How I style a Food Photography scene: Green Goddess Soup
An important (and fun) part of the food photography process is STYLING. I have more of a minimalist style, so that means the food needs to really stand out in the scene to tell the story. You want to eat with your eyes first, so let’s make that food pretty and DROOL-WORTHY!
The food subject in this story is Green Goddess Soup. You can view the video below!
Before I begin a photoshoot, I make a plan. Whether that be for a client or a personal project like this one. I started out by deciding what food I’m going to make, in enters Pinterest or a good ol’ cookbook. I have been trying to focus on making food that I or my family will actually eat since it can get quite wasteful and expensive. So I’m currently working on a monthly/weekly menu of food I want to photograph and add to my portfolio and social content so that it’s intentional, which means this is the first of many in this series so stay tuned!
After I decide what food I want to be my subject, I start to make a mood board to hone in on the vibe of the shoot and the story I want to tell. I focus on colors, composition, props, and lighting.
The only thing left to do is source the ingredients (aka grocery shop), make the food, and get to it! I say this like it’s simple, but it’s probably the most time-consuming part. Depending on the dish, I either prepare it the day before or the morning of (if it’s something more simple and quick). But generally, I will prep as much as I can the day before so that I can have my photographer & styling brain on shoot day.
Shoot day I start with taking test shots. I arrange my props the way I envision the images before I plate any food and perfect the lighting. This makes playing with the composition easier, while not having to worry about the food sitting out for too long or accidentally bumping a styled plate.
Sometimes the test photos end up being their own special set of images. Here are some of the test images:
View the styling video here:
The gallery of Images from this series
Are you a food brand or small business in need of scroll-stopping, drool-worthy images? I can help you bring the vision to life! My name is Tracy, I’m a Michigan-based Product and Food photographer. I work remotely with brands and small businesses worldwide, creating commercial and editorial photography content.
