Food photo tricks

A good photo of a juicy, glossy, cheesy hamburger can make you think of nothing else all day. But how do photographers do it? How do they make that hamburger look its best? Check out this video.

Photographing food isn’t always easy. Sometimes it takes hours to get the perfect shot. But ice cream and chocolate melt, sauces run and meat discolours over time. Food photography is invaluable to major companies in the food industry: a beautiful, appetising photo can still persuade hundreds of thousands of people to buy that hamburger.

Tips and tricks from the pros for the perfect food photo
Everything has to be just right in a photo like that. These tricks are used to make your mouth water:

Mashed potato is often used as a ‘stand-in’ for ice cream. It has the same texture, but doesn’t melt. Ideal. So when you see a delicious ice cream passing by, you’re probably looking at a cone filled with mashed potato.

Glue = milk. Milk is a tricky product. It quickly looks watery, but needs to appear creamy. In cornflake commercials, milk often plays an important role. The problem: cornflakes become soggy. The solution: the ‘milk’ you see is secretly glue. Glue is thicker, making it look creamier, while the cornflakes stay on top and therefore remain deliciously crunchy.

Shaving foam is the perfect stand-in for whipped cream. This sweet, creamy swirl on your cake has the same annoying characteristic as ice cream: it melts. That’s why shaving foam is often used instead of whipped cream. Apple pie with shaving foam—yum.