Introduction: Penny De Los Santos is an acclaimed documentary photographer who explores and celebrates culture, history and society through food photography.

She is a senior staff photographer for Saveur magazine and a staff photographer for National Geographic magazine.

Next, let’s learn from him how to take pictures of delicious food.

Food The options for photographing food are endless, and it’s an incredible visual subject.

The only thing you need to remember once you start shooting is that food photography is the same as any other photography, using the same principles of light, color and composition.

For the photo above, I was preparing for a photo shoot for a cookbook when I spotted the colorful ingredients on the counter where the food stylist was working, preparing for the next shot.

We all realized that this was a photo.

Then I brainstormed with the prop stylist and food stylist to create the photo.

?Penny De Los Santos Photography Tip: When thinking about photographing food, don’t just think about the food already on the plate or the people eating it.

Look at those ingredients, there might be a beautiful photo just waiting for you to take it.

Citrus Vendor Photographer: Penny De Los Santos Contact What I love about food photography is that it combines two of the photography subjects that resonate most with me: culture and how we connect with food.

To me, a food photographer is a visual anthropologist of food.

It’s not just the food on the plate, it’s everything around it: the moment, the connection, the scene, the place and the story.

This image was taken while I was working on a long-term National Geographic project about life in a small town on the Texas-Mexico border.

This young family sells oranges from the trunk of their car at the Sunday flea market.

This is an area famous for its citrus groves and orchards, and this scene revealed to me the lives of the people who work in this industry.

This is a special scene: a car trunk full of fruit.

This is not something you see every day, and it can spark your thoughts and ask a lot of questions virtually.

?Penny De Los Santos Photography Tip: Consider how people relate to food and what connects them.

Believe me, some of the funniest photos come from this relationship.

Sandwich, Mexico Photographer: Penny De Los Santos Street Food No matter where I go in the world, street food gives me the opportunity to photograph interesting and charming scenes that are rich in culture.

I always make a point of stopping at random food stalls or markets in my city or village.

This is where the locals are, where people gather every day.

Photographed at a market in Mexico City, this regional sandwich is stuffed with potatoes and chorizo ??and smothered in chili sauce.

I have a new rule when photographing food at food stalls: grab extra plates, napkins, cutlery and condiments, and sometimes order two of the same dish (not to eat, of course, but to photograph)

.

?Penny De Los Santos Photography tip: Those extra noisy and chaotic street foods can look good on camera, but remember you need to be able to identify them.

Try re-plating the dish and even add more of one of the ingredients if you need a boost of color.

For example, it has a lime, ask for another one before snapping, squeezing the juice onto the food, then placing it on the plate.

Remember you want people to drool.

If you don't drool when you look at your food, then neither will anyone else.

Sauce Photographer: Penny De Los Santos Scene Food scenes or landscapes are multi-factor images that give the viewer the feeling of sitting at a table.

It was fun to create the scene.

They take time and thought but can add to the story of your food pictures.

?Penny De Los Santos Photography Tip: When creating a food scene, think about how to tell a story about the food: use messy spoons to convey movement, add drippings and crumbs to express emotion, and combine placement

The materials give the scene tension.