Tops Tips From a Food Stylist

FOOD PHOTOGRAPHER CELINE STEEN

I love to shoot peaceful slices of everyday life, like a breakfast table loaded with baked goods and a steaming cup of coffee or a pretty slice of cake. I find that such scenes are soothing and beautiful in their simplicity, and nothing makes me happier than getting to translate that sense of calm and peacefulness into actual pictures.

— Celine Steen

Food photographer, food stylist and cookbook author Celine Steen gives us some more great tips for taking stunning foodie photos.

CELINE’S GEAR

“I use a Nikon D700 almost always fitted with a 60mm f/2.8G macro lens, occasionally with a 50mm f/1.4D lens. My absolute favorite lens is the 60mm macro. It has wonderful bokeh capacities, is sharp, light, fast, rather affordable, and perfect for food photography in low-light conditions when combined with a tripod.

“I don’t use any studio equipment other than a light reflector. As far as software programs go, I use Photoshop CS and on occasion, Lightroom. Both programs are used in order to adjust exposure, color balance and contrast.”

CELINE’S FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS

• “Morning light or early evening light is amazing to create slightly moodier, dreamy shots.”
• “The food is your focus. It can be fun using a bunch of props to tell a story, but remember the food is supposed to be the star of the show.”
• “Shoot from various angles to find the one where your food looks best.”
• “Prepare ahead of time. I often set up the styling and props in my head before the shoot, cataloging all the dishes, fabric and other props I could work with. That allows me to figure out what will work best ahead of time, instead of just throwing things together at the last minute. Most of the time it works well, but on occasion it just doesn’t flow perfectly on a visual level, so I have to switch to different items in the middle of the shoot. It can be a problem when shooting food items that can wilt or melt quickly; that’s why it’s best to try and figure it out ahead of time.”
• “Spraying fruits and veggies with a little spray bottle of water is a great way to keep things looking fresh and appealing. Another useful trick is to slightly undercook the food so it doesn’t look overdone and mushy in pictures.”

“It seems impossible for raspberries and other fresh berries to ever look nonphotogenic! I’m fond of the detailed appearance of the berries obtained by using a macro lens here.” —Celine Steen. 60mm f/2.8 lens, ISO 640, f/7.1 for ¹⁄₂₀ sec.

“I find this image to be a good reminder that you don’t always need to perfectly center the main subject of the shot for it to work well.” —Celine Steen. 60mm f/2.8 lens, ISO 400, f/5 for ¹⁄₆₀ sec.