Today, if you search Instagram for #foodphotography, you’ll discover about 30 million posts.
What was once a strange small niche in photography has become a worldwide phenomenon thanks to blogs and social media. There is no doubt that individuals from India enjoy food photography.
However, as tasty as a fillet mignon may appear to you, it may not appear so to the camera. When you combine lousy restaurant lighting with a wide-angle smartphone lens, you have a recipe for bad food photography.
Here are my top four smartphone food photography ideas for social media that can help you stand out on Instagram and other social media platforms.
Whenever possible, make use of natural lighting:
When it comes to food photography, it’s all about the lighting. What differentiates amateurs from professionals is their understanding of how to use light.
Despite the fact that flat lighting has recently become popular in food photography, food looks best when the light is natural and directed.
The fluorescent lighting, which is harsh and unattractive, is the reason why many food pictures taken in restaurants appear so poor. It’s also frequently tinged with a green or yellow hue.
When photographing food with your smartphone indoors, attempt to position yourself near a window.
Every professional photographer strives to replicate natural window light with elaborate and expensive flash equipment.
It’s a great compliment to cuisine.
Just make sure the sun isn’t too strong, since it can cast harsh shadows on your dish, making it look unappealing.
When photographing food with a smartphone, pay attention to the light source. Your plate or set-up should be viewed from the side or back.
While front light is lovely for portraits, it may make food look flat and cast unsightly shadows.
Select the Correct Angle:
When you shoot with your smartphone, does your plate ever look like it’s moving off the table?
This is due to the camera’s wide angle lens, which causes your food to appear deformed at certain angles.
Shoot your scene at 90 degrees or straight on for the best effects. A 3/4 angle is rarely effective.
Because it flattens depth, an overhead viewpoint lends a graphic pop to an image. You can also fit a lot more into the frame than if you shot at a 45-degree angle.
It’s a great viewpoint for tablescapes, as well as more minimalistic arrangements.
For tall items like burgers or stacks of pancakes, 90 degrees is not an appropriate angle. Shoot these kind of subjects directly on if you want to see the layers.
Take a Minimalist Approach:
Tablescapes are entertaining and attractive, but they can be challenging to execute.
Moving the various parts about to create a pleasing composition might take a long time, and by the time you get it right, the food will no longer look appealing.
If you’re a beginner, a minimalist approach usually works best. After all, the food should be the main attraction!
Consider this: if your meal is well plated and designed, you’re already halfway there!
All you’ll need are a few of extra props, such as a utensil or a piece of linen tucked under the dish.
The way you approach propping will be determined by the meal. The cuisine is already bright, colourful, and full of texture in the image of the poke bowls below. Adding more than one set of chopsticks would have diverted attention away from the food.
Pay attention to the Rules of Good Composition:
One issue you’ll notice in many food photos on Instagram is that they appear sloppy. Not only does the food look dirty at times, but so does the surroundings in which it is photographed.
There are too many props that are distracting and don’t add anything to the photo, or the background is congested.
Some of this can be handled by tightening the shots and removing some of the extraneous pieces.
However, you should be acquainted of some basic composition rules.
Make an effort to include some negative space in your photograph. As the eye progresses across the image, it will come to a clear spot where it can rest for a brief while.
Don’t feel compelled to fill every inch of your image.
If you fill every inch of your surface with ingredients or props, the spectator will be confused and feel cramped. Negative space gives us some breathing room and allows us to concentrate on the main subject.
You should also know how to use the rule of thirds. Like a tic-tac-toe board, this compositional rule splits an image into nine equal portions using two horizontal and two vertical lines.
Important items in your scene should be placed along these lines or at their intersections.
When you turn on your camera on your smartphone, you’ll see a grid similar to this. Use it to aid in the placement of your focal point. That’s where you want to put the focus and draw the viewer’s attention.
Color, contrast, or isolation can all be used to create a focus point. A garnish can be used to draw attention to a dish.
Conclusion:
Hopefully, this article has provided you some pointers on how to enhance your social media food photography using your smartphone.
Whatever method you use, keep in mind that consistency and style development are important.
If you look at the most popular Instagram and other social media profiles, you’ll notice that they all have a distinct colour treatment or palette.
Examine your photographs carefully for consistency in your style and attempt to improve it. This could indicate that you shoot a lot of bright, breezy photographs or that you primarily shoot close-ups of your cuisine.
The more you refine your technique, the tighter your feed will appear, and you’ll attract a following who enjoys what you do. Please share some of your smartphone food pictures in the comments section below.
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