| TIPS FROM THE PROS |

PHOTO CREDIT : © NIKOLAY - STOCK . ADOBE . COM

BY MARK PLUMLEE

GREAT FOOD AND DRINK photography is critical for restaurants today , as eye-catching imagery is required to promote their drinks and food on their websites , Yelp and social media . But you don ’ t have to be a restaurateur of foodie to appreciate a gorgeous image of a cocktail .

Simply pointing your phone ’ s camera at a dish and snapping a photo often leads to bland , unappetizing results , however . I spoke with food photographer David Schub of Schub Studios in the Los Angeles area to get a better idea for what goes into capturing perfect food photos , and how people can achieve them without all the expensive equipment .

HOW DO YOU SHOOT BEVERAGES TO HIGHLIGHT THEIR UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS ? Photographing drinks and cocktails is another art in itself . A good image of a drink should also evoke some kind of emotion .

Think about the style of how you want the drink and the props shot . How do you want to capture the drink ? Do you want it bright on a white backdrop , or do you want it dark and moody with less light with the back of the bar as a backdrop ? How do you want to present your drink for customers to see ?

Every drink , cocktail and beer has a specific glass , whether a stein glass , a tumbler , a wine glass or Martini glass — you get the idea . Not only do you want to highlight the drink , but also you want to highlight the glass .

Tell a story with props , including a garnish , such as a cherry , olive or lime , and even include a bottle opener with the cork to the side . There are tricks to make a beer more bubbly ( add a bit of dish soap ), and to give the mug more condensation ( spray glycerine on the outside of the glass ).

WHY IS HIGH-QUALITY FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY IMPORTANT ? Great food photography is supposed to evoke your senses — your sense of sight , smell and , of course , tastebuds . The curves , shadows and grill marks of the food item I photograph , I want to make it look like you can eat it off the menu or website .

WHAT ’ S PLATING , AND HOW DO YOU DO IT WELL ? Plating is how you arrange the food on the plate to create the best , most appetizing picture . For example , take a hamburger and fries . You want the burger to be the hero and make that stand out rather than the fries .

The color of the food on the plate is also important . There are the colors of food on the plate that will either complement or contrast each other . So warm colors such as reds and yellows can be paired with cool colors on the other side of the spectrum , like blues and greens .

HOW DO YOU LIGHT YOUR SHOOTS ? To me , less is better : I don ’ t need three lights . I use one light with an umbrella on it and then a stand with a reflector .

I find an area away from the windows without much natural light . That way , I can control the direction of light with my lights and use a reflector . I also don ’ t need to worry about the time of day and the sun .

If you don ’ t have specific lighting equipment , use natural light . You have less control , but light from a window will generally look better than light from an overhead bulb .

A white foam board or lining a foam board with foil is a cheap and effective way to reflect light onto your dish from the opposite side .

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT WHEN COMPOSING A PHOTO ? My first rule is to keep it simple . Don ’ t overdo it . Beyond that , I always try to incorporate the rule of thirds . The rule of thirds basically splits a photo into thirds , both horizontally and vertically , to create a grid of nine squares .

Think of a tic-toe-board . Where those lines intersect are the four points of interest .

That ’ s where people ’ s eyes are drawn , which is important to keep in mind when deciding where to position the food in the shot .

Mark Plumlee is senior editor at online menu service MustHaveMenus .

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