Food photography tips for all
Somewhere you should start. Why not with some popcorn?
You can have fancy food, but do you need a fancy camera as well?
I think the most important factors of food photography are lens options. That is why I believe checking which lenses are available for your model before the purchase is a must. Sony, for example, has some limits (financial limits) when comparing it to the competitors. But when you buy the right lens, you might never ditch it. I must admit that Sony has fabulous lenses, but with high quality comes the high price. So consider the whole package's pros and cons before your photography equipment purchase.
The last thing you want is to spend a triple budget on your lens at the end. The next thing to look for when buying a new camera is a screen. I am taking 99% of my photos with an LCD camera screen or rather through tethering on a bigger monitor. The viewfinder is great for darker photos and fine-tuning, but in a lot of cases the shooting position is just awkward, so LCD works like a charm.
Should you be concerned about megapixels, autofocus points, and stabilization features? Well, megapixels are not your concern if you are a beginner. That is not the case if you have a billboard order! But even if you do, I made 12m X 6m billboard with my 24MP camera easily. Autofocus tracking points are your last concerns. Food photography is on the manual every time. Your plate won't go anywhere, just make sure your cat is not around. What about stabilization? When making food photography, your camera should be on a tripod, so stabilization is sorted.
24 Megapixels are enough.
Ahhh yes, now this is a sweet spot for a food photography tips. Most of the food photos are taken on some prime lens, like 90mm or 100mm. I warmly recommend a macro lens, for that extra sharpness and playing with some close shots. A lens like this will be your to-go lens of about 90% of the time. For other shoots, like the whole table or bigger scene is great to have one 35mm. Here let me comfort you with that your phone camera might be useful. Lately, cameras on phones are outstanding. Now, remember, if you have a 3/4 ( APS-C ) camera this appears bigger. So 50mm macro is your way to go. 100mm on APS-C will be equivalent 150mm on full-frame, and that's too much. It works if you want to take incognito shots at the restaurant from someone else's table.
What about some zoom lenses? Well, the zoom lens can be a great option but there is one catch. To get a good zoom lens, which can take a super sharp photo is expensive. Wanna keep it cheap?
Say no more fam. Your choice should be 50mm 'nifty-fifty' lens, which are the cheapest lenses on the market. Start with this one and save some bangs for your first macro lens. maybe your joy to food photography will die before that, and you can spend money on drugs or something. Cool, right.
Are you introvert? If yes, this is a great hobby for you. Mom will make your sandwiches as your "art subjects" and you will take photos of them. Joke aside, this can be a great hobby. And who knows, one day it might be your career. If you love eating good food, have a good eye for compositions, travel a lot, have rich parents or you're simply bored, just go with it. Start your blog like we did and take photos.
The biggest question - how much can one earn with food photography? The answer is from zero to hero, my friends. This depends on you and your skills. Not just photography skills here comes business skills as well. Anyway, food photography is a kinda future-proofed business, for sure. Restaurants are competing lately on the internet and not in the kitchen. Every good restaurant needs a PR-media guy-photographer all in one. Usually, they are paying for photos, but there are many dishes to be photographed. Don't be afraid, competition might be harsh but there are a lot of bad photographers already making money. So, why not take a share?
So you know how to make a great photo and your skills are "damn", but your sandwich is still like the Kim Kardashians apartment. Here comes the biggest catch - food styling. This business opened another position and you should master some of these as well. Any food photography tip here? Yes, get inspired! Check Instagram, Pinterest, books, good restaurant sites. "I see what you did with your salad", Ramsey. Get a feeling for beauty. Food should look tasty and inviting in all aspects.
Look around. Maybe your mom is freaking Dali of food styling just her iPhone is making her some serious problems. Team-up and make it happen!
That's it for today. I must edit some photos and my dog's bladder must be on the bridge of bursting. Next time we will go deeper, compositions, angles, editing, tricks and voodoo magic in food photography. If you are looking for a food photographer, contact us. "Hire a food photographer and give him food" is our moto. But seriously, maybe we are wandering near you and we can make your food talk "eat me, daddy".
