Written by: Allie Beauchesne
We’ve previously established that a lot goes into a striking food photograph. Elements like food styling, equipment, composition and lighting all play a major role in the finished product. Today, let’s take a deeper look at one of those elements and three simple steps one can take to elevate the composition of their image.
Start by Thinking About the Final Product
The first step we always take when composing a food image is to think about the intended use of the final result. Will this image be for social media or a website? Will the product be the star of the show, or should it be an element alongside the food? What is the mood we are hoping to establish with the image?
By thinking about the answers to these questions, we can quickly establish the following:
Image orientation and aspect ratio
Angle at which image will be shot
Cropping and amount of elements to be included in the image
Lighting, backdrops and props
For this exercise, we used some blueberry vanilla hand pies we’d recently made with Nielsen Massey Tahitian Vanilla Bean Paste. We have worked with Nielsen Massey in the past and are aware of their particular aesthetic: high-end yet approachable; clean, modern and minimal. We used this knowledge to propel our decision-making process as we composed this image.
Starting with some humble hand pies on our distressed work surface
Creating the Right Mood
Using our answers to the questions above, we took three simple elements into the studio to create our image: blueberry vanilla hand pies, fresh blueberries, and the product we used in the creation of the pies, the Vanilla Bean Paste. We started determining the answers to our questions:
This image would be for Instagram, so we would shoot at a vertical aspect ratio and overhead, as “flatlay” images perform well on this platform.
The product would be featured, but should be balanced with the other elements of the image, namely the hand pies.
As with a lot of images for this brand, and taking the food and product packaging into account, we decided a bright and vibrant kitchen-looking scene would be the best fit for this image.
Picking a better background more inline with the finished product immediately elevates the image
Fine Tuning with Props and Placements
We looked to the recipe and the product packaging for inspiration with this one, and ultimately went with mostly complimentary colored props in various shades of blue. To play off the pie crust, we used some natural colors found in the parchment paper and wooden trivet.
Ultimately, we tried, as we always do, to have the viewer’s eye drawn to the product as well as the delicious food – we created an image that keeps the viewer looking, while still keeping the product as a main contender for attention and space in the image.
The process of composing the image went a little something like this:
We selected the honeycomb tile backdrop to fit with the modern yet timeless feel of this brand
Blueberries were taken out of their boring plastic container and moved to a blue paper carton, more indicative of a farmstand than a grocery store
The carton of blueberries was tipped over to organically “spill” the blueberries and create a leading line to where we would place the product
The best looking hand pies were chosen to be on the plates, while we kept the additional ones on the baking sheet with the parchment paper they were baked on for a more authentic feel
We placed the baking sheet atop a rustic wooden slab to add another layer of dimension and texture to the image, while keeping in the color scheme of blues and brown/golds we were already playing with
Blue plates and linens were chosen to play off the blueberries
The product was carefully placed in the middle of the image, with nothing crowding it
We added a hand and took a delicious bite from one of the pies to add a human element
By considering the end result and the brand in question throughout the entire process, we were able to create an image that both tells a story and invites the viewer to look a while. Easy as (hand) pie.
