Three Tips (and One Extra Fancy Tip) for Photographing Food with your Phone

Instagram is all about those food pics, but dang are they tough to take!

1.       Move to natural light: If you’re in a place with bad light, there’s just no way you’ll be able to take artistic photos. The only solution is to move! Get close to a big open window or outside in the shade for foolproof light. Don’t want to be the weirdo moving around with your lunch? Sit in a spot with good light to start with! You don’t have to tell anyone you want to sit by the window because you want to take a better food pic 😊

2.       Get rid of the distracting stuff: Salt and pepper shakers, empty appetizer plates, half-drank water glasses, and any other distracting elements should be removed. You might feel a little funny pushing all the ugly stuff to the other side of the table, but it’s the only way to get the shot!

3.       Try different arrangements and angles: Sometimes it takes trying different arrangements to create the perfect unique food photo! Move stuff around, try a lay flat, try a close up, try a food selfie – just experiment!

4.       Wanna get fancy? Try a Macro lens! A macro lens is designed for ultra close ups, and can capture all the texture in your dessert! There are macro lens accessories for your smart phone of varying price points and quality. I just use one I got for free at a photo conference. 😀

You might feel a little funny taking all these steps in public, and might just decide to stick with a quick snap. That’s totally OK too! But if you want to take your food photo game to the next level and give these tips a try, I’d love to hear what you think!