10 tips for better Food Travel Aesthetic Photography

When it comes to traveling, one of the most delightful things to enjoy in a place that isn’t home has to be the food. At least for me, that’s one of the best parts of any trip, experiencing the culture via your taste buds. Anyone else that is a self-proclaimed travel addict will argue that food is essential to the travel experience. Eating captivates all your senses. Foremost of all is our sense of seeing that triggers our appetites.

Guest Blogger: Yone Liau, Flavour Journey

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It’s no surprise that hashtags such as #cameraeatsfirst are popular. After all, we seldom will find people that don’t take a quick snap of their meal before really chowing down right? Yet, it can also be frustrating when you snap your plate and feel dismayed when it doesn’t capture what you are seeing. The phone camera and actual cameras are tools for you to master.

Fret no more! Here are some tips for better food travel aesthetic photography. Some that I've picked up from my travels and others from food photography itself. Hopefully, these can help you up-level your food capture game.

Table of Content: "10 tips for better Food Travel Aesthetic Photography"

At restaurants or cafes, I always try to scout a seat by a window or where natural light works best. Food always looks most flattering with natural light, the idea is to highlight the meal and the area you are in. Same thing if you are shooting outdoors at a market, look for that soft light instead of harsh light.

Ever had your own shadow getting in the way of your photo? Easy solve, move around! Change your position and see how the light will react, tilt to an angle even. Just like doing crazy Yoga-Esque positions for outdoor photos, and the same goes for food. As in the case where you are sitting by the window, but standing between the window and your food... You will be casting a big shadow over it.

I’m not going to rant about this but think about whether would you take a selfie of yourself on your epic trip with the flash on. No, because you wouldn’t look flattering right? Then why would you do it for your meal? It creates hard shadows and it makes the food appear static.

 If you aren’t shooting with a phone and have a camera, get out of the comfort zone known as Auto mode. If you want to figure out how to get out of Auto, try learning more about the exposure triangle. Your ISO, shutter speed and aperture will be your best friends to help you craft the image you see in your mind.

Food photography has 3 popular camera angles. The most popular for social media is the overhead (also called flat lay). The other two are straight on and 45-degree angles. When taking pictures of your meal, try shooting these 3 different angles and see which one you like best.

Enjoy the process, when it comes to food what is it that you love about it? Is it the setting you are in? A particular dish? Or is it even watching people making food? What is the mood you want to convey?

If you haven’t turned on the grid on your phone/camera screen - do so now. Beyond that, explore and play with how you want the image to look overall. Venture beyond just capturing the main subject in the middle. Do you want to zoom in or get a wide angle? Think about giving it some breathing space (also known as negative space). Or look for naturally occurring patterns or layers where you are. With food travel photography you don’t have to worry about pairing props but using what you have. Be it your scarf, someone’s hands, or someone pouring a drink in the background.

Do you not feel super confident about your photography? One of the things that impact my photography to this day is shooting often. Try to practice every day. This will train your intuition and instincts into reacting faster. This not only will improve your ability to read a potential image you see in your mind’s eye but also gets you more comfortable with using your camera/phone swiftly. Go on photo walks even, give yourself a prompt and set off.

If I can land an image and not have to worry about editing that is a delight to me. It’s no secret with other photographers offer presets or just all the filters on offer by countless image editing apps what a difference it can make. Don’t go too adventurous with trying different ones each time but see which ones you gravitate to and like best. Sometimes the image just won’t turn out as you’d like and editing the image can really make it go from “meh” to “WOW”. Personally, I use Lightroom for editing.

For those that aren’t shooting on their phone. Often people are too concerned about getting the best camera for photos. But the real game-changer is good glass. You won’t be surprised to find that a nice lens will almost cost more than the camera body itself. The nifty fifty 50mm is a good lens to start with and won’t break your budget.

Like any of the tips? Used them? Please DO tag me @flavourjourney so I can check out your food travel shot! If you have questions go ahead and comment below in this post or drop me a DM on my Instagram.

Guest Blogger Yone Liau from Flavour Journey is a Food Photographer, Food Stylist, and Foodie Blogger from Taipei, Taiwan. Discover more about Taiwan and other places on the Flavour Journey Site or follow Flavour Journey on Instagram!