Styling is such a fun part of food photography and you do not need to be a professional food or prop stylist to incorporate some easy, simple styling tips and concepts into your own food photography.
Let’s talk about adding easy, simple food styling embellishments and elements to your images that you most likely already have at your fingertips or can learn to start looking for. Small embellishments bring elements of style and surprise, and will elevate your overall image.
If you missed the first post, “Food Photography 101 Tips ~ Start with the Light” just click the link below.
If you’re still practicing with some of those fundamentals, go ahead and add some of what I’ll share today into those shots as well.
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I’ve grouped the examples below together with the approach and elements I used in styling them. You’ll see that I use the same concepts, and even combined some, over and over again.
First up, consider incorporating hands and body parts as styled elements in your composition.
The human element adds a very real, tangible, and personal connection to your image. If you’re photographing at home, grab your child, husband/wife or a neighbor. If you’re photographing in a restaurant or the like, borrow a server, or even the chef him or herself. Take notice of what people are wearing and play it up, being mindful that it works with your story.
The next group of images show how powerful what it is you use to show your food in or on can be.
Looking for unusual shaped vessels, colors, textures. Let those elements become part of the beauty of your image. Think graphically, think color blocks, think patterns. Don’t be afraid to be unconventional, turn things upside down, sideways, use a great floor, no matter how ‘wrong’ it may seem. Play up shapes against each other. Look for colors or existing location offerings that push your image that extra inch. Push yourself to visualize outside the box. It’s a much more interesting world over there!
The next tip is to use fresh herbs, spices and toppings.
Most everything looks (and most definitely tastes) better embellished with fresh garnishes, and incorporating them is one of the simplest ways to style up your shot. Consider their shapes and textures, mix them up, use masses or just a sprinkling.
Sometimes doing nothing more than grouping your like food in quantities is one of the most impactful ways to style food.
Pay special attention to the graphic composition within the frame. Sometimes, happy accidents – as far as how the food initially lands, rules.
This is a fun one: Paper, twine, ribbon.
The last tip is simply to use your finished, scraped, eaten, cooked foods as a styling tool.
There is beauty in these scenarios and a great way to wrap up a post.
I hope you found these examples helpful in showing that the very simplest of embellishments and objects, whether hand selected, borrowed or found, can be easily incorporated into your photographs. All are mostly readily available, adding a styled element to your finished imagery.
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