5 Photo Tips to make your dishes shine 🍲✨

Aside from your recipe title, your main recipe photo is the first thing that searchers will see when deciding which recipe to try. Any recipe photo is better than no photo at all.. but if you want to make your recipes more popular on Cookpad, try levelling up your photography game!

You don't need to be a professional to beautifully capture your delicious dishes and keep your followers coming back for more.

Read on to discover our top tips to make your recipes more attractive and encourage other cooks to give them a try.

1. Find some natural light ☀️

Taking a picture of your finished dish near a natural light source such as a window will ensure that the colors of your dish will be more accurate and appetizing. Try to avoid using only overhead lighting or your camera's flash when possible, as they both create unnatural colors and harsh shadows.

Compare the two photos below: both were taken at the same angle but the one on the left was taken at night with overhead lighting and the one on the right was taken during the day near a window.

Get creative! Try moving around your house to try out different light sources until you find the one that works best for your dish.✨

2. Use the tools that you have 📷

You don't need professional equipment to take great photos. While smartphone cameras are getting pretty smart these days... photographing your dishes well is much more about technique and creativity than fancy tools. Your phone camera or any point-and-shoot camera will do the trick just fine!

Most built-in photo applications on your laptop, tablet, or smartphone will include the ability to edit your photos. If your photos feel too dark or washed out try increasing or decreasing the brightness and contrast by 15-30%.

3. Choose the best angle 📐

Just like taking a selfie, the angle at which we take a photo can massively change how our dish looks! When looking through recipes, Cookpad searchers usually only get one impression of your dish, so we want to choose the right angle to make it look the best.

There are three main angles to choose from when photographing food:

Angle 1 - Table Height

This angle involves placing your camera flat against the table so the food is head on. It's a perfect angle for showing off height and texture and works particularly well with stacked or thick foods.

Just be mindful of what's behind your dish! Trying shooting against a neutral wall or other non-distracting background for the best results.

Angle 2 - Overhead

This angle is achieved by taking a photo directly above your dish. It's a great way to present dishes with lots of different components like salads, or beautifully cut slices of desserts.

If you're not tall enough to capture your food from this angle, try standing on a chair or step stool to get the whole dish in frame!

Angle 3 - Three Quarter

Somewhere between table height and overhead is the three quarter, or three-fourths angle... and it's the best of both worlds! This angle beautifully captures a dish's depth and allows you to get close enough to show off detail and texture while also fitting the whole dish in frame.

If you know anything about geometry, you might imagine that table height is a 0° angle and overhead is a 90° angle. Therefore the three quarter angle is right in the middle at 45°. If you aren't good at math, just position your camera somewhere between the table and directly above your dish and experiment until you get a shot you're happy with!

Some dishes look great from multiple angles, so play around and see which one feels the best to you!

4. Use backgrounds and props 🍽️

Choosing the right background and relevant props can really help bring your dishes to life! Create a story by including some of the ingredients or (clean!) tools you used next to your finished dish. Or simply dress up your meal with extra toppings and your favorite dishware and cutlery.

Your dish isn't just a meal, it can be a whole experience - is your dish cosy? Refreshing? Joyful? Comforting? What things can you add to help enhance that mood?

Go wild or keep it simple, the choice is up to you!

5. Get creative and find your own style 😎

Just like sharing your cooking with others, sharing pictures of your food may feel scary and intimidating. But anything you create will always be uniquely yours and will help another Cookpad user feel confident recreating your recipe.

You don't have to tick all of these boxes for your photos to be worth posting, the most important tips are the ones that work best for you! How can you present your dish to make it feel truly your own? What photos can you take to really make your mouth water?

We hope these tips have been useful and allow you to have some fun when photographing your amazing dishes! We can't wait to see what you'll come up with next.

HOT TIP: All of these tips can be applied to Cooksnaps too! 📸

Now you've got some perfect photos.. wondering how to write the perfect recipe? Cookpad UK has written a blog all about it, click here to find out more!

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