Learn about Phoode.com Professional Food Photography Blog Segments

What Phoode Gives You That Others Can’t

Our professional food photography blog aims to be as far-reaching as possible, while still maintaining a focus. We would like all subjects discussed with their practical, real-life food photography and creative industry implications. This means that those unfamiliar with the actual food photography industry will have a window into its inner workings. All photographic examples and descriptions of famous artists are not just there to be praised. Their purpose is to actually spark a new idea within the right side of our readers’ brains. We think there is an absolute overload of food photography online, that’s why we are selective in choosing our multi-media content. Only unique food-related creative work makes the cut.

Most food photography blogs focus on promoting and selling their brand’s products. They often talk about only one particular food photography style or subject (e.g. for bloggers or beginners), carrying a heavy bias and lack of broader perspective. That’s why Phoode’s blog takes on big professional food photography questions from many angles. Also, there is no corporate affiliation, so you can rest assured that our professional food photography blog offers recommendations from the heart.

If you’ve ever clicked on a food photography blog post thinking a deep question of yours would be answered and felt duped, you’re by far not the only one. The reality is there are a lot of amazing titles out there with little content. Basically just click-bait that preys on poor innocent, aspiring food photographers. We promise not to bombard you with superficial and cursory analysis, but instead surprise with the clarity and well-roundedness in which the articles inform the reader. Our goal is to bring food creatives from all around the globe together and share our knowledge and experience with you. On Phoode.com, you can delve into and learn the ins and outs of the food photography world. We hope you enjoy Phoode’s blog and decide to comment, or share experiences and food projects (whether commercial or professional) in our “Creatives” section. By participating, you help build an international network of food photography fanatics.

How Phoode’s Blog Segments Are Organized

For your convenience, our professional food photography blog is organized into specific segments that range from book reviews to styling trends and everything in between. We have tried to organize our blog more like a school’s curriculum, rather than a conglomeration of loosely related articles. Each segment has a specifically designed role to help you with your creative and professional education in many realms related to food photography. The food photography dictionary on the Phoode blog provides readers with a theoretical basis, while the artist of the week segment is a creative source of inspiration for all your food projects, not just limited to photography. Our aim is to develop a site that covers many perspectives and aspects, similar to serious professional photography publications. But, we devoted Phoode specifically to the subject of FOOD.

Those interested in peeking into a food stylist’s tool kit can access another segment for full explanations as to why we find certain tools useful, or even indispensable, and all the different applications they may have. We are not here to just post a recipe with food photos and tell you a little about how we shot the dish. We would rather provide you leads on which you can expand your creative food industry knowledge and continue to research.

Here is the rundown of segments you can find on Phoode’s blog right now!

Blog Segment: Books for Food Creatives

None of us have the time to read every instructional, fine art, or theoretical food photography book that we see on the shelves. It’s actually really hard to sift through all of the mediocre information that exists, not only on the web, but in books too. We’ve read a lot of less than adequate texts and looked over many less than interesting photobooks featuring food. The result is that we can now share with you the best recommendations and tell you exactly why they are important, and how they relate to food.

We would like you to trust that you are receiving a good book recommendation from our food photography blog because of the high professional standards we hold. If we write an article on a cookbook or food magazine, expect the food photography to not only be good, but exemplary or ground-breaking in some way.

And as for instructional food photography books, we consider all the things that our readership would appreciate. For example, many people ask, “What is the best book to learn lighting for food photography?” This is a more difficult question than it may seem. Books on photographic lighting in general may not apply directly enough to food photography. Conversely, many instructional books on food photography do not explain lighting with sufficient technical detail. Being food creatives ourselves, we have an idea of the potential challenges an aspiring food artist can face on a shoot, and select literature which targets these specific needs.

Blog Segment: Creative Online Resources for Food Photographers

While surfing the net, you probably come across a lot of online apps and software, photo forums, and other kinds of tools that food photographers can use. In this segment we present you with those tools we find to be the most useful. These are not simply product plugs for a corporate sponsor; Phoode.com is run independently and focuses on value in terms of purpose. In this food photography blog segment, we keep our focus on tools that creative food professionals are using to perfect and improve their craft.

The food creatives on Phoode’s blog are here to share all the professional food photography tricks of the trade they’ve picked up throughout their artistic careers. That’s why the Phoode platform is also completely open to comments and collaborations with its readers. This is because some of you guys work on food projects that we are not familiar with and have great advice to share. Basically, we want all the bases covered, so inviting the whole community to participate is the best way to do this. In this segment, don’t expect to see silly filters or ways to superimpose cute animal faces, but real tools for real food photographers to create with and learn from.

Blog Segment: Farm to Table Food Photography

Are you the kind of person who loves to hear the story behind your food? Well then you probably know about the farm to table movement and the way some farms, food companies, and restaurants are striving to add not only taste, but sustainability and personality to their food. These ideals align with our professional food photography blog’s mission, so we’ve dedicated a whole segment to it! Here you can see the creative process of food photographers who look at food from the moment it is planted, to the point it makes it onto your dinner table and you can photograph it as a dish.

