5 Tips For Food Photography While Traveling
Food tourism has become a very popular form of traveling. The world has some amazing dishes to offer and those who value a great bite use this as a guide on their travels. However, most people want to capture the moment before they take the first bite of a particular dish. In that respect, knowing how to take good quality food photos is as important as treating your palate. If you want to be a foodie traveler and need some helpful tips on capturing the best food images, keep on reading.
1) Avoid direct flash/light
In general, using a flash is a big no-no when it comes to photographing your plate. A flash can create an unfavorable glare on the plate, which will, in turn, result in an overly bright and washed out photo. The same goes for natural light, even though you should definitely strive to photograph your food outside or near the window. The key to successfully using natural light is to actually photograph your plate in the shade while being exposed to the sunlight. If you have to use a flash no matter what, try to bounce the reflection on a surface other than your plate.
2) Simplicity for success
If you want to truly capture the richness and texture of your dish, it’s important that your composition is fairly simple. In general, your dish needs to be the centerpiece of the shot. Avoid using other elements in your shot if these are overly colorful since they can reduce the quality and desired effect of your main photo object, which is the food itself. Of course, it’s recommended that you experiment with both landscape and portrait orientation in order to find the best possible solution for the particular dish.
3) Practice and prep
If you want to make some really professional-looking food photos, you need to equip yourself with a great camera, patience and plenty of free memory. Basically, you can reduce noise and sharpness of the images by keeping your hands steady, but also with the clever use of different shutter speed and depth field. What’s more, you probably won’t have the studio lighting at your disposal during your travels. This means that using RAW mode for photography can provide you with enough freedom to correct the colors, contrast and lighting afterward. Still, RAW mode takes up quite a lot of space, so make sure that you actually have enough memory to store the photos.
4) Get a good angle
You should never take food photos from above but always look for a nice angle to capture everything on your plate. That way, you can avoid the flat appearance of your dish. What’s more, you can always crop your photos in order to really focus on your dish ingredients. This can look especially effective when there are many colors on your plate.
5) Capture the magic of it all
If you started your travels in order to capture a great variety of food that the world has to offer, then you should definitely take the time to photograph the process of food making as well. This can add a completely new feel to the final result. Thanks to its rich history and multicultural background, the Land Down Under has plenty of incredible dishes for you to capture. In that respect, check out Australian food photography because this will truly inspire and educate you on the best possible compositions, style, angle and, of course, the must-try dishes in the Oz land.
As a foodie traveler, it’s important that you know your priorities. Going on a really long journey and changing countries all the time is not very productive. Focus your attention on one country at a time so that you can pack and utilize all your camera essentials, without having to worry about a number of clothes you’ll bring or the storing capacity of your equipment.
About the Author
Peter Minkoff is a beauty & fashion editor for Shlur magazine from the UK living in London and occasionally in Brisbane, Australia. After graduating from Australian Institute of Creative Design, he worked as a stylist for few fashion events around the UK. Besides beauty and fashion, he loves reading, making DIY cosmetics and traveling around tropical destinations. He plans to create a business for beauty & style advising.
Anosa
April 13, 2017These are truly awesome tips, I am so bad at photography in general but more especially with food.
View CommentConnie
April 13, 2017These pictures are beautiful! What kind of camera do you use?
View Commentalisonrost
April 13, 2017Great post .. especially since so many people like to post Instagram photos of their meals. There’s really a lot you can do with your phone. Last year Bon Appetit did an entire issue where all of the photography was created with an iPhone!
View CommentDevina Vadera
April 13, 2017Super helpful! I have to find fun new angles! Perfect timing because I’m off to Mexico next week!
View Commentjhilmildsaha
April 12, 2017Real nice tips. I specially like street food pictures
View CommentLacy
April 12, 2017I will keep these tips in mind! When we retire, my husband and I plan on traveling and I’m sure we will be on the hunt for some delicious new foods to try! What better way to capture the moment than with a pic?
View Commentraisingyourpetsnaturally
April 12, 2017Thanks for these tips. I’ve always struggled with indoor photos out on the road. Your food here looks amazing!
View CommentKimberly c.
April 12, 2017These are some good tips. Although my blog is all about beauty, I know how important it is to take fabulous photos. I need to upgrade my camera that’s for sure. It’s amazing how much work goes into taking photos…. people should only know.
View CommentAna De-Jesus
April 12, 2017I definitely want to up my photography skills so learning how to create good composition and not make food look flat is something I would like to learn. Great tips x
View Commentkaryld2016
April 12, 2017These are great tips! I do restaurant reviews so I take lots of pics in the restaurant, but rarely any other fun “eating while traveling” pics. I need to up my game on that :”)
View Comment