So you’ve perfected your recipes, received some great feedback on taste tests with friends and family, and are perhaps now wondering…what next? It’s time to step out there and market your baked goodies and food dishes! Your marketing strategy could involve creating an Instagram page, or a website, or even a WhatsApp group with locals. But do you know the single and most important element that remains common in all these marketing techniques? It’s photography.
The photographs you click of your food are as essential for business as are your recipes. Often, most food businesses overlook this aspect of marketing. They tend to forget that every new customer that visits their online page or website is a person who has never tasted their food before. And so, that person is likely to make a purchase based on the photographs they see. This is precisely why good, high-quality snapshots are essential. They should be convincing, aesthetic, and make mouths water while you sit back and rake in orders.
Today, we’re about to cover some splendid yet easy tips and tricks that will help you elevate your photography game and make your dishes stand out. What’s more, you achieve this with minimal or no professional equipment. Let’s take a look.
Pick The Right Angle
The right angle can make your dish look like a 10. Be it top-shot or side-shot, choosing the right angle is essential for a good photograph. Some foods like a sandwich or a burger may require a side-shot to best display the ingredients and texture. While other foods such as a fruit platter or a salad may need an overhead top-shot. Once your dish is ready to be clicked, try and experiment with your camera, walk around the food, and shoot it from different angles and sides. This will help you identify which angle makes the dish look best. If you utilize a smartphone to shoot, play around with the zoom and lighting features to further accentuate the photograph.
Choose Your Depth
Experimenting with depth and focus is also a great way to make the photo more interesting. Instead of plainly clicking a picture where everything is seeking attention, you can choose to emphasize a smaller area, especially if it’s a front-angle shot. This is called a shallow depth of field and enables the viewer’s eyes to be directed towards what you’d like them to see in the photo. For a flat lay or a top-angle shot, a deeper depth of field could work better. Keep experimenting with the focus, and you’ll eventually learn how to best capture the texture of foods.
Light It Up!
We’re quite sure you know how important lighting is in photography. It can be a real game changer. Natural light can be your new best friend, but make sure to use a diffuser to soften the harsh light coming through. A diffuser can even be a thin white bed sheet, but using one will immensely improve the quality of light and soften hard, dark shadows. If you tend to miss out on the natural light hours due to various commitments throughout the day, then you can choose to use artificial light instead. Light from the side and the back of the dish tends to work best, adding good shadow and depth to the photo.
Invest In A Tripod
Millions of people vouch for a tripod, and the craze is justified. Using a tripod helps you photograph SO much better! Right from the framing and styling to the stability it offers, a tripod will help you to a large extent in getting that razor-sharp, crisp image (minus the blurs). There are hundreds of tripod options available online, including many inexpensive ones, so do not hesitate, go ahead and get one to advance your photography skills.
Edit Your Photos
A post-shoot edit is like the icing on a cake. You can choose from various lighting software (both paid and free) that are available online to edit your pictures. Editing helps give the final touches to your lighting and shadows and can really make your image pop! Remember not to go overboard with the editing though, you still want the image to look natural and clean.
Practice, Practice, Practice
Someone new to food photography may find all of this challenging and even daunting. However, you must know that consistent practice only helps you get better at it. Keenly observe food photographs on blogs and social media platforms online, understanding what makes them so aesthetic. Regularly styling and clicking photos will eventually not only sharpen your photography skills but also become something you look forward to!
With the steady increase in competition in the food industry, food photography is a highly-demanded skill today. Scroll through your Instagram feed, and you’ll see photo after photo of a variety of food ranging from delectable cakes to juicy burgers. As a food business owner, you have to get that perfect shot of your delicious dishes to entice customers. So what are you waiting for? Get snapping!
See Also: Biggest Learnings And Marketing Tips For A Baking Business| What Is The 3 Target Marketing Strategy? Use It To Grow Your Culinary Business
