CHAPTER 5

Styling

For many people, styling is the most exciting part of a food photography shoot. Along with the right light, styling is the most important factor in a successful food photo. It doesn’t matter how much love and care you put into preparing a dish, if you don’t photograph it with the same attention to detail, you won’t be happy with the results, and neither will your viewer. And viewer satisfaction is what we are after, right?

Food photography styling doesn’t just mean serving an exquisite dish—you also have to select the right props to give it the shine it deserves. Mastering these twin skills takes time and practice, and requires strong nerves. Even after all these years I am still practicing and I still make plenty of mistakes—that’s ...

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