The smell of a freshly-cooked meal is something most people will never forget. But if you're doing food photography, then that too can be a challenging task. Luckily for all aspiring food photographers out there we've collected 120 photography tips from experienced food photographers.

No matter what type of camera you are using, food makes a great still life subject, whether you are using a smartphone or a professional model. You can surely produce some artistic results with such a simple, yet intriguing subject and a bit of good lighting and composition. The art of celebrated food photography isn't all about taking a picture of your dinner plate and posting on social media. It is lot more than this. Like other forms of photography, food photography has specific rules you have to follow to make sure you capture stunning images that have brilliant colors, textures and shapes. So if, you are looking to improve your food photography skills, then do real this amazing article.

And if you need some more assistance in photographing your dishes do give us a call or drop us an email message with photo requirements and specifications – our team would be happy to help!

If using a professional DSLR camera, then using the RAW format in camera settings, provides the flexibility to edit the photographs in much more detail later.

Using a tripod or any stand stability changes the outcome drastically. This avoids camera shake and a more stable camera shifts allows the shots to be taken in greater detail, without worrying about blurry images.

This is one of the best ways to bring life into any kind of food shoot. Including movement of water, cream or the smallest little motion in the photograph gives dept to the picture and makes for taking great shots.

Experimenting with heights for different subjects works very well.

Using the manual mode of the camera opens up a lot of control and allows you to change the settings like shutter speed, aperture, ISO, etc. This can be of great use in creative food photography and allows you to experiment a lot.

The kind of lens used is very essential in photography, as it determines the scale of photographs as well the bokeh that will be incorporated.

To shoot a table-scape use a higher aperture to make sure everything is in focus. You can also use natural light to ensure this if there is a paucity of artificial light.

Frequent change or formatting of SD cards and carrying extra cards and hard disks is a ground rule for a photographer to never run out of an opportunity to capture.

For a quick restaurant photo session, a camera, a reflector, a light, and a tripod may suffice. However, for a large commercial food shoot, multiple camera bodies, multiple lenses, lights, and tripods are required.

Buying or renting props for photography or backdrops bring a new effect to the pictures and bring out the colors in the dish. The props have to enhance the food elements that you want to showcase.

If shooting for non-commercial/person blog/feed work, the mobile is sufficient. Using the right applications for post-session touch up is essential though.

Even though not every photographer recommends using a wide-angle lens, experimenting may lead to unexpected but desirable results. Wide-angle lens can also ensure that you do not miss any complementary elements in the photograph.

Keeping battery backup is another ground rule. This rule is essential whether you are a professional photographer or maybe just taking photos of food as a food blogger.

Giving the subject some room and using the negative space is a very good idea in all kinds of photography. Negative space is basically the space that is surrounding the main product in the food shot. It is used to give breathing space and make the food images look uncluttered in professional food photos.

The fresher the food, the more vibrant, better the results will be.

This basically means that you have to experiment with the lighting conditions, use variations like overhead shots, maybe experiment with the food selection (using colorful food items), and so on. Doing so will enhance the effect in the picture.

Shooting with shallow depth of field will give a soft blur to the background and give the subject some clarity. Depth of Field is mainly used as a technique to draw the viewer's attention to a particular part of the photograph, by obscuring the other details. The amount of light that you have can also affect the Depth of Field to a large extent.

If anything does not fit or tie the picture together, it must be ditched. If that is not possible using the above tip of using the depth of field to hide the clutter can also work well.

The overuse or rather use of too much flash or artificial light must be avoided. This depends a lot on the location and the local lighting conditions too. You can use artificial lighting when needed, but just avoid overusing it.

The background must be kept plain and uncluttered. Using complex designs or textures in the backgrounds has to be avoided. Many times using a neutral background can be of great help.

Having a fifteen-degree shooting angle works very well. The full arrangement of the food done on the plate becomes visible with a little perspective angle of it. This is ‘the angle’ in which most of the food photographs are clicked and is the best to click pictures of cold drinks, any kind of coffee or just any kind of drink.

This angle is used to show the horizon of the background of the food giving the observer a little bit of a story. If the food is served on an open plate, it is the best angle as it clearly exhibits the food and its thickness. This is a very important aspect of food photography.

This angle is close to food served to you on the serving table just waiting for you to eat. This angle is best when it is a shoot for soups or one-pot-made meals.

Or the horizontal shot. This is the angle in which the food items like sandwiches and burgers are shot. This is similar to a 0-degree angle shot.

This is the angle that makes it easier to make a composition as the depth of field can be eliminated. Proper light is of the essence in such shots and avoiding shadows can be a task.

This is the type of food that is only important because it has no history. This is a very tight shot and the object of the photograph almost fills the screen totally. In a softbox setup where the backdrop is fully white and it makes the food look like it's cropped, they are often clicked.

The camera is tilted slightly to the left in this shape, so the image appears to be tilted clockwise. This perspective makes the food look like it's pulling away from you, giving the audience the urge to pursue the food.

The camera is centered above the front of the subject, then once the subject fills the frame, the camera is tilted up.

You can take a photo here in such a way that the subject begins from one corner of the frame and ends at another corner that diagonally spreads the food in the frame.

Double-checking the plates for smudges and table clothes for creases. They are easy to fix and create a lot of difference.

If doing a commercial assignment, it's important to communicate and understand the brief. Fulfilling the brief is as important as getting a great shot.

Creating a mood board before starting can help. Choosing the perfect colors in sync with the dish is very, very important. Choosing the right abstract containers and crockery plays a very important role in the game of presentation.

Soft shadows generated by efficiently diffused natural light instead of artificial light, can give your image depth and generate a lot of visual interest.

Hands or any sense of life, makes food photos feel more realistic. If you want to avoid having a food photo look too artificial, involve some hands or movements.