We want to illustrate how more exotic foods that are only known from supermarket shelves are grown, harvested, and eaten. Some people have never seen an avocado tree and many don’t know that cranberry fields are actually flooded before the fruit is harvested. This Phoode blog segment is about learning how to document the many stages of a food product’s life with a journalistic style.

Because food can be so personal, we would like to invite food industry professionals themselves to share their greatest passion in life—fresh, healthy, and sustainable food. We hope that this will make for one of a kind articles that you can’t find anywhere else. Phoode.com already features contributions from food professionals who have gifted us with a few secret recipes and never-before-seen food photographs. This segment is always informative, usually heartwarming, and hopefully totally inspirational!

Blog Segment: Food Photography Job Market

All food creatives have their own aspirations. Likewise, each food blog has their own intentions and focus. Any food photographer can benefit from lighting tips or a list of great garnishes to style with, but what about those artists who are seeking to make a successful career out of their talents? There is a lack of advice on the food photography job market available online—that’s where Phoode comes to help out! Most of our food photography blog articles feature a professional context, whether focusing on the creative process or technical information. In this segment though, we aim to highlight the wide range of jobs and professional opportunities available to food photographers. We hope you learn how to tailor your food portfolio to a specific food job and address the surprising challenges one encounters when shooting food commercially.

Even if food photography is just your hobby, there is a lot to be learned by fully understanding the creative food industry from the inside out. For those of you attempting to make that step from amateur to professional, we know all too well that it can be really intimidating. We have plenty of recommendations for you to find a specific job or style of food photography to focus on, distinguish yourself from the rest of the field, and get your dream job!

Blog Segment: Food Photography Lighting Techniques

From simple, yet effective lighting techniques for any budget to recent commercial developments, this segment promises much more than just ways to mimic trends that are probably already more than a bit cliché. Instead, get into the mind of professionally trained food photographers and see light the way they see it. By looking at their unique creative process, diagrams, and examples of the same food subject lit in different ways, you will build upon your arsenal of techniques to control and manipulate light.

Another great way to learn lighting techniques is from the masters themselves. Unfortunately, getting a one-on-one lesson with one of these guys is pretty much impossible. At Phoode we see a great potential in exploring the whole history of photography, and even art in general, to find a unique artistic stimulus. Most food creatives have seen some kind of food blog post describing how to light a still life scene, perhaps a fall harvest motif, with a series of pretty standard shots to display the differences in technique. This kind of information can be extremely valuable and instructive, but one necessary element of improving your photography is to actually have the motivation to do so. Check out the articles in this segment not only for technical advice, but also for inspiration!

Blog Segment: Food Styling Trends

There’s no denying that the food photography market has a dizzying array of sectors and sub-genres. And that within each niche, different food styling trends emerge that range from elegant, to scientific, to zany. Every food photographer and food stylist should be privy to what looks food brands or creative directors are going after, as well as recent trends developing on social media. Then, once familiar with these generalized trends, the next step is making them your own.

In our “Food Styling Trends” segment we try to get the whole big picture of the food photography industry around the globe, including recent aesthetic developments like vegan food styling, fast food, and big-name magazine editorial work. Articles are informed by research inside and outside of our Phoode community, designed to give you inspiration and a push forward. You can even participate like those who use our “Creatives” section, actively submitting content, filling us in on the latest news in the styling world by posting photos and details about recent projects. By working together and openly sharing, we can all get the most updated, accurate, and unbiased information. It’s the beauty of cooperation at work!

Blog Segment: History of Food in Photography

Food photographers are often unfamiliar with the history of food in the medium of photography. This segment of our professional food photography blog is perfect for those of you who don’t come from a formal academic training, yet are curious about photography as a medium and want to get inspired while learning at the same time. Here we offer a crash course in art history that’s rich in food. Hopefully you’ll read about something you never knew and some historical ideas that can inspire you to shoot food in a completely new and innovative way, becoming an even better food photographer, food stylist, or creative director.

Whether looking at food photos that document a performance or classic still life photos, you can gain insight into significant cultural references. The reasons certain photographic artists endure the tests of time are many, but to put it simply, they’re good. At Phoode we dive deep into our subjects, meaning you won’t only learn about the most obvious instances of food in photography, but some lesser known gems as well. Read about how the greatest minds in photography used food to visually present their thoughts to the world.

Blog Segment: Influential Food Artist of the Week

Want to see who turned food packaging into MOMA-worthy sculpture? Or perhaps paintings from the 1500s that presented food in such a unique way that their style is still copied today? Every week at Phoode, we take an artist who really stands out and try to put into words what their transcendent art means. Sometimes installation artists are featured, sometimes painters or sculptors. For those of you who ask what these other mediums have to do with food photography, the answer is a lot!

Food photographers often borrow ideas from classical artists and avant-garde household names of the last century. Sometimes it is to mimic their compositional techniques or lighting, other times it is by representing an important food-related concept with which these previous artistic geniuses dealt. In our selection for this segment, only artists who truly influenced photography make the grade. Just like they energized the medium itself, we hope their art will energize you to think of a great new food idea!

