Almost everybody has a little bit of foodie in them. Some people, however, have a little bit more foodie in them than others. Whether this is a good thing or not, we don’t know, but we like to think of it as a good thing (we are foodies so of course it is). One of the great pleasures of being a foodie, aside from actually eating and enjoying the food, is letting other people know how good it is. So when somebody’s at home eating their TV dinner, or their mac & cheese, they can look upon your photos and be green with envy (as opposed to being green from the bland food that they’re eating). The best way to show people what they’re missing is of course with photographs. Even non-foodies enjoy taking photos of their meals and sending it to their friends to let them know. But for a foodie this is even more important. So as a foodie, you need to take the best photographs you can, and make that food look just as good as it tastes. Here are a few things to consider if you want to make those photos jump off that screen and shout “taste me”.
Focus
Okay, this is a fairly obvious one, but really you would be surprised at how many times we see out of focus pictures that people think are okay. If you want people to really enjoy what you’re eating, you need to make sure it’s in focus. If the first picture you take is not in focus, a little bit of shaky hand, then take a few more into you have one that is good. A good trick after you take the photograph is to enlarge it as far as you can on a section that looks like it should be sharp. This way you will know if it’s in focus or not. Sometimes on an LCD screen a picture can look in focus, but when you zoom in you realize it really isn’t. So the most important thing is to be sure it’s in focus.
Keep it Colorful
Chefs spend a lot of time making sure your meal looks as good as it tastes. They even add colorful decorations or foods on the side to give it a better look. So if you want to do those colors justice you need to make sure you have enough color. If you have a color filter that can make the image more saturated and you are not looking to fix the picture up in Photoshop afterwards, then use the filter. A good key is to saturate a little bit more than you think it should be, as long as you don’t blow out any of the colors. And when we say blow out, we mean where the color suddenly become so bright it overcomes all the detail and what it is.
Background
Just like any picture, how you frame it makes a big difference. If that plate of food is sitting on top of the torn menu with some messy utensils, and a wadded up napkin, it’s going to take all the joy away from the food. Clean the table or the background around your plate to make it look like it came from a menu or magazine. The background should not be noticeable; it should just be clean and enhance the look of the food.
Angles
Take a few different shots from a few different angles, including one from directly above. You can always choose which makes the food look best from the camera after. Professional photographers may take hundreds if not thousands of photographs of something just select the best one. Although we are not doing that, as by that time the food would be cold and moldy, you can take a couple and then pick the best one later.
After Image
There are a lot of filters in your phone that you can apply to photograph. We would suggest you only use color enhancement and contrast. While most of the other filters that are available can look very nice, when shooting food, those of the two that are the most important. Contrast should be bumped up a bit so it has a little bit more contrast than you think it needs. A little extra color and a little extra contrast, though not quite as real as the food, makes the emotional content of the food stand out much further.
Camera Quality
Of course, one of the obvious ones that is not so obvious, is camera quality. If you use a digital camera, the quality of the image will most likely be better than if you use your phone. Having said that though, many cell phones today have amazing camera quality. Some of the top cell phones can shoot much better quality photographs than even some of the digital cameras from a few years ago. But, you have to do what you have to do to make it work. If you have a good phone then great, if you have a cheap phone then you just have to make the best of it.
We hope these tips help you take some wonderful photographs of some magnificent meals. Sometimes, the anticipation of eating far surpasses the act itself, but there is nothing better than the meal tasting better than you anticipated. Those are the moments in life we remember. Taking the photographs will let others know what a great foodie you are, and will also remind you of some of the great meals you had in the past. We know that you, as a foodie, expect no less than perfection. Enjoy the meal.
