Looking Back on my First Work as a Food Photographer

Similar to every other young student from the ages of 20 to 30, studying abroad changed my life. (But really, you can read about how I had never even eaten a burrito before going abroad here.)

When I first learned that there was a whole career field dedicated to food photography I was on a study abroad trip with my alma mater, the University of South Florida (USF), taking a course in Food and Travel Writing in France and Germany. During my time at USF I discovered a passion for food and travel that I always knew was there but never knew how to apply. Once back in the States I enrolled in food related courses and began my journey as a food photographer. With that came food photography classes, and with that came my first food photos… see where I’m going with this?

Of course there were some that I thought were beautiful at the time, and even more that I hoped would never be seen by anyone other than my professor.

Here I am now, publishing those photos on the internet.

Since I was living in a dorm and eating at the dining hall, I had to work with what I had. If I could redo this photo, I would zoom out and shoot it vertically. I also would have added more life to the photo by placing a drink in the background, putting a knife with something spreadable on it, and sprinkling the chocolate chips and cranberries around the dish. Props to me for at least getting highlights on the banana and cranberries.

The depth of field here is too shallow for my liking. I also would have made the focal point closer to the front of the mini quiche. Blank space can be great in photography, and this photo has none. Not only is the surrounding food placed too close together, but it also isn’t adding much to the photo. The food in the background is out of focus, so you cannot tell what it is or what its purpose is.

I was strugs to funk (struggling to function) this day y’all! Our class went to La V Vietnamese Fusion, located in downtown St. Petersburg, FL, to take photos of a few of their signature dishes. The task was to not only capture the dish in the photo but also the atmosphere of the restaurant. The issue here is that it’s hard to see the noodles without changing the angle, but if I changed the angle it would be hard to show the atmosphere. To fix this, I would have someone sit closer to the table with a drink in their hand to make it easier to change the angle without losing the atmosphere.

This was one of the first photos I took that I was proud of. It was actually taken on a cafeteria tray sitting on top of a trash can outside the university dining hall. What helped me here was that it was raining in the middle of the day, which gave me moodier lighting to work with. I also used a piece of tinfoil as a reflector for added highlights. If I were to take this photo today, I would move the focal point to the front of the first piece of salmon nigiri.

This was the first photo I took as an intern at Simply Gluten Free magazine (now called Gluten Free & More). I shocked myself with how natural food styling felt to me. Of course, I had been shadowing the lead photographer for a few days and had her helpful eye watching over me. But for the most part, I’m still happy with how this photo turned out. What I could have done better is add more highlights and shadows to make the photo more dynamic.