How to Improve Your Food Photos at Home Without Buying New Gear

Here’s an 18-minute video by Sean Tucker on how to improve your food photography skills at home without buying any expensive gear.

The first thing that the video casts light on is that it’s not all about the photographer. “A lot of what goes into food photography, at least half of the job, is the styling that goes on the table and the food,” says Tucker.

So, if you’re planning on trying out food photography, try to find a way to introduce some flair to whatever is on your plate.

Lighting is, of course, very important. Tucker points out that a cool, bluish light coming in from a window will give an unappetizing look to the food if mixed with a more orangey internal light.

To combat that, he suggests turning all lights off and working with only the light coming in from an outside window. But also, taping baking tray paper over your window will turn it into a kind of softbox, working nicely as a key light for your shoot.

And the best news of all? His shots were taken on a Canon 550D, so it really isn’t about having the most expensive gear.

Try thinking about where you are setting up your shot, too. If you use outside light coming in from a large window, you can get some fairly good results.

Try throwing in some interesting accessories into the background, rather than just shooting it on plain white. The final shot is much more engaging as a result.

Check out the video above for 18 minutes of food photography goodness and some really great tips you can take home with you.