Food styling pro tips

It’s been said that the internet was made for sharing photos of cats. For foodies, it seems like it was tailored for sharing food photos. Most of us have uploaded a photo or two to social media, whether as part of a blog or more informally. If you’ve ever wanted to make those food photos look like the ones in your favorite blogs and magazines, Serious Eats has the answers. They’ve assembled the best food styling tips to make those pictures swoon-worthy.

The first place to start, says food stylist Jason Schreiber, is with the food itself. “Not everything needs to be picture perfect,” notes Schreiber, “but look for ingredients that are unblemished and have good shapes, especially if you’ll be showcasing them raw.” He likes shopping at farmers’ markets, where you are likely to find more variety than the supermarket. 

If you can tell a story with your process, that may be even more visually appealing than the final product.  “Sometimes,” Schrieber says, “the process is more interesting than the final product-you’ll learn more about a spice rub when you can see the individual components being measured than when you just see a bunch of dry ingredients mixed together in a bowl.”

The article also discusses the use of garnishes (keep them realistic; no one is going to eat an entire sprig of rosemary on a tart), the food stylist’s tool kit (X-Acto knives and brushes make the short list), and other tips. Follow these rules and you’ll be well on your way to great food photos.

Photo of Salted chocolate caramel tart from indexed blog Serious Eats