1. Understand the user's attention habits to arrange image elements.
In order to make full use of the composition theory, we must understand how our eyes move in the image. People also tend to pay attention to the brightest and most colorful elements in the picture. Therefore, you should also keep this in mind when making food combinations. Understanding this concept will help you better arrange the elements in the image.
2. Shoot food from different angles and directions.
In the composition of food photography, the angle and direction of the camera are very important, which will not only affect the way you display dishes, but also affect people's views on food images. The main camera angles of food photography are 90 degrees and 45 degrees.
Degree and straight line, a tall food like hamburger looks best at a right angle, which not only emphasizes the height of the food, but also shows its layering. In food photography, the top view is a popular angle, because it can create a visual order, and when there are multiple elements in the image, it can also help you minimize the height problem.
3. Improve composition with focus theme
Whether your food photography style is simple or not, it is best to use only one item as the theme. Use a theme and several auxiliary elements when composing music. Your main point of interest should also determine the position of other objects in the picture to create the depth of the composition. In addition, including props of different sizes to make them balance each other, this concept is also applicable to the distribution of food.
4. Use white space to provide balance
White space is the area occupied by food and props, which provides balance and emphasizes the theme. Because most pictures are blank, you will notice the details in the food. In food photography, people often shoot a lot of blank spaces to create a place to put words. You will often notice this in magazine shooting, product packaging or advertising. When too many things happen in the image, the viewer is not sure where to look.
If you want to use negative space, please use a pattern or background that is complementary to your theme. In this way, the main points of interest in the picture will be more prominent.
5. Use odd element rules to create balance.
When shooting a group of objects, use odd elements in the image. Odd numbers create a sense of balance and harmony, and also provide a rest point for our eyes. An even number of objects will distract us. In food photography, the goal is to have three to five props. Of course, you can have more than five projects. But the results will be different and will not bring the same composition effect.
6. Use trisection method to place the main elements.
When studying the composition of food photography, we can use the trisection method. The rule of trisection is a grid, which divides the frame into nine equal parts, and the key elements in the scene are along the grid lines or at their intersection points. The two-thirds rule can help you find out how to put the main content in food photos.
7. Make creative choices with the golden ratio
Composition can follow the golden ratio, that is
1: 1. 168, an ancient mathematical concept, creates a balanced composition. From the shell of nautilus to the petals of flowers, you can find the golden ratio, even in the proportion of human body. Maybe that's why we prefer the golden ratio. Besides nature, we can also use this knowledge in our food photography. Adding the golden ratio to the image helps our brain to deal with visual effects more easily.
8. attract the audience's attention with the golden triangle
Another method of food photography composition is to use triangles. These shapes keep the viewer's attention in the picture because they move the eyes from one point to another in a continuous cycle. You can divide the picture into four triangles to guide the viewer's eyes to see different details in the picture.
Why triangle is a powerful composition tool when creating food photos, because horizontal and vertical lines indicate stability, and increasing the sense of flow and movement will have a greater impact. So how do you use triangles in your works? First, draw an imaginary diagonal on the screen, and then create new corners from the other two corners so that they intersect the long line at right angles.