Food Photography Composition Lesson: Learning with Meatballs

This food photography composition lesson reviews my thought process for approaching my three different sweet and sour meatball photoshoots. 

Disclaimer:

 My food photography is a work in progress. As I embark on learning this new craft, I have found it immensely helpful to read everything there is on the different elements of food photography. The information that other food bloggers and photographers have on their sites have been immensely helpful. So, I have decided to document and share my learning process too. Perhaps seeing the mistakes and corrections I make will help others who decide to take this journey. 

Breaking it down:

 When you read about composition in photography on the internet, you will find a lot of information on different guidelines to follow in regards to lines, depth of field, color, angles, textures, layers, the weight of a photo, and so forth. That isn't what this food photography composition lesson is about. Instead, I will be walking you through my thought process as I focus on composition. 

But what is composition?

 Essentially, composition is the arrangement of elements or ingredients used in the frame for your image. I like to view it as a story. 

Every picture should tell a story

 That is one of the ways we connect with our audience. The person viewing your photo should want to reach in a grab that spoon, or be invited to that dinner party. The audience should know what you are trying to portray, within seconds of viewing your photo. And we use those elements and guidelines to help tell the story we want to convey. Confession: Composition is the hardest thing for me to grasp. Lighting is difficult, but there are some very specific, set guidelines for how to setup good lighting. Composition is something you either learn over time, or have the eye for. The photos that take me forever to shoot are the ones where I am struggling to tell the story I want. These are the photos that end up looking flat, or like something is missing. 

The Meatballs:

 Let's start with a look at my grandma's healthy sweet and sour meatballs.  These are perhaps one of the most difficult things I have shot because the look of the food itself is a bit drab. And, the sauerkraut makes them look less than appetizing. 

The Original Shoot:

My original photoshoot of these meatballs was done in September of 2018, using my iPhone. I was brand new to food photography, and didn't know much. These were shot in my kitchen against a wall using overhead fluorescent lighting, and little props that I got from the dollar store. I used my little tree in the back to bring in color.  Also, I didn't know much about lighting yet. Or much of anything, to be honest.  

Here are a few samples of shots.

 The meatballs tasted amazing, but they didn't look very appetizing. 

What I tried to incorporate with the food photography composition:

• Playing with angles, I used both straight-on shots and 45-degree angles.

• I understood that colors that were opposite of each other on the color wheel went well together. So, I used oranges and blues.

• In the fourth photo, I attempted to tell a story by placing a plate of food out, with a glass in the background. I also pulled the subject front and center.

• I tried to style the food, the best I could.

• An ingredient shot was added, and carefully photographed. In all reality, this is the best shot I had.

Where I needed improvement with the food photography composition:

• The 45-degree angle shots should have been coming from above, not beneath.

• The hues of the blue and orange didn't work well together.

• The food, although styled on a plate does not look appetizing in the least.

• There is no story being told.

• The lighting setup was wrong, but because this is not a lighting lesson, I will save that for later.

Shoot 2:

 In the original shoot, I was very focused on the arrangement and angles and colors, but not the story that the picture would tell, which is what composition is all about. My focus for shoot two was very specifically the story that my photo would tell. I wanted to make sure the audience felt like they were in the photo, or could picture what the person who was going to eat that food was doing. To do this, I tried to think about what a table would look like if I were at a restaurant or sitting down to eat dinner with friends or family. Would there be a big serving bowl, or would it just be plates and forks, already served? After scooping everything into their bowls, I decided to feature the big bowl of meatballs. This was not the original plan. So, I placed that bowl in the center and tried to create a table that you would see if a bunch of friends or family were gathering together to have a meal. I did focus on lighting, but not so much on all of the shadows they created. At this stage in my photography I hadn't quite managed to think about everything at once. I normally focus on lighting, or colors, or composition… not the story as a whole. That mind set will grow as I do. 

Let's take a look at some of my sample shots.

 At first glance there is a MASSIVE improvement. But, let's look at the similarities, differences, and areas where I improved. 

What I tried to incorporate with the food photography composition:

• Reviewing the above photos, I definitely feel like I am telling more of a story, particularly in shots 3 and 6, I feel like I could be at that table. I also brought in elements to help tell that story by the types of props used. Notice the chop sticks, the types of bowls, and the napkin.

• Once again, I combined the oranges and blues. However, this time I tried to balance the hues out. I also brought in some yellow and neutral colors to make the images flow a bit better, since the cauliflower rice was also bringing in some yellow.

• Here, I used multiple angles again. the 45-degree angle was shot from above this time, which is the better approach. Picture six is my favorite.

• I did my best to make the subject shine, by using lines and layers to either point to the subject, or help make it stand out. Also, I tried to ensure the food fell across the intersection of grid lines per standard composition guidelines.

See below, the white gridlines in some of the screenshots.

 Note how the subject follows the grids, as does the movement of the other props.   Reviewing the second photo shoot, I can definitely see the improvement, and I actually really liked these photos when I shot them. But, reviewing it now, I would say that the photos are just too crowded. I feel like by overcrowding the frame, and lost focus on the subject, and made the picture confusing. 

Now let's look at my final shoot for this food photography composition lesson.

 For the final shoot, I definitely changed things up again. Drastically! This time, I tried to tell the same story of people getting ready to sit down to enjoy some meatballs. I also still had a big main bowl to focus on. What I didn't do was crowd the photos with loads of props and bowls full of meatballs. Instead, I presented one main dish as the focal point. And, I used the props to show that it was a self-serve dinner party. Notice how this is setup for the audience to want to just grab a spoon and serve up some food for themselves. The forks in the background add to the composition not only in relation to the lines they follow, but to add to the story. The table cloth has added texture and is used as a layer within the composition. The flowers add elegance that change the mood of the type of dinner party it is. 

Here are a few more before and after photos.

 The funny thing is I totally forgot to add the second raw meatball shot in my post, and it is possibly one of my favorite photos I've shot yet. And it is definitely my favorite of all the meatballs. The reason for that is because it captures the right lighting and color, along with the composition. You can see the movement and understand the story just from looking at those raw ingredients. 

  Reviewing the 3 different shoots below, you can decide what you like best. They are all clearly very different. The question to ask though, is did I manage to tell the story I was hoping to? Did I capture the art of composition? 

And finally, ...

 In case you wanted to see it. The above represents the setup I used from the final meatball shot. 

Did you enjoy reading my Food Photography Composition Lesson? Let me know by leaving me a comment below. You can also follow me on Instagram and use the hashtag #elizabethdworkinphotography whenever you want to share something you think I'll like.