Practicing the shot before and practicing, in general, is very, very essential. Many food photographers spend a lot of time trying various food photography methods to get the best result. And as the common saying goes, practice makes the man perfect.

Lighting is one of the mainstays of creating beautiful food photography and having the right quality of light can mean the difference between great photographs and just average ones. This is also the reason that when we depend upon artificial lights, choosing them wisely is a must.

Depending on the kind of food or any other product being photographed, you can choose between continuous lighting or flash. Sometimes flash may have to be avoided as this kind of lighting may create hard shadows and at other times continuous lighting may just not be strong enough.

The color of the food would strongly impact the background color or texture. Having a complementing color that also contrasts well with the food can go a long way in the aesthetics of the food photograph. Depending on the food color and the kind of presentation you wish to accomplish, you can use light backgrounds, neutral background, or dark backgrounds

Shooting the food from the point of view of the editing photos and post processing, that you may want to do later on is also of the essence. This is vital as you can plan the shooting technique, settings, and the elements of the photograph beforehand and ensure that you get the desired result.

Sometimes the best way of getting the colors to come out well could be simply by removing the curtains and allowing the natural window light to come in. Natural lighting also adds to the food styling and makes the food look more classic.

While on the topic of lights, one thing that can serve you well is using a light cutter and reflectors to cut and reflect the sunlight, especially when you are shooting in an outdoor area.

Getting the right kind of settings for the table can also make the photography look much more appetizing.

Like any other photography, getting the right balanced composition can make your work stand out. Following simple techniques like the rule of thirds can go a long way in helping you get the right kind of photograph.

If you are in the photography field, then knowledge of software like Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom can give you much better control over rectifying your work or even enhancing it later. This also increases the various artistic possibilities of creating varied outputs.

Doesn't that ice cream look appetizing? Well, this may have got a lot to do with the shutter speed than the ingredients. Shutter speed is often a forgotten element in food photography. Faster Shutter speed? Or maybe a slower shutter speed? So many possibilities can be confusing. For a Handheld camera, the rule is that your shutter speed should be twice the length of your lens. So if you are using a 50mm lens, your minimum shutter speed should be 1/100th of a second. If you are using a 100mm lens, your minimum shutter speed should be 1/200th of a second.

Getting food styling done can really add value to your photography efforts. So if you can afford one, be sure to do so. This is specially helpful when you have to draw attention to a specific point in the composition and show all the details.

Before starting your food photography process, be sure to refer to cookbooks, food magazines, food blogs, and other similar material to get a better idea to ensure that your work rocks. If you really want to understand the creative process behind food photography, we highly recommend the YouTube video by Lauren Short. Creative Process for Food Photography with Lauren Short.

While shooting images of food, ensure that you choose the most visually appealing recipes that use ingredients with a lot of colors.

Having consistent work quality is the best way in which you can ensure that work keeps on flowing to you.

This allows you to set up your composition, lighting and all the other setting perfectly while your main food elements keep their cool in the refrigerator. Bring them our only when you are ready to start. I am sure this was one of the unusual food photography tips for you.

Using the right angle can mean everything in food photography. While we have spoken about some angles, please do not stop experimenting with other angles. While some kinds of food will look great from a top angle, others can look absolutely disgusting. Hence experimenting with angles and using the right angle is of the essence in bringing out the beauty of the food.

Using the right kind of background and surface is the key in bringing out the various facets of the food. Using a high contrast theme of using textured background can be of great help in showcasing your food.

As a food photographer aperture and ISO settings are your best friends. High ISO settings can help in bringing out the contrasts in the best way possible. Experimenting with these settings can give you unexpected returns.

Like we have said that using natural illumination can give you good results, but many times using artificial light and that too colored lights can really help you in differentiating the background and the foreground.

Using a high-quality SD card it is always advisable to transfer the data on your hard disk before you preview the photos using a card reader. Many times SD cards become corrupt during a preview by the card reader.

Decide the scope of equipment according to the budget. For a basic assignment with a low budget, a single camera, a basic lens kit, and reflectors would do. But if you get a good-paying gig it is always better to go for the best equipment available, multiple cameras, and illumination options. The output will speak for itself and can lead to a lot of business your way.

Many photographers swear by this mantra. Using the candid style of photography, they ask the chef to prepare the food without thinking about the camera and they photograph action scenes while the chef works. Such scenes could include the chef swirling the food, chopping vegetables, and so on. The same trick is used quite a lot in commercial photography too.

Not all that you see in commercial food photography, in fact, some of the things used to make your food look appetizing can be inedible. For example, the great-looking cheese on the pizza can be glue and the shiny-looking hamburger can actually have a coat of motor oil.

Some of the best lenses for food photography are block fixed-focus lenses. In this category 28mm, 35mm, 50mm, and 60 mm lenses with an f/2.8 aperture are preferred by a lot of photographers.

Choosing the best cutlery for your food photo props is a great way of ensuring the food looks aesthetically great. Using colorful cutlery can ensure that your food looks even more appealing.

Using panorama mode to capture a buffet setting goes a long way in showcasing the variety of food in a single click. This is another popular food photography method used by experts to showcase their photography skills.

Using lowlights and just showcasing the silhouettes of the food also adds a sense of mystery to your photographs. This technique is specifically used along with mood lighting to create an exclusive look.

Many times during a shoot you may be tempted to use long exposures (maybe due to lack of illumination), but this can also lead to trails in your photography. Wein such circumstances you can use the 600 rule and be sure that you get your cake and eat it too. This rule uses the formula 600 ÷ focal lengths of lens = exposure time. So for example, if you are using a 35mm length your maximum exposure time would be 600 ÷ 35 = 17 seconds. So if you keep your exposure under 17 seconds you will avoid trails.