How to Shoot Food for Awesome Foodie Art Prints

The food revolution probably stared in the 1950s with the late Julia Child, and continues to this day. The Food revolution, of course, is the idea that anyone can cook gourmet meals, that an ordinary kitchen and an ordinary person can create some amazing food. It’s empowering, and it goes hand in hand with the idea that anyone can take amazing photos that can become amazing wall art prints – which it’s not the sole province of experts and geniuses who train for decades. There will always be a need for geniuses who can push the envelope in any art form, whether its food or contemporary art or photography – but that doesn’t mean the rest of us can’t follow behind and play at being a chef or an artist.

The Foodie Revolution continues, as regular folks demand more from their restaurants and more from their own meals made at home, and that combined with blogging has seen a rise in DIY, at-home food photography. Which in turn means more people want to take their food photos and decorate their homes with it as awesome, delectable canvas art. But as people quickly discover, photographing food can be a real challenge – it never seems to look good in a picture. Don’t fret – there are some simple things you can do right now that will improve your food photography incredibly.

Foodie Photo Tip: Build a Box

First of all, if you take your food from the stove to a plate and just take a photo, it will never look right. If you really want to have canvas-ready food photos, build yourself a photo box of some sort. A photo box doesn’t have to be fancy: It’s just a box with white sides all around that will bounce the light and isolate your plate from distracting patterns or objects. Make it large enough so you can have a faux-table setting in there for context – a napkin, utensils, possibly a glass of wine. Play around with it and make sure you can get interesting shots from different angles.

Foodie Photo Tip: Dress Up the Plate for art prints

Next, remember that you’re taking a photograph. Sure, you’ll eat the food too! But when taking the photo you’re going to want to dress up the presentation. Don’t just cook everything up and slop it onto a plate and expect the deliciousness to shine through. For advertising, professional food designers are hired who play all sorts of dirty tricks (like spraying steaks and burgers with cooking oil to make them look juicy). You don’t want to go that far (maybe), but you can at least garnish the plate and trim your food so it’s balanced, colourful, and neat.

Foodie Photo Tip: Check the White Balance

The biggest mistake food photographers make is not adjusting the white balance of their cameras. White balance on auto will often make white plates and tablecloths look a bit yellow, and this tint will filter your food as well, making it look dull and jaundiced. Adjust the white balance in your camera, and then check it again in software afterwards. Adjust it either way until the white in your photo is truly white – and the rest of your food will pop off the canvas print as well.

Be proud of your cooking! There’s no shame in recording some of your best dishes for posterity – and when you have something truly mouth-watering for your art prints, send it here and we’ll take care of rendering it into the best kitchen decoration ever.