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When it comes to stunning, eye-catching food photography, the details make the difference. After all, a picture of plain pasta can be as bland as it tastes, but if you change the composition, you can spark emotions in your viewers to make the same subject irresistible.
What is Composition in Food Photography?
Composition — a broad word that is often hard for new food photographers to grasp — is the arrangement and attention to the details that make up a photograph. At its broadest level, it’s the way the elements of a photograph are placed relative to the frame and to each other.
And while it’s easy consider composition simply as arrangement, it’s far more complicated than that. After all, the goal is to make a two-dimensional result a 3-D experience for the viewer. Thus, composition also involves thinking through:
- Framing
- Focal point
- Perspective
- Color
- Texture
- Backdrops & Surfaces
- Prop Selection
- Layering
All of the elements that make up good composition could fill an entire book. There are just too many nuances to cover in a single blog post. And suffice to say, I think composition is the most exciting and fulfilling aspect of food photography, so I want to give every one of them their due.
So, in this blog post, I am going to focus just on the rules of composition as they apply to the placement of the elements within the frame.
The Rules of Composition in Food Photography
Throughout history, certain rules of composition have developed to assist artists in creating images to attract the eye of the viewer. These rules, often mathematical in nature, call out human inclinations to look a certain direction or feel a certain way.
While long-standing, the rules of composition aren’t hard and fast. And trying to apply them as such can be stifling. They’re best when considered as guidance – helping the photographer explore how the arrangement of the elements in a photograph change the story.
They’re often best applied during a tethered photoshoot, when an image isn’t accomplishing what the photographer wants, or after the fact in post-production when cropping and editing decisions are being made.
With that in mind, let’s dig into some of the most popular composition techniques used in food photography.
Rule of Thirds
When it comes to composition, the Rule of Thirds is the oldest trick in the book. It’s a fundamental principle of photography that helps beginner photographers break free from the idea of always placing their subject in the middle of the frame. Instead, the Rule of Thirds encourages a more balanced arrangement of elements within the image.
The Rule of Thirds is based on the idea that an image can be divided into nine equal parts by two horizontal and two vertical lines. The subject or elements of the image are then placed along these lines, or at the points where they intersect. This helps create a more balanced and aesthetically pleasing image that catches the viewer’s eye.
Centering the Subject
While it may seem counterintuitive to the Rule of Thirds, centering the subject can often lead to stunning and compelling images, particularly when it comes to food photography.
By centering the subject, a food photographer can emphasize its importance and create a sense of focus and immediacy, drawing the viewer’s attention directly to the food.
Symmetry, Dynamic Symmetry & The Golden Triangle
Symmetry is a fascinating concept that has been a source of inspiration for artists, architects, and designers for centuries. The idea of creating balance and harmony through sameness and patterns is deeply ingrained in our human psyche. When we see a mirror image or a perfect divide down the middle, it brings about a sense of calmness and completion.
The concept of symmetry, however, doesn’t require that an image always be divided down the middle, with each half of the image reflecting the other. Dynamic symmetry is a technique not dissimilar to the Rule of Thirds in that it dissects the frame to find the perfect balance between the elements within it.
Circles & The Golden Spiral
The use of curves, circles & spirals as a composition technique is a way to create a sense of balance and harmony in photographic images.
The human eye naturally wants to wander the path imposed by circular shapes. Using circles and curves, then, is a great way to draw your viewer’s eye from the focal point of an image and encourage them to take in other details.
The Golden Spiral is a mathematical composition technique that uses the basic principle of the Rule of Thirds (notice the location of the focal point) and suggests where to place other elements in relation to that point to naturally draw the viewer’s eye through the image.
It is thought that the Golden Spiral is effective because of its careful attention to balance and its relationship to the natural world. Seashells, flowers, hurricanes and even the galaxy are natural spirals that capture our attention.
Filling the Frame
Close-up photography, particularly when it comes to food photography, can be quite provoking to the viewer.
By zooming in on the smallest details of a dish, a food photographer can highlight the textures, colors, and shapes that make it so appealing. The focus on a single element is important in creating a sense of intimacy and connection between the viewer and the subject.
Negative Space
The elements that a food photographer chooses not to include in an image are just as important as the elements that are included. Nothingness can speak volumes in food photography, drawing the viewer directly to the subject but also encouraging the viewer to notice the lack of other elements.
The Elements of Composition
In this blog post, I focused on the arrangement of the elements in a photograph. But composition is far more complicated than simply finding a place to put something. Changing the perspective, adding layers, and color theory are just some of the other considerations that a photographer makes when composing an image.
