Good food photography is mostly not photography. It is preparation, timing and consistency, and the camera records what was put in front of it. Most of the difference between an appetising image and a disappointing one happens before the shutter.

Consistency Is Visible

Uniform components photograph considerably better than irregular ones. Cookies of the same size arranged together look deliberate; the same cookies in assorted sizes look accidental.

This is a practical argument for weighing portions rather than shaping by eye. Forty grams of dough per cookie produces a tray that photographs as a set. Scales such as those in the Escali Scale range make this a habit rather than a project.

Preparation Before Anything Else

• Decide the shot before cooking, since some dishes have a very short window
• Set up the background, surface and props in advance
• Test the lighting with a stand-in object rather than the real dish
• Prepare garnishes separately and add them at the last moment
• Have a cloth and a brush ready for tidying edges

Timing

Hot food photographs well for a very short period. Steam disappears, sauces skin over, greens dull, ice cream melts and bread crusts soften.

Professional food photography deals with this by shooting stand-in versions to set up, then bringing in the final dish for a few minutes. The domestic version is the same principle: everything ready, then plate and shoot immediately.

Light

Natural light from a window, diffused through a thin curtain, is better than almost any domestic artificial lighting and costs nothing.

Light from the side or slightly behind the dish creates shape and texture; light from the front flattens everything. Overhead kitchen lighting is the least flattering option available and gives food an unappealing colour cast.

Making Food Look Like Food

The main enemy is dullness. Fresh herbs, a wipe of oil, a squeeze of lemon and something with contrasting colour all help, and all should be added immediately before shooting.

Undercooking vegetables slightly keeps them bright. Reserving a few perfect pieces for the top of a dish is standard practice. Neither is dishonest; both are the equivalent of tidying a room before photographing it.

The Repeatability Point

Anyone photographing food regularly, for a blog, a business or a portfolio, needs the dish to look the same across multiple shoots.

That is a measurement problem before it is a photography one. Recorded weights, times and temperatures mean the second batch matches the first, which is what makes a body of work look coherent.

Keeping It Honest

There is a line between presenting food well and photographing something inedible. Styling with glue, motor oil and shaving foam belongs to advertising rather than to anyone sharing recipes.

A photograph of a dish that cannot actually be produced by the recipe beneath it is a small deception, and readers notice when their result looks nothing like the picture.