5 Simple Food Styling Tools Every Food Photographer In LA Needs

One of the most crucial aspects of food photography is food styling. If the food you plan to shoot doesn’t look good, the shots aren’t going to be great irrespective of the type of equipment and lighting systems that you are going to employ. For inspiration, here are simple tools that you can always leverage on to get those stunning food images.

1. Pins

Straight and T-pins will help you tuck in your food and keep it in your desired position. In other words, pins allow you to manipulate food to get the images that you desire.

2. Kitchen Bouquet

This is usually used as a browning agent for sauces and gravy. Kitchen Bouquet is one tool any top food photographer in Los Angeles will never miss in his or her studio as it can be used for all kinds of things. Whether you want brown kitchen, toast, croissant, or any other type of animal protein, this caramelized color and vegetable flavoring mixture will come in handy.

3. Fake Ice

You can’t afford to miss this in your photography arsenal if you are a food photographer in LA. There are two types of fake ice: handmade acrylic cubes (this a bit pricier) and regular acrylic ice or display ice (this will cost you less). Fake ice will make your food (especially beverages) look more realistic.

4. Glycerin

This is another critical tool in food and beverage photography. It is usually used on food and beverages when trying to make them look juicy. You can apply it directly on the foods you plan to capture. You can dilute it a bit with water and apply it with a spray bottle to make the food fresh looking. Because it doesn’t evaporate easily, especially when used with some water, you can also spray it on your food items to get the condensation effect.

5. Cooking spray

You can use cooking sprays to achieve a lot of things in food photography. For instance, you can use it as a food coating to help the food cook evenly and get you a really nice color. It will also prevent the food from sticking to your pan.

Bottom-line

There you have it; some strange but valuable styling tools and tricks that you can use in your food photos. You only need to note that the tools are for making your foods looks great—flavor and taste or other food aspects are not taken into consideration. Food photography is all about what will make the food you plan to shoot look awesome, not what and how it will ultimately taste.