8 Tips for Taking Mouth-watering Food Pictures

I am writing my cookbooks and I take my own food pictures. Over the years I have learnt a lot about taking food pictures. them. Here are 8 great tips for taking Fabulous mouth watering food pictures.

1. Pre- Planning : Planning is the key. I have seen that the dish looks best when it is photographed right away after coking. Therefore I always plan where and how I am going to take the picture.


2. Natural Sunlight : I usually try and take pictures with natural sunlight as I have seen that the pictures come out clean looking and natural.


3. Get Up Close and Personal : Get as close to the dish as you can. I like to set my camera, which is a Nikon D70S Digital SLR (which is awesome) with my Macro lens which enables real close up shots of the food.


4. ISO or Camera speed : I like to set the ISO setting to 400. This helps avoid 'camera shake' when you're not using the flash during close ups. I don't like to use the flash, but hate using the tripod so this really helps a lot


5. Angle of the Shot : If you see my pictures the angle I like best is about a 45 degree angle. This way you get a view of the food as if you were eating it.


6. Plating the food : Keep the plate white or monochromatic. Also like the picture above of the "Pohe, as you see I have contrasted it with a green plate as the food itself is yellow. After plating the food set it up to make it look appealing. Take the picture from its best side.


7. Background : Keep it simple. In fact use a white photo paper or a simple table settling. Avoid busy patterns for table cloths. You are highlighting the food not the background.


8. Accessories : For an Indian meal I like to use some Indian artifacts. For a western salad I would use a nice tall glass or tumbler. This sets the mood for the picture.