Behind the Scenes Photos of my Food Photography

Food photography and blog photography has come a long way in the six years I’ve been blogging. When I began, I had a 2-megapixel phone and an old DSLR my husband and I purchased five years earlier for our trip to Rome. I didn’t know how the settings on the camera worked, and I always took photos on auto mode.

The photos I share on this blog are nearly always taken in the midst of our chaos, with Saturdays being my favorite day to photograph. Plus, there is a comfort bonus to cooking and prepping food in my pj’s and having the kids around to assist.

Last week, I shared how I turned my living room into a photo studio with a simple backdrop and some holiday lights. And, how the remote control app for my Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II made taking photos a breeze. This week, I’m partnering with Olympus again to share some food photography tips and an inside look at props, lights, and my (free) helpers.

My friend Alison has taught me a great deal about photography in the last four years. I remember her telling me that what separates magazine-worthy photos from the less impressive (and not very “shareable”) photos isn’t a fancy camera or expensive equipment. It’s more about the understanding what it takes to compose an appealing photo, lighting, and being able to capture the moment.

Left: framing of the image is different than what the eye sees. Right: Gabriel asking his sister for cheese or he is going to eat the one on the board (photos: unedited, iPhone)

My shooting style is fairly simple since I always shoot with natural light. That means that I don’t typically use external lights or flash. Over the years, I've also learned at what time light enters my house best. Most of the time, I take photos between 9 am and 12 noon in my living room and 3-6 pm at my dining room table.

When I take food photos, I nearly always mount my Olympus camera on a tripod. It’s easy to get distracted or for my hand to shake with a high aperture setting and make the picture blurry. Minute hand movement is one of the reasons I have to delete photos from my card and declare them unusable because they are a little blurry. I don't want my readers to think they need glasses to look at the fine details of a photo.

Having some general photography knowledge before getting my Olympus OM-D E-M10 made learning to use it a breeze. I spent an hour with the instructions and then I moved on to shooting about practice photos with very simple things, like strawberries on a cutting board. What I love about this camera, in particular, is that I can touch the screen and select my focus point, something I’m not able to do with my other camera or my iPhone.

Left: plain bowl of soup overexposed lighting placed in direct sunlight vs. moving to indirect light, adding a little texture and color. Still not enough but it’s an improvement.

Why is that important you ask? Because sometimes I place the food on a specific dish, and no matter what do, the camera insists on focusing on the dish, or another point closer to the camera, especially with a low F stop and the food is out of focus. You know those blurry background photos we all love? With the Olympus camera, it’s easy to touch my focus point and forget about the rest. Something super practical since I always shoot in AV mode.

The Setup and Backdrops

Below are some of my favorite props that I use for the photos you see on this blog.

My dining room table. I love it because it’s a big surface and I can style freely. The downside is that it’s in a darker area so I have to take pictures in the afternoon.

Plastic backdrops. I bought these 2ftx2ft pieces on Etsy and I love that that I can have any color I choose. I no longer have to distress wood planks or store bulky backdrops. They roll up until I need them. I love that I can use these anywhere in my house. My favorite place is by my front door.

Wooden cutting board. Sometimes, simple is best. Especially when it comes to ingredient or process photos. I usually take my food outside, under our covered patio for indirect light in the afternoons.

Garnishes

While pancakes can look delicious, by themselves they are a light golden brown color. They need “something”. Brown soups are hard to photograph because they sometimes look like a big brown circle. My easiest solution is to garnish!

Herbs. Fresh herbs are best but on a pinch, I’ll use dried parsley. It’s the most vibrant colored dried herb.

Parmesan cheese. Parmesan cheese not only adds finishing flavor, but the texture adds a little dimension to the plate of pasta.

Condiments. A hot dog is just a brown circular rectangle, but add ketchup or mustard and now you have color.

Toppings. Can you imagine photographing plain vanilla ice cream and making it look delicious? Toppings can add color, texture, and make the photo pop!

The biggest tip with garnishes is to think about the colors that will enhance the dish, but that also go with the actual recipe. An ingredient that looks pretty but doesn’t “belong” in the dish doesn’t make sense.

Styling and Props

Over time, I’ve accumulated my share of dishes and pieces of fabric to use in my photography. However, I often use the same ones from time to time because I like to keep things simple. I typically keep styling my photos to a minimum and focus on making the food pretty before it’s devoured by my kids.

Plates. Smaller, round, salad plates are easier to work with to not worry about filling the plate with an abundance of food or having space to fill. I nearly always use a white dish and enhance the photo with a patterned napkin or cloth.

Other items. Napkins utensils, glassware, and other items fill up the image to style it and add layers and dimension to any photo. I don’t have antique silverware for my photos, just plain ones. I’m just a fan of keeping it simple, so I don’t loose sight of the goal: to make the food stand out.

Original on left. Right: decided spoon was too shiny, added more items from garnish board but items still look randomly placed. Better but not yet what I want to see. Bottom: closer to the final photo.

By adding the cheese and the cheese grater, we add movement/action to demonstrate one can garnish their own bowl. Because the soup is brown, photographing a spoonful isn’t a good idea (unless you carefully place garnishes on the spoon). The photo still needs to be edited to remove shadows but the soup looks 100x better.

When in doubt, I use my kids in the photo to hold, dip, bite, and capture the moment. They also assist with holding up the reflector boards (foam boards from the dollar store). Sometimes, when my Olympus camera is mounted on the tripod with the settings I need for the photo, my son likes to look get behind the camera and shoot the photo himself. For this reason, the camera is great for the whole family and would make a terrific holiday gift.

Yes, there are a lot more details (white balance, camera settings, etc.) that go into capturing the vision I have for a recipe in my head to bringing it to life. However, the execution is nearly always the same, and my goal is to capture everyday food in a way that makes you look at the photo and think, “I can make that!”