Blog Segment: Inside Stories from the Food Photography Studio

First-hand accounts from professional food photography studios are posted on our blog to give you valuable behind-the-scenes information. Imagine being a fly on a wall at a McDonald’s film set, seeing what kind of equipment they use, what kind of images they strive to create. Well, this Phoode blog segment tells you exactly that! Each studio has its own unique creative process, dealing with the challenges of meeting client demands in a special way.

At Phoode, we love hearing these kinds of stories because we always learn something. There are so many different studios with different artistic strategies, actively crafting beautiful food photography. Most photographers only have the opportunity to work with a small selection of them, so we try to compile the experiences of our whole creative food community to help out. Have a studio story of your own? Let’s work together!

Blog Segment: Inside the Food Stylist’s Tool Kit

A professional food stylist must be prepared for everything. Especially for situations when the food doesn’t obey. Melting frozen treats, thin sauces, teetering stacks of vegetables, or droopy lettuce can ruin a shoot. But, none of these problems should be too much to overcome for an experienced food stylist with a well-prepared tool kit. We don’t just list the tools you need, but also explain the rationale behind using them in food styling. In this Phoode blog segment, read about secret tricks food creatives can perform with everything from tweezers to xanthan gum, and how these sometimes completely unexpected ingredients and devices can change the way you style food forever.

The path to becoming a successful commercial food stylist is an arduous one. The reality is that commercial food styling requires so much patience, practice, ingenuity, and eye for detail. Just like a food photographer must have the right lenses and lights to deal with tiny food ingredients or dark restaurants, the food stylist must have their proper tools, and know how to employ them in an often unexpected and creative way.

Blog Segment: Phoode Studio Productions

Here, we focus on exposing the thought process behind the creation of original ideas. In this segment, we don’t just write about the final images, but all steps of the creative process, from brainstorming ideas, planning locations or sets, organizing technical equipment, seeking collaborations with other food creatives, and actually shooting the food. This way we can transparently present to you our deepest thoughts about food art. If they coincide with yours, perhaps you will want to even collaborate with us on similar projects in the future.

Phoode constantly seeks answers to important critical questions about the creative process behind directing creative food projects. What do we really want to accomplish with the food photo series? How can we distinguish our work from the myriad of copycat projects that exist in the creative food industry today? The answers are not always easy, nor do we always succeed. However, unless you are a corporate food brand, it’s always good to try new things rather than rely on the same food subject and photographic style. It’s an artistic ideal we personally believe in, and one we strive to uphold on our professional food photography blog as well.

Blog Segment: The Food Photographer’s Glossary

Just like any niche of any art, there are numerous neologisms, slang, and technical jargon associated with food photography. Sometimes food photography blogs will freely use a lot of these professional terms, leaving the reader feeling a bit left out. Or, you might know the specific vocabulary, but feel as though they are using the word in an incorrect way. If you are curious about certain phrases you read on these blogs or hear on a food photography set, check out our definitions. It may be an opportunity to learn a related tip or discover a photographer you never knew about as well.

“The Food Photographer’s Glossary” segment is detailed and technical like a dictionary, but still fun. We at Phoode try to describe situations in which the vocabulary is used and provide visual examples as well. The definitions are practical and break down each aspect of the food photography term mentioned. The glossary defines specific sub-genres of food photography and the technical skills they require, technical and colloquial terms for gear, names for popular commercial food photography techniques, etc. The most important part is that all of the terms on our blog’s glossary are specifically defined within the context of professional food photography. Know a food photography term we don’t have there yet? Let us know!

Join Phoode and Be Part of Our Community

Our blog exists for food creatives like you to fully explore the amazing world of food photography in a professional, yet enjoyable way. We like to play around a bit, but are not trying to tell you all about what we ate for breakfast last week and how delicious it was. Instead, we want to keep it to just the styling and photographic process, without frivolous personal details. If we were self-indulgent we would show off our own work, talk it up, and try to sell you some photo lessons or an eBook. Pick any one of our professional food photography blog segments and see for yourself how relatable and clear the information is.

We want our readers to connect with our content because we want them to engage. If not actively on Phoode.com, with food photography in their own lives. The best tool for true creative inspiration is observing reality. You have your own special way of seeing things that is probably more visually interesting than seeing the same Instagram or Pintrest trend over and over again. We are not here to say you have to do something one certain way, but rather offer up a bunch of visual material that inspired us and hope that it does the same for you.

We get excited when this inspiration happens and wish we could always keep our creative juices flowing. That’s why our blog is frequently updated with new professional articles on food photography all the time. It’s also the reason Phoode.com exhibits examples from such a wide variety of food aesthetics, directed to such a wide variety of food creatives. A flat, graphic pattern with fruits might inspire one person, while leaving another clicking away to find dramatic and emotionally lit food art. We want you to find that special burst of creative motivation right here on Phoode, whatever it may be that sets it off!