10 Creative Food Photography Ideas

It’s 2022! To kick off the new year, I want to share some inspiration for food photo ideas that you might try out during the year! Here are 10 ideas to expand your creativity, portfolio, and photography skills!

Using Sparklers

For my recent New Year’s Eve inspired shoot, I decided to play around with something new: sparklers! I have to be honest, I was terrified I’d catch my backdrops on fire but the photos turned out amazing! The only thing that I would suggest is this:

If you have long hair, tie it back.
Keep the sparklers away from the backdrop.
Keep a wet cloth nearby just in case.
Dark backdrops look better with sparklers.

And for some tips on how to capture the movement of the sparklers, scroll down to the 5th idea on this list. I really want to try this shoot again sometime because it was so much fun and the photos turned out great!

2. Take the Photo Outside

This past summer, I tried taking photos of lemonade outside and the photos gave the perfect vibe of a hot, summer’s day with a refreshing drink. If this is a type of photo you’d like to create, I think this challenge would be great for you! Here are some tips:

Shoot on a cloudy day. On an extremely sunny day, the light is so direct and bright, you will lose shadows and depth in the photo. Whereas on cloudy days, the clouds act as a natural diffuser between the sun and your subject. For the photo below, I actually shot underneath a tree so that there was even less harsh light. You might be able to see the light that came through the branches shining onto the grass in the background.
Using specific props. You want to be able to tell that this photo is set up outside. Besides lighting, I think storytelling in photography is the next most important thing. Make sure that whatever is in the frame makes sense with the story. Are you trying to show a picnic set up? Use fruit, and a picnic blanket, and maybe some flowers. Are you trying to show a barbecue set up? Include other people’s hands in the frame, lots of drinks and food, you could even try to add in some barbecue tools.
Use a high shutter speed, high f-stop and low iso. If you’ve never shot outside before you might be surprised how much more light goes through your camera. This means you need to adjust your camera settings from what they usually are. Use a high shutter speed (around 1/640), high f-stop (typically higher than 7.1), and low iso (as low as possible).

3. Tell a Food Story and Create a Series

If you follow many food photography accounts you have most likely come across the idea of creating a selection of photos using the same food. If you lined up all the photos from the series, most times they tell a story. My favourite food series is by @madebymrmillas. You can find the series here. In his collection of nine photos he chose one food and told the story of it. His first photo showed a strawberry ‘ripe and ready’ to be picked. The next photo showed all of the berries after they were picked. Next photo, the berries were being chopped, next, they were all sliced, and then placed in jars with sugar sprinkled around them. The photo after that showed a bubbling pot of jam. Then, the jam was put in jars, next, a close up on the jam, and lastly, the jam is served on top of crepes and cream. I love how each photo shows the next step to the story! This is a brilliant and creative idea that I hope to try some day!

4. Take a Photo of A Photo

This challenge is very open ended because there are so many different ways to take photos these days! My idea of this challenge was that you can take a photo of food on your phone, and then using your camera take a photo of that photo. If that sounds confusing, check out the photo below! However, another interpretation of this could be taking a photo, printing it out and then placing it beside the food you are taking a photo of. Or, if you have a second camera, you could take a photo of someone taking a photo, showing what they see behind the lens. This is just another creative way to take a shot of food, and it shows that different cameras see very different perspectives!

Use a tripod! This will make sure the camera is completely steady and the photo won’t come out blurry.
Like I said in the sparklers photo idea, use a backdrop that is a different colour than the splash/drip/or dust. For example if you are dusting icing sugar on top of a cake and using a white backdrop, the icing sugar will blend in. Try using a darker backdrop instead!
If you are going for a blurry look, use a shutter speed above 800. If you are going for a crisp, clean look, use a shutter speed below 200.
Click the camera screen on the subject, otherwise the camera will focus on the spoon (if you are drizzling chocolate) or on the sifter (if you are sifting icing sugar).
Use a remote if you have one. If you don’t have someone helping you with the shoot, using a remote will make taking the photo much easier. That way, you won’t have to reach over to click the shutter button at the same time as drizzling caramel, you will be able to click the button from the remote in your hand.
If you haven’t tried a splash shot before, you will need to use an object such as a cookie or an ice cube to drop into the drink. Be prepared for a mess because the best shots are always the messiest! Experiment with dropping the cookie into the drink at different heights.
The trick with all of these shots is to figure out which camera settings work best for you and to make sure your camera is on burst mode. Burst mode means that you can hold down the button on your camera and it will continue shooting during the entire splash or drizzle. This gives you more photos to chose from in the end.

