Food photography and story telling from a different angle

A few scrolls through Instagram and you notice the ‘flat lay’ trend of photography. As a photographer, I am not particularly in favour of this angle when photographing food. It might have its merits in other types of photography but when it comes to food, I have a different opinion to the rest. Let me try to explain why:

The ‘instantness’ of Instagram

I always think first of the purpose of the photograph. I have the ability to read photographs and because of this reason, I also take photographs this way. I believe a photograph should make sense and be part of the story telling. We have the advanced technology in cameras and phone cameras, yet it shouldn’t allow us to just accept whatever gets snapped. The “instantness” of Instagram has brought this about. I love this social media platform and all it’s features but when it comes to photography , it needs to be valuable for the story you want to tell.

Instagram has given us the wonderful opportunity to see the world through many people's eyes but it also, because of its format and trends, changed our perception somewhat about ‘keeping it real’. It is true that people have become so used to seeing things in the ‘Instagram way’ that even Websites and portfolio photographs seem to follow the same flat lay trend.

Seeing things in perspective.

Seeing the flat lay food pictures reminds me of the mood boards I had to make while studying Interior Design. They were very much two dimensional and even with the floorplan of the room added, you really have a limited idea of what it would look like if you are not the designer. Therefore in Interior design, it is very important to give your client the perspective drawing of the room. It is only then that the room starts to take a 3D form and become real in the mind. I struggled a lot with perspective drawings at first, but the more I practiced and the more I started drawing this way, the better I could see the value of perspective.

I can also see the value in perspective when photographing food. The perspective view not only includes the different aspects of the food, but it also includes the background and depth which adds to the story. Restaurant owners know this too well. People don’t just come for the food, they come for the experience, the little extra detail including the the interior which is part of this experience. Ordering a take- away compared to eating the same meal in a restaurant, is quite different. The same dish without the ambience… not the same. I believe photographs of food should be seen in the same way.

“People don’t want what you make. They want the way it will make them feel, and there aren’t that many feelings to choose from.” Seth Godin

Telling the story.

I believe the best angle for food photography is anything around 35- 65 degrees. Not only does it allow you to see the front and surface of the dish but also the sides. This is also the same perspective that we see when sitting at the table. Get closer to the food, capture the detail, show it as it is even with some imperfections.

“In fact, stories only magnify the need to have something remarkable (and honest) to say.” Seth Godin

This is the way I like to tell visual stories: Keeping it real.