One of the biggest struggles in food styling and photography is working with brown, beige, and neutral foods. Those that don’t give you a pop of color or interesting detail to work with. It challenges me often and it’s one of things you tell me you struggle with most.
The most common culprits are mushrooms, grains, and meats, especially those with long cooking times, such as stew.
There are a few things that you must incorporate into your set-up to ensure the best possible photos for these foods. Then there are a few more to consider as you troubleshoot the best options for making these foods look as good as you know they taste.
You must garnish. I’ve never been presented with a plate of neutral, beige food that did not require a garnish. You are at an advantage if you created the recipe as you can add pops of color and texture as needed. If you are photographing the food for someone else, you have to dig into a discussion with the recipe developer about what could be used to garnish the dish, and what is it made of. Just be sure that the final recipe reflects anything that is added. It can be listed as optional.
You’ll see garnish examples throughout the photos in this post, but the most obvious are chopped herbs and sprigs. It can also be chili oil, olive oil, and flake salt. Think in terms of both color and texture that can catch the light.
You must create directional light. Your light source must be coming from one direction only to highlight the detail of any brown food. Block it from all other directions and be sure it is hitting your hero spot.
Give meat movement. Add tongs, a fork, a spoon. And don’t be afraid to crop a few shots tightly to show texture and detail.
White plates and brighter sets solve most of my problems with brown foods. They allow the focus to be on the food making it pop more than if it were lost on a competing colorful or dark plate.
Use backlight if you prefer mood. Not everyone wants that white, bright set. Backlight can create a moody image while also catching the texture of the food and creating interest to the eye.
Hopefully those tips will get you started. Combine a few of them and see what you can capture the next time you are challenged with a neutral food.
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