Props Styling in Food Photography

Today’s post features Nisha, who will captivate us with her stunning food photography and share her expertise on the art of food styling and photography. Nisha, the creative force behind the blog My Kitchen Antics, is a freelance writer and editor for various magazines and websites. I’ve been truly impressed by how her food photography has evolved from amateur to professional. As you may have guessed from the title, the focus of today’s post is Props Styling in Food Photography. A huge thank you to Nisha for taking the time to contribute to my blog and share her valuable insights with my readers!

Nisha says,

When Lubna asked me to do a guest post on her blog about Food Photography and Styling, I was floored. I mean first of all, a guest post and second on food photography now that was something. Being novice in the field of photography, in spite of having done a crash course as part of my Masters program. I dreaded it completely and used to struggle to learn the art of using a DSLR, leave alone submit assignments. I was glad when that semester was over, to say the least.

Fast forward to about 4 years later and here I am thoroughly enjoying the camera. I should thank my food blog and my ever patient husband for stirring this interest in me. I still struggle to understand some technical terms and settings (brings back horrid memories of by hearting them for my viva) but I am no longer intimidated by the camera.

Food Photography is Addictive

Food photography, I must say, is addictive not to mention the amount of stuff you are always on the look out for when all you think about is, how do I style my food?, what background to use?, will it be nice if the light source is from behind or the side and so on. I have embarrassed friends and relatives numerous times at restaurants where I have decided that the stirrer in my drink was perfect as a prop and asking the waiter if I could have 3 of these. Or flicking the paper napkins because they are a color I have never seen. Well, story of a food blogger…what say???

I am apprehensive as to how to go about a post on photography, because like I said before, I am still in the learning process. However try my best to convey my ideas across and hopefully will be successful at it. I am not going technical in this post, because a lot of bloggers have done informational posts about it. I’ll just talk about the fun part of it like shopping for props, styling etc.

Props Styling in Food Photography

This is how I go about taking pictures for my blog, and so it need not be the right way of doing things, but it definitely works for me. According to me, these are the basic things you should take into consideration for your set up:

1. IDENTIFY THE LIGHT SOURCE

Personally I prefer natural light but being in a country like UK, doesn’t really help always. With gloomy, unpredictable weather most of the time, I sometimes retort to using 2 table lamps. The results are not perfect but I try and make do with it. Most of the time, I use a large window with enough light coming through for my pictures. Depending on how I want it, I place my food either in front of the light source or sideways. I have recently fallen in love with back lighting and somehow prefer that these days. Of course side lighting has its good days as well, but I think a picture just looks marvelous when the light source is from behind.

This picture below was taken with natural (very little) light coming in from behind and light from one table lamp from the left. You can see a slight color difference (well for starters I didn’t change the white balance, and second my lamp gives out that orangish light. I am yet to invest in a proper white light source.

This one however, shows the same set but different light positions. Hope you can make out the difference.

I haven’t started using reflectors or strobe lighting, but I’m definitely keen on investing in a reflector to take off those shadows.

2. PHOTOGRAPHY EQUIPMENT:

Of course we need a camera (duh!). But I wouldn’t agree to the fact that you can only take amazing pics using a fancy DSLR and even fancier lenses. I believe you can do the same with a point and shoot, provided you don’t use the wretched flash. If your lighting and composition is good, I think any picture would look presentable. Below are examples of pictures I’d taken with a normal point and shoot camera in my initial stages. Of course the composition and food styling sucks, but the picture on its own doesn’t look too drab I presume.

I also know a lot of food bloggers who have taken excellent shots with a normal p&s. So those without a DSLR, worry not. Its not the end of the world. But the next time your husband asks you what you want for your birthday, you can throw hints about a DSLR. You may just get lucky. Another priced possession of mine is the tripod. It comes in handy especially in those low light scenarios which again, is nothing new when you live in a country like UK (sigh!). You just have to live with the fact that winter brings longer nights and shorter days and the days are mostly cloudy too.

3. SETS AND PROPS:

Like I mentioned above, I am always on the look out for styling ideas and props. A lonely leaf flying on to my balcony or a twig on the road may inspire me. I have accumulated quite a bit of ‘junk’ in the name of my food blog. You do not have to spend hoards on props. If you have a pound or dollar store nearby, don’t forget to raid it. They may not be the best in quality, but they sure are cheap. You are not serving food in those, you just need it for a matter of minutes for a few pics. I have also discovered charity stores which sell crockery and cutlery dirt cheap. Its a treasure trove and I always end up buying something or the other from the numerous stores around here. But as a rule, I consider anything above 2 pounds as an expensive proposition for a blog.

