7 Simple Composition Secrets to Take Better Food Photos

It’s no secret that composition can be tough—it can feel overwhelming. But I have seven composition secrets that are so simple and will kick your images up a notch (or three).

Try incorporating some of these into your next shoot and see how your images become instantly more interesting. Let’s dive in by reading the post below or watching the YouTube video above.

Composition Secrets to Interesting Food Photography

At a quick glance, here are the seven composition secrets that will make your photos better instantly:

1. Vary your glassware
2. Add drips
3. Add crumbs and mess
4. Capture movement
5. Point subjects different ways
6. Use proximity and stacking
7. Cut in interesting ways

Composition Secret #1: Vary Your Glassware

Using different shapes, heights, and widths for your glassware is easy and makes a big difference. Pick up any food magazine and you’ll notice that they do it all the time!

Varied glassware creates more interest. It’s simple but so powerful!

Composition Secret in Food Photography #2: Add Drips

To anything and everything! Adding a drip can take an image from yummy to absolutely mouthwatering—just like in this image of a black forest trifle.

Secret #3: Add Crumbs and Mess

You heard me right: make a mess! This is the one thing that most of the food photographers I coach miss. Perfect plating is great—but more often than not, a little mess adds a lot of interest.

Scatter some crumbs and see how they help create that final story and elevate your composition.

Secret #4: Capture Movement

Movement in your story could look like steam in a hot drink or a flaming garnish. It could be something as simple as drizzling honey over baked figs and brie or a sprinkling of cheese over a french onion soup. 

You could even go down to the little details, like the bubbles in a drink.

There are tons of opportunities to capture movement in your photos—you just have to look for them!

Secret #5: Point Subjects Different Ways

Having your subjects all pointing the same way takes the eye out of the frame. But arranging your subjects pointing in different ways moves your eye through the frame.

This is as easy as pointing pie slices in different directions or arranging apples so that the stems face different ways.

Secret #6: Use Proximity and Stacking

When you have a lot of subjects, this is a great opportunity to play with proximity and stacking. Some can be close together, some far away, some touching, some stacking or overlapping. 

This makes images feel more organic and natural—and therefore, more interesting. 

Secret #7: Cut in Interesting Ways

When you’re prepping your subjects, think about how you can cut them so that they’re different. 

• Instead of traditional slices, could you cut your cake in diagonal slices?
• Instead of squash cubes, what about rounds? 
• Instead of watermelon slices, would balls be more interesting?

Playing with shapes and different ways to cut your subjects will make your photos more interesting.

Interested to learn more about composition secrets in food photography? Check out these posts.