink into the frame it also puts this into their head and they are more likely to order a drink when dining with you (that means extra $$$ for your venue). You’ll also notice the burger isn’t 100% cookie cutter perfect, just another way of managing expectations and creating realistic ideas of your food.
If you need a photographer, Chrissy and our team can hook you up with some super talented photographers that will capture your food wonderfully!
Here is another example of good photographer versus some not so good photography 
