Food Photography: Lighting and Compositional Basics
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- Опубліковано 10 лют 2025
- If you have aspirations to be a better food photographer on any level join New York Times photographer Andrew Scrivani for this instructional talk.
Andrew Scrivani NY Times Food Blog: makingsundaysau...
Personal Work:
www.andrewscriv...
Instagram: andrewscrivani
I am glad he shared his knowledge and his vision. It does though show the underlying issue with photography. Everyone has there own personal style.
As a chef, I have had my food photographed hundreds of times for various publications. Some times it has been used as props for Hollywood studio films, other times for cover pages of food publications. The big-big issue many food photographers have and they just don't get, is that they are too focused on styling, composition and light. It is to be expected. They forget that the number aspect you want to retain is deliciousness. The image has to make the person want to eat it. Just the same as a portrait work should make the subject look their most flattering, architecture should showcase the beauty of the design, landscapes the vastness and majesty etc. Too often people will look at the photo and comment that it is a great photo. That is when you know it has failed. You want to look at the image and say, 'I want to eat that.' I can appreciate his stance on no mistake. The props he chooses, the light he uses..48:42 the final image is beautiful..but does that nectarine tart make you want to eat it? Is it even nectarine?..is it peach?..wedges of apple? Therein lays why cookbooks from extremely high end restaurants never really sell. The images are beautiful and composed..but not inviting. That is why cook books by Jamie Oliver do sell. People eat with their eyes first and his books project that sense of approachability and a simple sense of wanting to eat.
In creating 55 plates of food for a cookbook I made 3 images of each dish. The first being highly polished and composed. The second a step back from that..the third being quite polished, but with one noticeable flaw in it. After giving the images to test groups, the flawed image was the preferred. It look most similar to what people see in their food. It made it more approachable.
If your doing editorial, or product featuring..then by all means go to the furthest mile with food photography. However, it you want people to see your food and want to eat it, or want to try and create it..then you have to master how to make the food look delicious first, then approachable. Otherwise you end up with a portrait photo where people say, "What a great photo of you."..rather than saying, "You look beautiful in that photo." The portrait photographer aims for statement two..getting statement one indicates a fail. It is the same with food photographs. Whether they be for a cookbook, or cover page etc..the image has to convey a delicious that people want to eat, or a approachable where the viewer sees the image and wants to try the recipe.
If you look at publishers who make their entire income off food photo's, like Marie Claire, you will see a certain style and styling are always used over and over. Its because that what produces images that make people want to eat them, or want to try to make it themselves. When you present a person with images of macro, story telling, emotional journeys of food..they put it down and pick up the Marie Claire. Those macro, story telling images work much better in a series like chef table, where the focus is on the chef, not on attracting people to eat their work.
What a pleasure it was to listen to a guy who knows what he's talking about and to look at his wonderful work. Thank you Mr. Scrivani!
Thank you for this talk, Andrew; you really spoke to me and helped me to decide what my path should be. I only started food photography recently, having transitioned from 25 years of landscape, travel, street and macro (plants and nature) photography after 2 years of lockdown restrictions. But I just couldn't feel any clear sense of direction with food photography. I completely get some of the things you say and especially relating to the mistakes photographers commonly make such as being 'all over the place' ; "If it's not pretty, make it interesting", 'find the beauty in the little details' and concentrate on perfecting your own style. I have always loved detail and that is where I will concentrate until I can capture the beauty in simple things the way you do. Thank you again - Christine, London, UK
I am doing my first steps in food photogtaphy and I have just watched this video. I am so satisfied cause I learned so much useful tips for my next works. Thank you ❤️
Best ever food photography talk I have watched till now. Dude you made my day. I will be applying these techniques for my next client.
