5 Tips for Taking Good Food Photos on Your Phone
Natural Lighting
Making the most of any available natural lighting is a priority. Avoid overhead light and play around with shadows. Position yourself near a window and utilize the beautiful soft light that’s coming through. To avoid harsh light, use a white sheet or translucent Flexfill.
2. Composition
It’s important to include and play with flatware and tableware to create a landscape around your food. But sometimes less is more. Don’t feel like you need to include every item on the table in your shot. Sometimes a hint or silverware and the edge of the glass is enough. Remember to always think about what elements might be distracting from the main dish you’re trying to show.
3. Angles Angles Angles
It’s important to always carefully consider your angles. This can have a powerful effect on your final image. Consider the food you are shooting. Does it have layers, like a burger? Or is it a flat food, like a pizza? If you are shooting with your phone, use the overhead or straight-on angle.
Burger: Straight-on angle
Pasta: 90-degree angle
4. Taking the Shot
Always make sure you wipe the lens on your phone so it’s clean before you snap any photos. Focus your subject by tapping the dish on your screen. If you are using an iPhone you can adjust the exposure by holding your finger on the right side of the screen and sliding it up or down to achieve the aesthetic you want, not the one your phone thinks you want.
5. Editing
Editing is not meant to transform the photo entirely, but rather to enhance it. Sometimes a filter can make a photo look great. But try to focus on adjusting your contrast, exposure, saturation, warmth, sharpness, and tint before you add filters. You don’t want to take away from the natural colors of the food. We recommend VSCO and Lightroom when editing a phone photo.
Practice makes perfect. Happy shooting!
Note: Some images are not taken by Swiggard, and source credits are included under photos.