6. Use a Human Element

When looking at food photos, people want to feel as if they could be the person in that photo with the food. Seeing another person’s hand holding a cookie can help them imagine that they are about to eat the cookie. Take a look at the two photos at the side, which photo do you prefer?

I don’t know about you but I like the one where the person has taken a bite out of the cookie. I think that these types of photos usually have a little less perfection to them and look more like they are telling a story. For instance, maybe a mom just baked these cookies and put them out on the table for Christmas and a child tried to steal a cookie before it was time to eat them. That’s just my interpretation of this photo but you might have thought of something different!

7. Switch it Up

One of the most common questions in food photography is “How do you find your style?” and I wondered this as well. But I think that before you try to develop some sort of style, you have to try as many different styles as possible! This includes trying different colours of backdrops, different types of props (modern looking vs rustic looking), and maybe even the food itself. After you’ve tried this, you will find what comes more naturally and that is how you will develop your own style. When I started food photography I stuck to using light backdrops because that was what I saw most on Instagram. While this can work for some people, as soon as I tried using a grey backdrop I found that my photos looked much better. The more I have experimented with different colours of backdrops, I have realized that photographing dark and moody shots come more naturally to me. If you are looking to try some new styles, these are a few ideas to play around with:

Do you usually use tons of props all gathered behind the main subject? Try creating a more minimalistic scene.
Do you always shoot with neutral coloured props and backdrops? Switch it up with colourful backdrops and props!
Do you often take photos of desserts? Try shooting savoury foods.
Do you use sleek, modern plates and bowls? Perhaps try older, more antique pieces!
Do you stick to shooting homemade meals? Try food products instead!

Not only can this help you find a style that works for you, it will also be helpful to create a well-rounded portfolio. Clients usually like to see that you can do more than one kind of photo and can adapt to their needs. It shows that you are willing to try something unique and different.

8. Photograph Based on a Theme

This idea is very similar to telling a food story. It includes choosing one word or theme to follow in the photo. For example, this could be the word “cozy” or “autumn” or even a colour such as “pink” (then you photograph using pink backdrops, props, or food). I tried this during the Christmas break using the word “Christmas” and a colour scheme of brown, dark green, and black. See the photo below. If you aren’t sure where to even start when setting up a photo, this can be very helpful!

9. Put Your Own Twist on Someone Else’s Photo

Using another person’s photo idea is a great way to gather inspiration from another creative person. Just make sure that you don’t copy the photo exactly, put your own twist on it! Remember when we talked about finding your style? This is where you can show your personal style! Most other photographers will love to see that you admire their work however if you are unsure, I would tag the photographer and give them credits to the photo idea. Just say that this is your creative spin on the picture!

10. Shoot the Scene From A Different Angle

To end off this 10 Creative Food Photography Idea post, this is one of the most difficult challenges for me! Shooting the scene from a different angle! I always feel like certain foods are meant to be photographed from one direction only. For example, I wouldn’t usually photograph a flat food such as pie or certain cookies from the side, I would do an overhead shoot. This is because the starring element of, for example, pie, would be the intricate details on the top of the crust. And the camera can’t see those details from a side shot. That being said, a great way to challenge yourself creatively, is to break those boundaries and problem solve a way to take that photo despite its difficulties. This challenge is something I hope to work on during the new year!

Which Food Photography Idea Are You Going to Try First? Let Me Know In The Comments!

If you want to see more posts like this head to my blog and instagram @Time_4_Dessert.

Using Sparklers