The change in season finds us anticipating new seasonal catering menus from our Executive Head Chef. Our thoughts inadvertently turn to food photography and tips on how to capture the essence of the new menus.
Fortunately, professional help is at hand. We recently spoke with three expert food photographers who have in the past used Church House Westminster as a food photography studio for a series of food photography projects.
Here they each share with us their top tip for Insta-worthy food photography:
Tip 1 from Majella O’Connell
“If you can use natural light while photographing your dish, I suggest doing so. This keeps all elements of the plate in view, and whilst trying to incorporate shadows in the dish can sometimes be “arty”, these “arty” shots can take a little bit of practice.
If you can photograph the dish while it’s close to a window, that would be ideal. This lighting can then be used for shots from all angles.
On the other hand, be careful to avoid direct sunlight as this will overexpose your photo and you won’t see any detail in the dish.
Tip 2 from Sophie Skipper
“Don’t be afraid to get messy! The great thing about photographing food is the abundance of texture and colour, making these types of shoots a personal favourite of mine. Think about how you’ll not only dress your ‘plate’ but the surrounding space, pick out a selection of vibrant ingredients from your dish and use these as dressings for your shot. Also, consider introducing some motion to your shots… Any opportunity to sprinkle salt, squirt sauce or sprinkle herbs should be grabbed and captured!”
Tip 3 from Alex Baker
“Always go for natural light, and get close. With those two you can generally capture the colour and texture of food – which is what makes it so captivating”.
Church House Westminster offers food photography studios with private kitchen hire for filming in central London. The large, commercial and fully equipped kitchen is designed for food photographers, home economists, food stylists and anyone in the food industry that requires a location for food photography or filming. Our versatile photography studios are regularly used by food photographers, publishers and agencies for editorial and advertising work. The spacious and private rooms offer an abundance of light are ideal for food and stills photography, as well as host castings, food training, cooking workshops and cook-off competitions.
For more information and to hire the kitchen for food photography and filming please do get in touch via our contact form or give us a call on 020 7390 1590 to discuss your event.