Pandemic time. I lost my big studio where I shot portraits and dance photography.. I had to store my arsenal of equipment in a much smaller space. There are no dancers to shoot but I wanted to be creative. I have a macro lens , strip lights, a table, tripod etc and I started playing around with shooting vintage objects...even tho this seminar is about food it still resonated with me. I had no idea what an art form this kind of work could be ..I am out of my comfort zone but I am learning so much more about lighting. Im using this crisis time to try a kind new kind of photography The bright side is I have produced work I am proud to show and I can creative in a limited space.... So much fun and angst to practice this at this crazy time. Also, happy that BH lets me order stuff on line and I can pick it up. Excellent tips in this seminar. Thank you for all the inspiration through the years. Lets get over this one..be safe my friends at BH..I miss you.
We're glad to hear you're keeping creative! Thank you for your kind comments.
I was a chef for over twenty years, quite successfully, but then I got an idea I wanted a law degree for some strange reason. I find there are many parallels between cooking and photography, take the ingredients/subject, mix ingredients/make composition, cook/expose image, present/post edit and both are driven with the passion to create perfection for the consumer. Strangely, very strangely considering how I love both art forms, I have never previously been drawn towards food photography but I also have a love for nature both landscape and wildlife. As I find it harder and to get out even on a short run in the car, or to my studio even with help setting up, I’m turning more to fine art photography that I can do in my home and spend 2 day’s setting up the shot. In this fine art I’m being more and more drawn to food photography, and so now I’m finding myself very grateful for it as it feeds (pun intended) my need to be active as much as possible physically and mentally and most of all my need to press that shutter and create an image a charity I’m involved with can sell. So, because of that above I’m extremely grateful for this video, much more than I hope you will ever know or appreciate. Thank you very much indeed.
One of the best videos ever from B&H, a truly generous presentation.
Thank you to B&H and Andrew Scrivani for the fantastic informative presentation.
Andrew never fails to deliver. Amazing pictures and one amazing talk. Thanks
That was the most informative video on Food Photography. Thank you so much. Andrew Scivani you have a new admirer.
The best video ever on good photography. great work and thanks from the bottom of my heart.
Simply amazing. One of the best classes B&H gave to me. Scrivani is awesome.
Brilliant Tutorial. Its so inspiring not just for food photography but on a generic level working with light!
great information about food photography. There are so many videos around for this topic but most of them are just waste of time. This video is a great exception! Thank you for sharing!
Loved listening to this Talk. As a fellow food photographer, it's inspirational to think about the soul and story behind the shot.
I have learned so much in just this one video. For all the ones saying " i see flaws in the photo" lets see your work? this guy is a boss at what he does!
Amazing personality of this photographer! Thank you so much for your passion which we can feel through this video!
One of the lectures I always come back to!
I thought the shot of his lighting set up was the best, most informative part. Thanks for this.
I lost, when is the video talks about it?
very educated, the way how you explain is very nice-informative-straight to the point and very benefit,Andrew scrivani. Thanks B & H for this great channel, sharing spread about food photography
What a valuable lesson in storytelling and tabletop shooting. Thank you Andrew, and B&H!
I love you guys so much! Thanks for being an amazing company :)
B&H and TheBiteShot are both awesome!
I adored yor presentation. Learned a lot and will try the tutorials. Thank you🤗
wow, your images are amazing and your talk was so down to earth, so relateable. Fantastic, thank you so much.
Gretchen Willis Agreed!! Very detailed!
very inspiring! this video is one of best food photography instructions in youtube.
Thank you for such a professional, educative, and enjoyable presentation. I learned a lot and this 54 minute is by far one of the best videos about food photography.
We're glad to hear this!
Amazing content and truly inspiring even two years later.
This is the best video I've watched on food photography so far. Thanks!
Best tutorial I've seen. Thanks for posting it!
The photographer that got me interested in photography was the late Virgil Dean out of Jacksonville Beach, Fl. He was one of the First photographers for Winn-Dixie & the milk company TG Lee out of Fl. He shot everything 4x5 & 8x10 back then.
This was absolutely fantastic. I thoroughly enjoyed watching and gained so much from this
Milad K Right!? Super thorough!
Incredible video. Thank you. I am an aspiring food photographer, and this video was very very informative.
