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BEER AND CROISSANTS

Home > Plan with me > 6 PRACTICAL TIPS FOR TAKING GREAT STREET FOOD PHOTOS

6 PRACTICAL TIPS FOR TAKING GREAT STREET FOOD PHOTOS

Published January 13, 2017 Updated January 4, 2020 - This post may contain affiliate links. Read the disclosure.

CONTENTS

  • 6 practical tips for taking great street food photos
  • Assemble your own prop kit
  •  
  • Use your props to make your photos more engaging
  • Add a human element to your photos
  • Respect the locals
  • Use the right tools
  • Make the most of what you have

Practical tips for taking great street food photos

6 practical tips for taking great street food photos

Nothing showcases local culture better than street food.  As a traveller, you might have taken photos of various local dishes, trying to make them look like those mouthwatering photos you see on food and travel blogs or magazines but to no avail. But there is a way to shoot beautiful pictures even with limited props and your travel camera.  My latest purchase was a Panasonic Lumix DMC-G7 and I am loving it.

How can you do this?  Check out the great tips below.

Assemble your own prop kit

Go for something light and compact since you’ll need to take this with you during your food hunts. Choose interesting spoons, forks, and bread knives—preferably made of wood and ceramic, which can add a touch of class to your photos. Avoid using plastic utensils as much as possible.

Other ideas include taking a tea cup and table napkin that is versatile enough to style with a variety of food items. A small chopping board or an interesting piece of wood can be used as a great base for the food.

 

blackberry-street-food-photo-tips

 

Use your props to make your photos more engaging

Let’s say you are on a food tour in Bangkok and saw a vendor selling pad thai on the streets. Whilst it may look appetising, pad thai can appear bland in photos if it is not styled properly. This is the time to take out your kit and arrange the dish to make it more lively and interesting.

 

taking great street food photos

Add a human element to your photos

People will be drawn to your food photos if you include in the frame a hand getting a forkful of food.  Alternatively, images of people holding food also make for great photos.  It is easier for people to relate to images when the face of the subject is not in focus, or not shown at all. Incorporate these principles when shooting street food so that your audience can imagine themselves in the frame once they see your photos.

 

cooking street food

Respect the locals

One of the rules of street photography is to capture your subjects as candidly as possible. However, it is also proper etiquette (especially when visiting a foreign country) to ask permission before taking their photos in action. You never know what their rules and customs might be with regard to having their photos taken.

Just take award-winning photographer David Loftus for example. Despite his stature in the photography world, he still checks with his desired subject if it is okay to take their photo. He also makes it a point to build rapport with street food vendors by buying an item or two from what they are selling, before requesting to take a snap of their displays.

Timing is also important.  Never take a photo of someone who is chewing. You can take a photo of that person before they begin to chew their food but never while they are eating. The images won’t show the person or the scene in the best light. Chances are, they might even find it rude that you took a picture of them whilst eating.

Use the right tools

Most food photographers use a macro lens to bring out the details of food and grab the viewer’s attention,  but feel free to use whatever is most comfortable for you.

Make the most of what you have

Given that you can’t take many props with you when travelling, you’ll have to be resourceful in preparing for your photo shoot. Look for items that you come across when you are eating; sandwich wrappers, waxy cheese paper, cups and napkins could all be reused and provide some local context to your photos.

Look inside your bag and around you for what you can use, and you just might find a gem or two.

Once you got all these tips down pat, you will realise that street food photography is actually easy to master. Before you know it, taking tasteful street food photos will come naturally to you.

With these practical tips for taking great street food photos, you might actually get so good at it that you can find ways to make money as a photographer.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Hra

    January 14 2017 at 8:35 pm

    What a great tips!! so useful!! I love your photos are amazing, and i definitely follow your advice. Thanks for sharing with us 🙂

  2. Vicki Louise

    January 14 2017 at 11:34 pm

    Great tips! I’ve never thought about traveling with a prop kit but it makes total sense! Now I just have to remember to do it on my next food tour!

  3. Kallsy

    January 15 2017 at 3:29 am

    This is SO helpful. I would have never thought to bring my own props. I have even visited places because of a photo I saw and thought “hmmm that doesn’t look like what I saw in the photograph.” Now I know. 🙂 I especially loved your tip of adding a human element to photos – the photo you selected enticed me!

  4. noel

    January 15 2017 at 4:28 am

    I like all your tips and especially love bringing your own props. I take extensive food imagery and these are spot on tips to use anytime you want to create amazing food imagery. good job

  5. LeAnna Brown

    January 15 2017 at 1:07 pm

    Forget the photos…just eat all the street food! Jk. I love working on my photo skills, so these are great tips. AND I love my Asian street food, so, Win-WIN!

  6. Christina

    January 15 2017 at 3:28 pm

    I love your idea of wandering around with a prop kit! Having the right props sure does make the food look more mouthwatering. I will definitely try that next time I’m out and about in a city with great street food. The props you’ve chosen add more than a dash of style to the street food. Nice work!

  7. Patricia - Ze Wandering Frogs

    January 15 2017 at 7:21 pm

    Cool tips! Always struggling for these photos – like the props’ idea!

  8. Beer and Croissants

    January 16 2017 at 11:17 am

    Yeah I thought they were pretty good too.

  9. Beer and Croissants

    January 16 2017 at 11:21 am

    Thanks Christina, I learnt a lot from this article too.

  10. Beer and Croissants

    January 16 2017 at 11:42 am

    I know, right. They are all so amazing. It’s why I love street food.

  11. Beer and Croissants

    January 16 2017 at 11:42 am

    Thanks so much Noel, appreciate that.

  12. Beer and Croissants

    January 16 2017 at 11:44 am

    It’s all smokes and mirrors sometimes isn’t it.

  13. Beer and Croissants

    January 16 2017 at 11:44 am

    I know, it’s probably not a good thing for light packers, but like we said, you can find stuff when you’re travelling to add in anyway.

  14. Beer and Croissants

    January 16 2017 at 11:45 am

    My pleasure Hra

  15. Lydia@LifeUntraveled

    January 18 2017 at 4:10 am

    I don’t usually tend to take photos of the food I’m eating but these are very useful tips especially remembering to include a few props. I think that asking permission to photograph people can and should be applied to any circumstance. 🙂

  16. Beer and Croissants

    January 18 2017 at 9:39 am

    Yes I totally agree re asking permission

  17. Sophie

    January 20 2017 at 5:55 am

    These are great tips – I absolutely adore street food especially when travelling. It’s a great way to get to know a country.

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Stirling and Kerri McConnel Beer and Croissants

Hi, we are Kerri and Stirling. We travel for amazing food, cold beer and great wine.  We love travelling independently, without a plan and motorhome road trips are our great love.

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