We’re looking at more imagery than ever right now with 700 million monthly active Instagram users alone (TechCrunch).
In the last few years online and offline media has pushed imagery to the forefront - every article / feature / blog post / advert / call to action seems lost without some kind of image dominating.
But of all the images viewed throughout the day, food and drink photographs are in a league of their own. Just like we instantly associate smells with memories, food photographs work in the same way.
So here are my top tips for portraying your brand in the best light with food photography:
It’s all about the colour
Filters, bad light and altered colours drastically affect the way we respond to food photography. The human eye is hard to fool - we’ve had thousands of years developing a keen eye to weed out bad, rotten, spoiled or even dangerous food, so a slight change in the colour palette of the image can have a big impact on the consumer. Perfect colour representation is something that all food photographs should adhere to.
Being real
A popular trend right now (mostly due to newer styles in food journalism and recipe books) is showing the ‘real life’ creation of a dish in context. Whether the final dish is half eaten, a bit rough around the edges, or even in a spread of other dishes in a busy scene – this makes the food seem more real than a ‘studio white background’ shot.
Fundamentally, with recipes, the consumer needs to be saying ‘I could have made this’. And similarly when selling products or restaurant dishes, it is important for the food to look real, so the consumer believes the image will resemble what they receive.
Think twice about using stock photography
When you consider the importance of getting food photography right, the common use of
stock photography with brands using the same or similar images to each other is astonishing.
If you’re serious about the perception of your brand, try to avoid using stock photography. Although it can have its place for some clients, getting your own photographs is a far better solution as you’ll benefit from the expertise of the photographer to portray your brand in the best way possible. Use unique and personal imagery to stand out from competitors.
And in terms of value for money, commissioning your own photos means you’ll be able to use the images throughout your campaigns and into the future.
Making your brand stand out
Develop a look and feel to your own imagery by identifying key colour palettes that will reinforce your brand and brand awareness. All the resulting images will then work together. Also the repetition of a single key colour palette puts the mind at ease and emotionally positions the brain in a better place, creating positive associations with your brand.
So whether you are looking to update your website, create an image library for the media or give your marketing collateral a new look, never forget that first impressions count. A single strong image at the first point of contact will sell the dream.
Written by Chris Ridley, commercial and editorial photographer
About Chris Ridley
With 10 years of commercial experience working within creative marketing agencies, Chris has a passion for telling stories through the power of images. Becoming a freelance photographer in 2007, Chris turned his obsession into an occupation and creates images for his clients that elevate their brand to a new level.