Appleguy2456 8
Thank you so much. I literally watched this 3 to 4 times. Great wealth of information. Clear and to the point.
Quite the story, Andrew! I like that you explained the beauty of the images through the use of colors and light and cherished personal experiences that everyone's had - all without boasting about your own skill. You kept it humble, and that's what made it so easy to watch and absorb. I'm a food photog down in Miami, and am currently working on using shadows. I only shoot at restaurants and bars at night because of my day job, and that's forced me to learn how to use one, two and three flash unit setups. I have yet to use daylight or a studio, or a full-frame camera yet, so I'm excited for my future in this industry. Anyways, this was one of the first videos I watched on food photography, and now that I've revisited it months later, it's got so much more meaning to me. Thanks for sharing your insight, and thank you to B&H for producing and supporting this.
Anthony Nader
52 Chefs
@52Chefs on Instagram
Very informative and the photography is really beautiful. Thank you for sharing the information.
As Andrew Scrivani mentions at the beginning of his talk, “food photography is an art form that gravitates towards the macro.” So, if you don’t already have a macro lens for your camera, it would be a good lens to invest in. For the Nikon D7200, you might look at the Nikon AF-S Micro-NIKKOR 60mm f/2.8G ED Lens. It’s an excellent lens, which would allow for lovely detail shots of food. At the same time, it isn’t overly telephoto, so you could still get shots of full plates/tables and procedural shots. *Christina* AskUA-cam@bhphoto.com
Or, use extension tubes - a lot cheaper, if there is no need for a true 1:1 macro lens
Just starting out a new wine/food blog in California. This was REALLY helpful.
Oh My Goodness - I have a serious food photography crush on you! I love your style and the simplicity of your set up. Your talk was very encouraging - and I have already set up a little mini studio in front of my kitchen window! Keep making beautiful images and doing more talks! :-)
Please more of food photography in the near future. Thanks and Keepern up this great chanel :-)
Brilliant, great insights. He covered a lot and all very well. His pictures are very inspiring and beautiful. Bravo! )
Awesome video! Very informative and straight to the point which is what I liked the most. None of that photography book smart technical stuff just straight art stuff and how to express your own art form.
I haven't even watched yet but I can say this........This man is so inspirational and informative. I'm so glad I didn't buy the class he taught on CreativeLive lol.
made me super hungry!!! great tips. beautiful work!
Lambie & Bellybutton Lol me too!! My stomachs grumbling!
Thank you so much for this video. I've been struggling to put up good food pics only using a digicam and a smartphone for my blog and this has helped me a lot. Maybe it's time for me to get a DLSR.
Thank you! Great video and I love your work Andrew. Thanks B&H.
Happy to say qualities come on a lot in the last 5 years.
This was great. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I learned a lot. Awesome video. This also made me hungry.
That was an impressive and informative video. I learned a lot. Thanks B&H.
Thanks for the seminar !
andrew is my No1. Food Photographer!
32:40 Funny how those cupcakes look exactlly like "Pinguinos" by mexican brand Marinela. Hehe.
Really enjoyed watching your tutorial. Can relate to your explanations, the ideas, the perspectives and your easiness while being inspiring and informative at the same time. Love the sentence make it look interesting if it does´t look beautiful- so true. Thank you.
Lots of good info in this talk.
This was a really informative and useful video, thank you!
Now we're talking! Thanks B&H!
I'm a landscape photographer .but I'm love this video
BOMB video. Great tips, thanks for sharing!
Sharing is enjoying.
Its a great video, with such details and information.Thank you !
+Rana Samaddar Thanks! You can see more of B&H content at www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/.
This is really wonderful and inspiring
Glad you enjoyed it!
Awesome video!
very inspiriting thank you BH for brining this stuff to the world and to your customers....
Thank you for a great video! Especially around the 25-29th minute....very inspirative, motivational words :)
Great video. Thanks for sharing.
Very informative, thanks for sharing...
A very useful and informative video
Love that Video. Great work!!
Very helpful and inspiring
Much to short, I demand an encore!
