No one, I repeat no one will appreciate the "it tastes better than it looks" argument when it comes to recipes they see online. To photograph food that looks just as mouthwatering as it (hopefully) tastes, you need to start out by identifying a few important elements of the dish.

These things will contribute to how you ultimately shoot your recipe.

(I'll explain each in more detail below.)

• The aspect you want to emphasize
• Number of ingredients
• Toppings, sauces, garnishes
• The colors
• The texture of the ingredients/whole dish
• Movement
• the lighting

The aspect you want to emphasize

I placed this first on the list because it is by far the most important. Before you take your first picture, try to get an idea of the most special, unique, or beautiful element of the recipe. This is what makes the dish look especially appealing, and it probably relates to one or more of the other categories. (Toppings, texture, color, etc.)

In this picture of my Inside Out Smoothie Bowl, for example, the most important element is the combination of color, organization, symmetry, and lighting.

Number of ingredients

The number of ingredients on a plate can create a beautiful balance, or visual chaos. In the picture above, if the spinach, berries, and dressing were all tossed together, it would probably look like a hot mess! There have been times when I just decided to "wing it" and throw everything together, but there ends up being a lot of noise in the picture. The viewer will be confused about what they should focus on.

So how do you avoid the looming threat of visual anarchy? Try:

• Grouping ingredients of the dish together instead of mixing them up
• Consider layering with a substantial portion of the "base" ingredient(s) first, then strategically add the stars of the show after that
• Use a piping bag or other kitchen tools to add garnishes, sauces, and other toppings

Here's an example of how ingredients can make or break the composition. These are the same Vanilla Chickpea Waffles from the exact same photo shoot, but you'll notice a few differences.

On the left, the toppings are scattered and messy, which doesn't look especially appetizing. Next to the plate, the fork draws unnecessary attention because of the reflection. They don't look nearly as inviting as the waffles on the right where a single sliced strawberry draws the eye to the center of the picture and a few blueberries support the composition, but don't overthrow it. The gradual blur of the background (called bokeh) allows the eye to focus on the most important part of the picture.

Toppings, sauces, garnishes

These are your supporting players. They can either tie the dish together or be completely distracting if placed improperly (like the waffles above). Garnishes and toppings don't need to be elaborate either. Look at the dusting of matcha powder on this Matcha Mango Ice Cream:

Or the brightly colored sprinkles that are scattered on the table to bring the image of these Monkey Tails together:

The colors

I'm sure by now you see a theme emerging: Avoid visual chaos. That can happen with color too. If I went overboard with the rainbow sprinkles on those Monkey Tails, it would have made the image look messy. However, sometimes all you need to really nail the picture is a punch of color (like the strawberry on the Vanilla Chickpea Waffles). If you're worried your composition looks a little too monochromatic, use a garnish or sauce to jazz it up, like I did with Sriracha in these Spinach and Pepita Crepes:

The texture of the ingredients/whole dish

Sometimes, you won't need to spend lots of time crafting the full masterpiece of a dish. The most important element might be the great texture, so really lean in on that. For instance, in these Cherry Almond Mini Muffins, I wanted to showcase how light and airy they are (gluten free and vegan baking is hard, guys!)

Movement

Some dishes lend themselves to capturing a bit of movement, which helps make the photograph seem even more real: steam rising from hot soup, or perhaps a savory drip of sauce. It can be an extremely effective element that describes the dish without you needing to. Is the soup hot or chilled? There's steam - it's piping hot and perfect for winter! You can see this in action (pun intended) in these Cashew Pan-crepes:

The lighting

Finally, the lighting. Based on the mood you want to set, lighting should be adjusted accordingly. In my opinion, this is determined largely by your style of photography, but the color of the food can inform this decision as well. I could honestly write an entire post (or many posts for that matter) on how to use lighting, but these are some things to consider:

• Are shadows necessary to show depth, or is all-around light better to illuminate the full recipe?
• How much light should touch the image? (If it's vanilla ice cream, too much light will wash the picture out.)
• Does the amount of light and background help define the food, or does it all run together?

In this example of the Beet and Sour Sauce, the use of shadows in the image on the left is distracting and unnecessary. On the right, the all-around light shows all the bright colors without much distracting contrast.

To see how all these recipes were photographed, feel free to visit my last post, "Food Photography: Behind the scenes!" If you're interested in learning more food photography tips, or seeing yummy recipes, please follow me. 😋

All the best,
Britt