Food Photography Techniques for Advertising

Every art form has its tricks of the trade, but none quite like that of food photography. Alfonso Acedo—photographer and food stylist—knows all the techniques and secrets to whet the appetite and quench the thirst of consumers with just one photo. This is why brands such as Kellogg's and Calvé, as well as a range of restaurants, rely on his attention to culinary detail in his photographs.

In this course, learn how to enhance the aesthetic of food and drinks in a photograph by way of great lighting, digital retouching, and food styling.

Start by getting to know Alfonso Acedo, how he got started in the world of food photography, and his main references in the sector. He introduces you to the course's project: taking photographs for a menu board.

The first photo session is all about capturing drinks. He explains what equipment you need, the material he uses, and the different ways to apply the chilled effect on a bottle of beer.

Learn how to assemble a lighting setup with two flashes; one creating a backlight to illuminate the liquid and one front flash to give the bottle a side glow.

Continue with the food photo session, which in this case features a sandwich. Learn how to "cast" the products to get a mouth-watering line-up and look at how to position each element on the set to make it as appetizing as possible.
Alfonso explains how to assemble another lighting setup with two flashes and a reflector, ideal for emphasizing the glare and the outline of your sandwich, as well as food in general.

After the sessions, move on to digital retouching using Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop. Select two photos from the drinks shoot and look at how to combine them so that the beer has the perfect body and head. Make tweaks to the droplets and the label, then create a background.

Repeat the process with a photo of the sandwich and learn all the secrets to retouching the little imperfections until you've got the ideal version of your product.

To finish, integrate both images into the design of a generic menu board.

Create a menu board using all the food and drinks styling techniques learned throughout the course.

Photographers who would like to get started in the world of food photography.

To take this course, you need basic knowledge of digital photography, a good command of studio lighting or flashes, and experience with Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Lightroom.

As for materials, you need an SLR camera, studio lighting equipment (or at least two flashes), a computer with Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom installed, and some kitchen utensils.