TipsTrendsHow to Make Ugly Foods Look Good in Photos

I know they say, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” but let’s be honest… Beef stew is not the most beautiful thing visually (taste maybe… but that’s not what we’re talking about here). Just as we edit and strategically angle our own photos to make ourselves look better, we can do the same with food! We eat with our eyes first and no one is going to be intrigued by a dimly lit picture of some French onion soup that looks lifeless. There are some techniques to make even the ugliest foods look beautiful (basically we’re catfishing people online with food). When it comes to photographing stews, it is important to garnish and plate it well. Taking a photo of the stew right out of the pot is not recommended because it will not do the food much justice visually (although I’m sure it tastes great). Using a smaller bowl where you can neatly pile up the stew and place it on some decorative napkin or plate will make the off-putting color of the stew less of a distraction. When placing the stew into the bowl, it is important to use less of the broth and more of the ingredients, so the colors can be showcased and not look drowned in the photo. Another unfortunate looking dish to photograph is any kind of sauce. Sauce can tend to look very one dimensional and bland. Using colorful props and decorative silverware is your best friend when photographing condiments. It is recommended that the background is out of focus and the sauce is sharp and clear, making it look more like the star and less of the sidekick. It is important to keep the shot tight and not too wide, especially if your goal is to photograph strictly a sauce. One more un-photogenic food is soup (yes soup and stew photograph very differently).  Soup can tend to photograph plain and look very boring. The goal when shooting soup is to make it look as vibrant and exciting as soup can possibly get (woohoo soup!!!) … Due to its awesome color, pumpkin soup is a rock star in photos but, soups that are brown and more earthy toned can look unappetizing. Garnishing the soup with chives or using sour cream to swirl through it can really transform the shot. The end goal is to have a shot that would make it possible for your viewers to be able to experience how delicious the dish is just by looking at it. Practice makes perfect and it is possible to make anything look beautiful with the magic of photography!