By Joe Damone

Over the long cold Andes winter one of my photography projects was to learn how to photograph food, as I could practice indoors and I always have a model in my refrigerator. The first order of business when photographing food is to stage the food in an artistic manner, using the rule of thirds and diagonal lines in image #1.

Notice that the cookies are not centered and there is an invisible line running from them to the glass of milk in the background. It is also important to watch out for distracting items in the background. Only have items that help the story or nothing at all in the background. (See image #2)

The second hurdle to overcome is the lighting. The best way to light food is with diffuse window light (wait until direct sunlight is not coming in the window), either from behind the food or from the side, with the room lights turned off. Turn your color temperature on your camera to shady. If you want to show texture in the food low side lighting is best (see image #1 or #2 for side lighting).

For a truly professional touch use a small mirror to reflect light back onto the shadow side of the food (see images #3 and #4). I use a tripod on all food images and set the camera to aperture priority and use a shallow depth of field to give the food a dreamy look.

If you have any photography questions please feel free to contact me via email:  joe@joedamonephotography.com.

Joe Damone is a professional photographer specializing in wedding and portrait photography located in Andes NY.