The Gunny Sack

Food Photography Tips: Make Food The Focal Point

Here are some quick easy food photography tips for making food the focal point. It is about perspective and using small dishes and utensils. I have a never-ending fascination with photography and more specifically with how the photographer made the picture.

I could spend countless hours learning about the process. I want to know what camera was used and what the settings were, what was the lighting like, what is the surface and background in the image, how was the styling done, what props were used, who helped make the image, what kind of room was it taken in and so on.

Of course, I love seeing how the pros do it but in reality, 99% of us don’t have a professional photography studio with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of equipment. So, I like seeing how YOU make your photos. How did you get the picture of the chocolate drizzling down on the cake? Did you have an assistant? A tripod? Were you trying to hold your camera in one hand while pouring chocolate with the other? Those are the kinds of things I love to learn about!

Food Photography Tips Mini Fork

With food photography you want the food to be the focal point of the picture. You want the subject, in this case it is a chocolate coated mini cheesecake, to be the main thing that your eye looks at.

There can be other interesting things in the photo but your eyes should be drawn to or rest on the main subject. Which fork looks better in the photos above? The one on the bottom does. When you look at the top photo, the fork looks like it is as big as the cheesecake.

It isn’t a bad photo especially if I was trying to show bit sized cheesecake but the cheesecake in the photo is actually the size of a standard cupcake. When I look at the first photo, the fork is a distraction and my eyes bounce back and forth from the cheesecake to the fork without knowing where to rest.

Okay, so now you are probably thinking that I used a serving fork for the sake of making a point but in reality, the fork in the first photo is a standard size salad fork! Wondering what kind of fork I used in the bottom picture? It is a tiny, disposable, fake silver, plastic fork that is only 4 inches long!

Salad Plate Mini ForkOne of the problems that I have when taking pictures is that my dishes are too big for the food. I don’t want the plate to be the main focus of the photo. I want the item of food to fill the plate.

These pictures weren’t taken on a dinner plate but rather the smaller salad plate.  Once again you can see the difference between the mini fork and the salad fork. The plate would actually work for this photo since I was able to sprinkle nuts on the plate but it wasn’t the look I was going for.

Instead, I used a mason jar lid as a plate. I need to go shopping specifically for small dishes for taking pictures. I want interesting textures that aren’t too intrusive. Maybe I can find a children’s tea set and I might have luck at finding dishes at a secondhand store. I also need some small glass drinkware.

Plate Fork Sizes

These two photos show you the size of the mason jar lid I used, the salad plate and the dinner plate. Can you imagine how tiny the cheesecake would look on the dinner plate? They also show my mini plastic fork, a salad fork and a dinner fork.

Ruler On Plate

The mini plastic fork is 4 inches long and the salad for is about 6.75 inches long. The tines on the mini fork are about 1/2 inch wide at the tips and the tines on the salad fork are about 7/8 inch wide at the tips.

It makes a huge difference! I also have mini spoons that I used in my Homemade Spicy Chocolate Ice Cream photo as well as the Strawberry Lemonade Cheesecake photo. I bought them at Party City for my TCBY Frozen Yogurt Social but I’ve seen them for sale other places as well.

What photography tips and hints can you share with me?

Comments

  4. Kristina says

    Wow. Thanks. Great tips. I always have great recipes I want to share on my blog, but I know the pictures will just look lame compared to all the amazing blogs that are out there. Sigh…I have several more tips to learn.

    Reply

  10. Jenna says

    Thank you Tonia, the more I learn, the more I learn that there is so much to learn! Ha, I can’t believe the difference the mini fork makes! Thank you so much for all the valuable tips,
    Jenna

    Reply

    • Tonia says

      Yes! I most certainly was! I am ALWAYS on the lookout for things top put things on for pictures. The ironing board was handy so I grabbed it. I stuck a piece of black foam core underneath the grid so that the white legs of the ironing board wouldn’t show.

      Reply

  16. Miss Kitty says

    Thanks for these great tips! I have been reluctant to put many food items on my blog ever since my daughter told me that the red beans and rice I put on there looked like vomit in the photos. I really need food photography help…I am pinning these tips so I can remember them.

    Reply

    • Tonia says

      LOL! Nothing like family to keep things real, right? I try to have a thick skin but I really don’t. I think lighting and photo editing are the most important things in making food look “right”. I am certainly not an expert but those things seem to be the most important for me.

      Reply

  18. Holly says

    LOVE that you used the tiny fork and that it is from Party City. And I never have thought to use a mason jar lid for a plate, looks great. Great advice, thanks!

    Reply

    • Tonia says

      Thanks Holly! I had the tiny forks in my cupboard from the party and once when I couldn’t get a photo to work, I found the mini forks and tried one out.

      Reply

    • Tonia says

      I totally understand! One of my most popular posts is my very first food post and I wish I could retake the pictures but I let it be.

      Reply

      • Alyssa B says

        I’m actually glad you leave the photo up! I’m a new blogger with hardly any photography skills and it makes me feel better to know that great pictures don’t just happen. I love going back to the beginning of my favorite blogs and seeing how their photos have progressed. It’s inspiring and gives me hope.
        These are some great tips. I have a pack of mini forks I bought on a whim that I now have an idea of how to use.
        Thank you!!

        Reply

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