Food Photography On A Budget

I recently started doing my own food photography. It’s way more convenient for me to photograph as I cook throughout my week, as opposed to the pressure of having to churn out 8 recipes in one shot for a photo shoot. It made the whole process hard to enjoy, which was a shame and definitely not the point. I love to cook, and it’s much nicer to embrace this new organic pace. I have also been joyously discovering that I have new skill sets to learn, be it creating DJ fliers for my feed or photographing food. There are amazing apps that help me feel like a graphic designer and fabulous food photography accounts on Instagram that offer tips and tricks. It’s fun trying new things! I’m certainly not a professional photographer and I’m not trying to be, just like I’m not trying to pass myself off as a professional chef. I’m a great home cook and all around creative who has a good eye; why not expand my wheelhouse? I am a pretty quick study when it comes to aesthetics, and I have always liked experimenting with all sorts of photography. I learned to set up a food shot with accessories in varying textures, heights, complimentary colors, and neutral vessels to showcase the food. I’ve always placed my food on white, black, or wooden serving platters in order to let the food be the star, but I wasn’t quite sure how to fully flesh out a kitchen decor concept to act as a backdrop. Everything seen below is from Target. I had a blast perusing for napkins, platters, bowls, cake plates, drink ware, tablecloths, serving pieces etc. It wasn’t cheap the day of purchase, but this was an investment. I keep all my photography items in a separate closet, and it brings me such joy to peek in and embrace my inner Martha Stewart. Blog or not, I take pride in always setting a beautiful table, and leaning into this endeavor allowed me to up my game. Perfection is never the goal. I’m always looking to create beautifully in a way that’s purely authentic to me. I reuse some combination of these items in every shoot, and I love the challenge of mixing the same things differently, like I do with clothing. There are so many ways to express ourselves creatively.
What’s one thing you’d like to try? Go for it. Make mistakes, leave things on the cutting room floor. This is how we learn, and learning is how we live.