Food Photography Essentials - All the things you need to up your food photography game and to grow your blog.
If there is one piece of advice I can give you when it comes to blogging and especially food blogging, it would be to improve your photography. Photography is not a skill that we all posses (believe me, I'm still working on it) but it is one of the fundamental things required to grow your blog.
Your photos are what draws people in, to click through to your blog post and to read your recipe or blog post. It is what will make people want to share your content and pin it! And getting those shares and pins are vital to the growth of your blog. I realised this myself, when I started concentrating on my photography and the way I shoot and what I use to shoot my recipes, it made such an immense difference to the growth of my blog.
Now I'm not saying you have to become the worlds best photographer, but with a few tips and tricks here and there you can have photos that are crisp, fresh and beautiful. That's all were going for! If you want to learn more about how you can improve your food photography then I would definitely recommend Plate to Pixel by Helene Dujardin.
In order to get your food photography skills going, you are going to need a few essential items. I'm not saying you have to get them all at once, I know it can be costly, but you could easily save up a little here and there and acquire all the essentials over a few months. And if you have a birthday coming up, now you know what to "suggest" to everyone to get you 😉
These are all the things I use to shoot all my food photos, I don't use anything else. I have these 6 items and thats it. They truly are all you need and they will make your photos look amazing. So here are my Food Photography Essentials.
One - Canon 70D
I have a Canon 70D, and I love it. It has everything I need and takes beautiful images. The reason I love it so much is because not only does it take amazing photos, but it also takes incredible HD videos. And with the current trend of recipe videos on social media, it makes my job so much easier. Another grate feature of this little guy is it's wireless functionality, you can use your phone as a trigger and you can even send photos straight from your camera to you laptop or phone.
I know the 70D isn't the cheapest camera, so if you are looking for a slightly cheaper one to start out with, I would recommend the Canon EOS t5i. It is a great little entry level DSLR camera that will get your food photography up and going.
Two - 5 in one Reflector Set
Aaah the reflector set. One of the best investments I have ever made. Ever wondered how people don't have those horrible shadows on the one side of their photos, or how people get such bright photos. Well here you have, they use a reflector. Reflector help bounce light back onto your subject so that you don't have a horrible shadow on the one side. I use mine all the time. You can also use it as a diffuser, which is how I am currently using mine. The diffuser softens the the natural light a bit, so that your photos aren't harsh and blown out on the one side. I then use the foam core to bounce light back in on the darker side (more on that later).
Three - Tripod
A tripod can be a useful little thing. I always use it when I'm shooting video, but I often use it simply when I'm shooting recipes, especially when you have to take a pouring shot. The tripod that I have is a MeFoto Travel Tripod. I love it because it can fold up into a small little tripod and has a neat little travel bag that you slip it into. Plus it is incredibly light but still super stable. That's what is awesome about it. Because tripods are incredibly tedious to carry around, especially when you are travelling and you might what to take some gorgeous photos of your trip to Italy (okay I'm just dreaming now).
Four - Canon 50mm f1.8 Lens
To be honest, I didn't start out with this lens. I started with the kit lens that I got with my Canon 70D, it was a much larger and more impressive looking lens. But that was before I knew anything and I thought bigger was better. Man was I wrong! Bigger is definitely not better, unless your shooting wildlife or bugs or something. In fact this 50mm lens is actually the perfect lens to get beautiful crisp photos of all your delicious desserts and things. So if you are able to get this lens with your starter kit, then go for it.
Five - Canon Wireless Trigger
Remember how we were talking about getting that pouring shot. You know that delicious shot where the the syrup runs down the sides of a stack of delicious pancakes. Well this is how you do it. Camera on the tripod, one hand holding your jug of syrup and the other hitting shoot with your wireless trigger. Bam! This trigger is one nifty little guy, you don't quite realise how useful it is until you have one. I use it every single day and I probably couldn't live without it.
Six - Foam Core Board
As I mentioned earlier, I use the foam core board to bounce light back into my image. I its really nifty because it's cheap and light and easy to carry around. Which means you can use it wherever and whenever you need to.
So there you have it everyone, my Food Photography Essentials. I hope it helps and I am looking forward to seeing all the great photos you will create (leave a link to your blog in the comments and I'll check it out). I would love it if you gave my post a share or a pin :).