Can Food52 offer tips for taking beautiful pictures of food?

As I look through contest entries, I'm struck by the almost unfair contrast between entries that benefit from a flattering photograph of the dish and those that...ahem, don't. I realize food photography is an art, but are there any tips for beginners who just want their food to not look horrible in photographs? I'm guessing many people who enter the contests would appreciate this advice!

Salt Tooth
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6 Comments

drbabs
drbabs January 4, 2013
I admit to being a terrible photographer, but I found this ebook that you might be interested in: http://pinchofyum.com/tasty-food-photography?utm_expid=31772651-0&utm_referrer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fstephanie-j-stiavetti%2Ffood-blogging_b_1955076.html
 
bigpan
bigpan January 2, 2013
I do not use flash...just as much room light as required. Flash tends to make the picture overly "hot" white and reflects off glasses etc. Photoshop using crop and remove and unwanted shadow. Try not to play with color as it not only affects the product, but also the background. Photoshop gives you more options than a free product like Picassa.
 
Pegeen
Pegeen January 1, 2013
Tom Hirschfeld did a great feature a while back on tips for photographing food:
http://food52.com/blog/2611_from_photojournalism_to_farm_life
 
twistandsnag
twistandsnag December 31, 2012
I think by far the best way is to use an app like Instagram to bring out the colours in a nice way. CHeck out Uyen Luu's Instagram for inspiration: http://web.stagram.com/n/loveleluu/
 
KatyM
KatyM June 25, 2012
Here's my tip...get as close and personal as you need to! There are so many times when one half of a cupcake looks pristine and the rest is just meh, right? So angle it and use or lose the flash on your camera phone and play up the one side's strength.
 
Merrill S.
Merrill S. June 25, 2012
Funny you should ask...Definitely come check out the site tomorrow -- think you'll be happily surprised!
 
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