Use of Props in Food Styling

Background ideas come from fabrics and craft paper. Always have at hand a plain white background, if not any other color. I personally think, anything looks good in white :). Wooden platforms, tree barks etc. are all pretty in pictures, but lets face it, we all don’t have the luxury of owning these. There is no point fretting, I have learned to make use of the stuff lying around the house to make props and be creative. I have those moments where I get bored with the serving bowls and forks and spoons I have, so in that case, accessorize with other items such as a paper napkins or to be more rustic, clean up the vessel you did your cooking in and use that instead.

If you have a convenient size table which you can lug around easily, it would be a saving grace. I have an Ikea table i picked up at a sale for just a pound. It is so light and I keep lugging it around the house, placing it wherever I want (mostly light and brightness dependent). If that’s not the case with you, then you can of course make do with whichever table you are using stationary and then play around with the light angles.

4. STYLING AND CAPTURING:

Try hoards of styling methods once you have your equipment’s ready. You are no longer restrained by using film, so click away. I keep changing positions of my food and accessories a lot and keep clicking numerous pics. For example, in the picture below, I tried the baby tomatoes in different positions and angles. After transferring it on to my lap top, I short list from the collection which I must say requires a lot of patience.

Easy Props for Food Styling

Sometimes less is more. Over crowding the subject seems to distract me, but I end up doing it any way. I get carried away, to say the least. But most of the time, I try to stick to a few accessories, nothing intimidating. A glass of water with a lime in it or a few plates stacked up to give credit to the subject or if my creative juices aren’t flowing, I just use the subject on its own, and it turns up much better than adding accessories.

Jazz up the food with some garnishing. Coriander leaves, basil and mint leaves do the trick most of the time, but otherwise julienned ginger, spring onions etc. can add that extra touch. Do something different with cake slices, stack them up instead of just photographing a slice, or crumble it a bit with a fork to show how delicious it is when you delve into it. The options are endless.

Macro shots sometimes look nice, and I used to prefer it and one point of time, but now not so much. Although, some food items shot up close look amazing. The picture below is not the best example of a macro shot, but you get the drift right?

Try taking pics with a 90 angle, something I recently discovered and like the outcome. Here are some examples:

And of course the rule of thirds in composition is the most important bit. I am not elaborating on that since a lot of photographers, with much more experience and information, have written posts about it. So do check them out.

5. POST PROCESSING

There is nothing wrong in working on your picture, once you have shot it. I am all for going natural, but admittedly I am not such a great photographer to be able to say I don’t post process my pictures. I don’t use any fancy software, just Google Picasa for the basic options. Anything more than that requires immense patience and time, something I don’t have. So what I actually use the most on Picasa is the crop and straighten options. I use it a lot and I agree wholeheartedly that they make all the difference.

The lighting and sharpening options are not of much use, but once in a while If I feel the picture is not up to mark, I use fill light and sharpen options. Most of the time you would be unlucky with these options…especially if you have taken the picture in low lighting and then tried to use the fill light option. So stay away as far as possible. At the end of the day, you are your own judge, so go by instincts and do accordingly.

6. SUBMITTING PICTURES

Submit your pictures to sites like Foodgawker and Tastespotting and hear what they have to say if your picture gets rejected. I started off submitting pictures and they used to decline me left, right and center. Took into consideration the reasons, which was mainly composition and lighting, and worked on it. Now I am happy to say that 99 % of my pics gets accepted.

Foodgawker is easy to please, whereas Tastespotting is very choosy. Instead of submitting the same picture to both the sites, use 2 different ones and see if they get accepted. Sometimes one gets rejected and you’d know why. But if you get accepted then just sit back and relax, you have it all under control

(Not only do these sites urge you to improve your photography skills, you also get a lot of traffic to your site. Two birds in one shot, I’d say!)

Conclusion

Hopefully by now you would have some idea about how I take pics for my blog. I know there are loads of glitches here and there, but this seem to work for me. Its a mess around the house when I’m in shooting mode, but hey, a food bloggers gotta do what a food bloggers gotta do, right?

Thanks to Lubna once again for inviting me to do a post on food photography. Do write in if you have any comments or opinions. I take criticism pretty well (except when it is from my husband).

All the images and content are sole property of My Kitchen Antics.

If you have missed any of the entry under this series, then you can check by clicking on Food Photography and Styling (Season 1).