Food Photography Tutorial (Part 4: Composition)

Composition is a concept that comes most natural to people. It’s also one of the first things that aspiring photographers learn in classes. Composition is a fun subject because it’s less theoretical and directly applicable to taking a picture (versus topics like exposure and light).

If you have an idea of how you like to position your object within a frame, you already aware of composition. Having said that, there are specific techniques (I like to call them ‘tricks’) that photographers use to compose great photos.

Rule of Thirds

One of the most basic fundamental rules in photography is to never center your subject. (that’s an exaggeration — there are times when that is actually ok). In applying the rule of thirds, start by making an imaginary tick-tack-toe grid within the frame you are about to shoot. In other words, cut your frame into ‘thirds’ – both horizontally and vertically. These lines intersect at four distinct points. The rule of thirds says that you should compose the picture such that the viewer’s eye is drawn to at least one of these four intersected points.

Take the example below (the most viewed recipe in my index). You’ll may not realize it, but every object in this frame was specifically placed in its respective position. It doesn’t always come out perfectly. In fact, sometimes you just have to take a hundred pics, while constantly changing the composition, to get the right one.

ss: 1/100, A: 3.5, ISO 500 (shot @ 65mm)

One of the things that makes this picture visually appealing is the sandwich’s focus, which happens to coincide with the lower-left intersection. Notice how the sandwich was not placed directly in the middle of this frame. This is an application of the of rule-of-thirds.

ss: 1/100, A: 3.5, ISO 500 (shot @ 65mm)

Lines

Another composition technique that the example above exhibits is lines. In this trick, you want to keep your viewer’s eyes engaged. You want to capture a dynamic frame where a series of lines are constantly moving the viewer’s eyes from one object to another. Take a look at the different arrows in the picture below. Objects like the sandwich, celery, fork all serve as imaginary lines to the viewer.

ss: 1/100, A: 3.5, ISO 500 (shot @ 65mm)

Negative Space

As you approach your subject and area ready to take a picture, you should ask yourself an important question: do I want everything in this frame in my picture? Random toys in the background, boxes, etc? When you’re shooting with an SLR, that might be a good effect, especially if it’s blurred out using a shallow depth-of-field.

Negative space is everything in your frame other than the actual subject you are shooting. In the buffalo chicken sandwich example above, I really limited the amount of negative space. Positive space is the subject you are shooting…the exact opposite of negative space.

Even though you’re focused on composing your subject, you should be equally cognizant of what’s in the background and negative space.  This isn’t to say you should completely eliminate negative space. Here a cool example where negative space worked to my advantage.

ss: 1/160, A: 6.3, ISO 1000 (shot @ 70mm)

Perspective & Angle

The main premise of composition is to capture a frame that makes the viewer say WOW. The best way of doing that is to shoot from unique perspective (or angle) that we as humans rarely see things from. Let’s use an extreme non-food subject for a second: the Empire State Building. You can shoot it from several different perspectives: far away, standing directly under it or flying over it. All very unique perspectives with completely different effects. You should approach shooting food the same way. Your ultimate goal is to convince the viewer that the subject that you’re capturing tastes just as good as you know it does.

There are three main angles you should consider shooting your food from:

• 45º degrees. This is the most often used angle which allows you to capture the subject with a degree of depth (background, props, etc)

  ss: 1/60, A: 6.3, ISO 1000 (shot @ 54mm)

• 90º degrees. A cool overhead perspective where lack of depth is compensated with a unique angle and minimalism

  ss: 1/100, A: 3.5, ISO 1250 (shot @ 68mm)

• low angle. This isn’t quite 0 degrees, but it’s a low/ground floor angle which could give you plenty of depth to play with

  ss: 1/100, A: 7.1, ISO 2000 (shot @ 70mm)

Depth of Field

This is a compositional tool I’ve been talking about throughout the tutorial series. I explained depth of field at length in Part 2: Exposure, but will show you another example here to really bring the point home. Depth of field is when you create that blurred background effect technically known as “bokeh” by using a large aperture exposure setting. In doing so, you are controlling the viewer’s focus on a specific object in your frame.

ss: 1/400, A: 2.8, ISO 2000 (shot @ 70mm)

Focal Length / Distance

Many consider focal length as nothing but a form of zoom. Changing the focal length can also distort lines within your frame (beyond the scope of this tutorial). A long focal length (high number) compresses your foreground with your background while a wide focal length (low number) does the opposite. I like to shoot food anywhere from 50mm – 100mm. If you have a Canon Rebel or intro-level Nikon, going as low as 35mm lens is fine. I’d stay away from wide-angle focal lengths because you’re not trying to capture a scene or landscape and definitely not trying to distort your subject (think fisheye).

Whichever focal length you choose, make sure you have control over your negative space (discussed above). If you feel that there’s too much noise in the background, get closer (using your feet = manual zoom) or use a longer focal length. A popular saying in photography is ‘if your pictures are not good enough, you are not close enough’. Make sure to either be cognizant of the background / negative space in your frame or just eliminate it by getting closer (or using a shallow depth-of-field).

Use of Props

This is an area that I am still trying to learn more about and improve upon. Props and accents are important tools that dictate the texture, feel and decor of your shot. A few areas to think about.

• Base / Surface. I have three different surfaces that I shoot my food off of (none of which is a real table). Our dining area is short on windows, making it hard to naturally light either the real dining table or the kitchen counter. Instead, I created a few small surfaces that give off the impression of a real table. You don’t need much…something like 2 by 3 feet is enough. You have at least two different options. One is to go to a local lumber yard (google it) and search for pieces of wood (either finished or distressed/weathered) that suit your desire. You can then create a picnic table effect by crossing them in the back (like a fence) with another piece of wood and gluing together.  If you want something more new and clean, go to Home Depot. You want to buy thin and light pieces of wood that they can cut to your preferred dimensions. Again, combine them in the back with another piece of wood and some glue. You can paint the board using this technique which I found very helpful. The third option that I use is an extension leaf to my real dining room table.

• Bowls and Plates. I like to use simple white bowls and plates when shooting food. I especially like to use bowls because there’s little empty space (unlike a flat plate). I also have some chopsticks that I use to accent some dishes. Condiments, either in small bowls or their store bought container, are also a nice touch. Complimentary drinks in the background work well, too. Napkins, cutting boards, forks, knives…use your imagination. Some places to buy these types of knickknacks include Pier 1 Imports (great source for bowls and other serveware), Etsy.com, Anthropologie, Target, craft stores and garage sales.