How Watkins Photography Makes Food and Drinks Look Fresh and Appealing

Summary

John shares the core technique behind making food and drinks look fresh and appetizing in restaurant photography. The number one factor is lighting: the food usually needs to be lit evenly and fully, using a large light, a large window, or a combination of both, so it looks its best. The second key is shooting at a very closed-down aperture, which keeps the entire dish in focus rather than letting part of it blur out. He contrasts this with a phone, which cannot stop its aperture down far enough, so getting close to something like a slice of cake leaves half of it out of focus. His point is that achieving consistently sharp, well-lit, appealing food images takes someone who knows what they are doing and has enough light power to get the result, which is exactly what he provides.

Answer

The number one way to make food look real good when you photograph it is, first, you have to have it lit evenly and fully. So you need some sort of a large light, or a large window, or a combination of both, and the food has to be lit really well. You also need to shoot the food at what they call a very closed-down aperture, so that everything stays in focus. Because if you have an iPhone and you get really close to your piece of cake or whatever it is you’re photographing, half of the cake’s going to go out of focus, because the phone doesn’t have the ability to close down its aperture enough. I’m getting into too many of the details, but basically you need somebody who knows what they’re doing, who has enough light power to get the results that you want. And it just so happens that I am him. That combination of even lighting and sharp focus is what makes food look fresh and appealing.