We eat with our eyes first, so the presentation of your food can greatly influence your appetite. Imagine seeing a plate with greasy fingerprints and a messy dish versus one that’s elegantly presented. The difference is significant.
There’s a popular subreddit with nearly 5.2 million members where food enthusiasts share visually stunning food photos. We’ve gathered some of the latest posts to showcase the care and creativity that both professional and amateur chefs invest in their dishes. Be prepared to get hungry as you browse these appealing images, so have some snacks handy while you upvote your favorites.
Dishdames spoke with renowned pie artist Jessica Leigh Clark-Bojin, @thepieous, for advice on food photography and creating the most appetizing images. Jessica, author of ‘Pies Are Awesome: The Definitive Pie Art Book,’ provided valuable tips and highlighted common mistakes to avoid. You can find our interview with her below.
For more culinary inspiration, check out Dishdames previous articles about this popular subreddit: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. If you enjoy this type of content, consider joining the Reddit community!
#1 Mango And Dragon Fruit Ice Cream
Jessica, the author of ‘Pies Are Awesome,’ was kind enough to share her insights on photographing food to make the pics look appealing. The good news is that you don’t necessarily need a lot of fancy equipment to get awesome results. What’s far more important is how you approach photography!
“You no longer need ultra fancy camera equipment to take professional-quality food photos—as of iPhone 11, cellphone snaps are virtually indistinguishable from the most expensive DSLR cameras,” the pie artist shared with Dishdames. She pointed out that there are two areas that might cause problems. The first is a cluttered backdrop. The second is light.
“The two biggest mistakes new food photographers make are working with overhead kitchen lights instead of natural light from a large window, and photographing their food on a counter cluttered with a million unrelated objects in the background,” she said.
#2 I Had A Dream I Made Cottage Pie With Starry Night Mashed Potatoes And I Haven’t Been Able To Stop Thinking About It.. So I Present To You The Starry Night Cottage Pie
#3 Celebrating With Some Prosciutto, Capocollo, 3 Year Aged Cheddar And 21 Days Of Sobriety
“To get started, find the biggest window in your home and pull a chair or table set with a large piece of cardboard right up next to it. Place your food on the cardboard and snap away! Direct overhead shots are popular, as are slightly oblique angles that give the viewer the PoV of someone sitting down for a delicious meal,” pie artist Jessica explained how newcomers to food photography might want to approach things. Once you get the fundamentals down right, you can start investing in more professional equipment. But that’s always optional.
“As you start to up your game, you can spring for professional backdrops, and even your own lights that mimic daylight so that you can shoot outside of peak daylight hours… but these are by no means necessary to get in the game.”
According to pie artist Jessica, once you’ve become confident with the basics, you can then turn your attention to the food itself.
“Make sure there are no smudges, drips, fingerprints, or other unappetizing elements on your dishes or styling props. Check your produce for wilted areas or other blemishes, and turn these away from the camera,” she explained to Dishdames that attention to detail is paramount.
#4 Puff Pastry Apple Turnover
#5 My Apple Pie Trifle
#6 There’s An Ice Cream Place Near Boston That Sells Soft Serve Ice Cream With Gooey Caramel In The Middle And Apple Cider Donut Crumbles On The Outside
“To ensure your food is at peak freshness when you shoot it, do all of your prep work well in advance—set up your backdrop, camera tripods, lighting, props, etc. and get everything perfect using random household objects as ‘stand ins’ for your food. That way, once your dish is hot and ready to go, all you have to do is place it in the frame and snap away!”
Jessica noted that there’s a lot to learn when it comes to food photography. Everything depends on your curiosity and willingness to try something new.
“There are hundreds of little tricks specific to certain types of food to make dishes look the most luscious and delicious, and many books have been dedicated to this subject. When you’re ready to take things to that next level, start a list of your favorite food photographers on Instagram and see if they have ebooks, manuals, or courses offering their best lighting and styling tips… before you know it, you’ll be joining their ranks and inspiring others with your own killer food photog style!” the pie artist said.
#7 The Perfect Watermelon
#8 Potato Pavé
#9 My Cousin’s Wife And I Put This Charcuterie Table Together For My Other Cousin’s Wedding! I Think It Turned Out Pretty Great
The subreddit is a great place to find some inspiration if you feel that you’ve run out of ideas when it comes to cooking. If you value aesthetics and presentation a lot but feel like you’ve hit a creative block, it’s perfectly fine to take a break from it all.
Then, when you come back to the kitchen all rested-up and reenergized, you can start looking a bit broader for inspiration. Take a peek at other areas of life for how you cook, bake, and arrange your food: maybe you’ll find something in nature, pop culture, or even architecture that motivates you to go the extra mile!
The subreddit is home to over 5 million members, or ‘foodies’ as the moderator team has dubbed them. The online community has been active for over a decade, and in that time, it has become one of the most well-known and influential groups on Reddit.
The sub describes itself as being dedicated to “simple, attractive, and visual” content. If it’s related to food and it looks great, you should probably share it here.
#10 We Have So Much Fruit Coming From The Garden. Brownie-White Chocolatemousse Pie With Fresh Fruit
#11 Halloween Pizza
#12 My Girlfriend And I Don’t Bake But We Made Her Birthday Cake From Scratch And It Looked Really Beautiful
The internet is a much different place than it was in 2009 when the subreddit was first created. Back then, internet users were far more open to naming their communities something embarrassing or unusual. Something that instantly gets your attention.
Fast-forward to 2022 and internet censorship has become quite widespread. Even mentioning some of these community names in full, in the text, is a wonderful way to get on the wrong side of the Internet and Social Media Overlords. The sad reality is that the subreddit has a so-called ‘stop word’ in its name which is why we can’t mention it directly. We can, however, celebrate just how great the community is and invite you to check it out yourselves, dear Pandas.
If you do decide to join the sub, make sure that you familiarize yourself with the community rules. You can find them in the sidebar. They’re pretty straightforward.
Be civil toward others. Post things only related to food. It is a food subreddit after all! If you’d like to discuss something unrelated, there are plenty of other communities on Reddit and elsewhere for that.
#13 Homegrown Tomato Spread
#14 Poppy Semolina Bread
#15 Pan Grilled Jiaozi. And A Cat
Meanwhile, members are encouraged to post only images and gifs. Videos and articles aren’t allowed. While writing the title, be sure to include some context.
Oh, and mark your post with an [OC] (original content) tag in the title if the photo is one that you took.