Food Photography: You, Too, Can Take Great Food Pics

Don't get confused just because many food photographers work for big publishers, franchise restaurants and production companies: Food photography is an art, as much as sculpture or screenwriting or ballet.

But don't let that scare you. There are plenty of amateur food photography enthusiasts out there, and many of them are pretty good. And if it's a skill you're interested in learning, there's no reason to think you can't. Here are a few of the basic things you'll need to do in order to learn food photography.

Learn Plating. "Plating" is the art of setting food on its plate in an aesthetically pleasing manner. Part of plating is having great plates to work with, so you'll need to get a good set of dinnerware on which to display your culinary creations. Once you do this, start experimenting with what looks good; think of it as a great opportunity to play with your food!

Focus on one thing. Or at least, just a couple of things. In short, don't overcrowd your plate. If you're shooting a picture of some crab cakes, don't include side dishes on the same plate. The exception might be if you're shooting an entire Thanksgiving dinner, or a multi-course meal.

Keep color in mind. There's no Ansel Adams of food photography, largely because par of what makes food so appetizing and attractive is the color. So take the time to learn about complementary colors and what looks good together. And make sure the dishes you're shooting are the colors they're supposed to be! Get the reddest tomatoes, the orangest oranges, and the greenest green beans.

Garnish. Or sauce. Take your pick. Nothing sets off a main dish better than a tasty-looking sauce drizzled across the plate. Or a few bushy lettuce leaves or some peppercorns used as garnish. Be sure to remember what we discussed about complementary colors when choosing sauces or garnish.

Think of your photo as a sandwich. Ever order a sandwich with dry corners? If a chef doesn't spread the filling all the way to the corners, the sandwich is no good. Your photos are the same: Make sure no corner goes unadorned. That doesn't mean your pictures should be too busy -- just that you should be aware of what's going on in every inch of the photograph.