Thank you for the awesome video. Love the explanation, as it can be overwhelming for a beginner in photograpy to understand the method and techniques. :)
That was so helpful! Thank you!
im not super passionate about food, but each picture shown made me wanna eat something.. so, yup, it works!
thanks for very interesting ideas!
So smart and very helpful, thank you!
Loved it. Thanks!
So interesting and inspiring, thank you so much!! Where can I find the onion peel photo, it's beautiful! Thanks in advance :)
Great video, great instructor - left me inspired about my next food shoot. Thank you to #AndrewScrivani for an amazing course!
Clever man..great video ..
Great! Thank you so much :) Good light. :)
this was really inspirational, thank you!
what kind of lens do you suggest for a Nikon. I'm using the D7200
Is Andrew Scrivani photographer still available for food photography talks or otherwise. I have a project that I would like to complete this week and would like a few suggestions or tips thanks. Carrol
Could you please share what are your go to lenses fpr food photography??
At 16:09, how do you achieve the black surface? The background will disappear to black easily, but what should be used for the dark/black surface in order to create that drama?
+Darryl Ephraums - It looks like the surface is either a black table cloth, or black matte/foam board. The surface isn’t overly reflective, but is likely separate from the background as one can see fairly straight lines where the powder sugar stops. That would be my best guess. *Christina* AskPhoto@bhphoto.com
Good class! In this day and age of people reprinting/reposting content without permission - I've been watermarking all the photos that I share on social media. What I'm struggling with is the PLACEMENT of the watermark, because I don't want it in a place where it can be easily cropped out of the picture- but at the same time, I don't want it to be too glaring and distractive to the photo! Any suggestions on where to place a watermark on your food photo?
Really wonderful. Thank you!
Excellent!!!
Love it! Very helpful! Food photography is NOT easy but I'm practicing! :-)
Andrew, you mentioned justifying the purchase of an old muffin pan by saying to yourself, "I know how I can use it." Then you said it went into a storage unit.
That must mean that you have hundreds of props. May I ask how you keep track of them or catalog them? Do you photograph each item then file that to later show a client or prop stylist what you have on hand? Do you tag the item so it can go back to a particular shelf or bin? Etc.
Thank you.
Terry Thomas...
the photographer
Atlanta, Georgia USA
I was wondering the same thing! Any reply?
thank you for the tips.
Best video ever. Truly informative, descriptive and awe inspiring
#foodphotography
mawa kawa
wow i learned a lot! thanks
How would you do food photography at a food expo. Essentially I have to photograph several vendors in a hotel ball room. It is a event you pay admission to try and sample from many local restaurants with the idea you will go and spend money for a regular meal. Past the grab and grin group shots they want food shots. This is a large space without specific control and most likely needs to be done at a more than slow pace.
Perhaps I should ask how do you do grab and grin food photography and make it look great. My plan is to use the Nikon 60 mm macro lens wise for specific food stuff, but am open to other ideas to include lighting and modifying said flash etc.. need to stay portable
+Simon Bear You might consider using a Speedlight off camera with a TTL cord. If you hand hold the light, you will have more control over the direction of light and creating shadows/depth in the photos. I would suggest looking at the Nikon SB-700 AF Speedlight and Nikon SC-28 TTL Coiled Remote Cord. You could then look at simple diffuser like the Sto-Fen OM-700 Omni-Bounce Diffuser. Otherwise, if you think you might want the light to be a bit softer, you could also use a small softbox such as the LumiQuest SoftBox LTp with UltraStrap. Other than light, you might also want to bring a wide angle lens with you. The macro will be great for detail shots and smaller areas, but for group shots and shot of a full display, a wide angle lens would come in handy. *Christina* AskPhoto@bhphoto.com
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Thanks so much for for quick response and direction!
+Simon Bear You are welcome, Simon!
Awsome!
I'm amazed by how much goes into this, and how little it does for me. Skillful no doubt though!
great lecture
What is the lens used in the photos closer? macro
We used a VHS camcorder to shoot this so the photos look so much better lol.
very informative!