Introduction

I had this book in my brain long before I started writing it. I love food and I love photography, and it was just natural to blend the two together and evolve into becoming a food photographer. I also know there are a lot of other photographers and foodies who want to make their food look gorgeous, too. Because of this, I felt a strong desire to write a book that would help food lovers create images that truly expressed the beauty of the food they wanted to photograph.

We all develop our own style of photography, but one thing rings true when photographing food: It needs to look delicious. The purpose of this book is to guide photographers at all levels to make their food look as good as it tastes, and to do so as naturally, organically, and simply as possible.

Here is a quick Q&A about the book to help you understand what you’ll see in the following pages:

Q:	WHAT CAN I EXPECT TO LEARN FROM THIS BOOK?
A:	This book starts with the basics of photography (photographic fundamentals and equipment) and works through the steps of lighting, styling, composing, and editing the photographs. It shows how to present the food that you’ve cooked and prepared and turn it into a mouthwatering photograph.
Q:	WHO IS THIS BOOK WRITTEN FOR?
A:	Ultimately, this book is for anyone who wants to create beautiful food photographs. I wrote it with food bloggers and home cooks in mind, but all of the techniques can be used by photographers, cooks, or chefs of any type or skill level in any situation or environment.
Q:	DO I NEED A FANCY CAMERA AND LIGHTING EQUIPMENT TO GET GOOD FOOD PHOTOGRAPHS?
A:	No! You can get great photographs by using a minimal amount of gear, and the last thing you should do before learning any type of photography is to overspend and buy gear that you think you will need. You will, of course, need a camera to work with, but use what you have for now before running out and buying new equipment. As you develop your photographic style and your skills evolve, it will be easy to narrow down the gear that will help share your vision. This book does teach how to light food with strobe (artificial) light, and I do think that it’s a very important skill to learn, since you may not always be able to find the right light to use for a photograph. But if you have God-given, beautiful, diffused window light nearby, there’s no need to spend money on strobe lights or flashes immediately. You’ll end up saving money, and you can buy the proper gear later.
Q:	WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES ALL ABOUT?
A:	At the end of most chapters, I list a few exercises that will help you practice and solidify some of the techniques and settings you learned about. Feel free to try them out if you like, and if you do, be sure to check out the Flickr group and share your photographs!
Q:	SHOULD I READ THE BOOK STRAIGHT THROUGH OR CAN I SKIP AROUND FROM CHAPTER TO CHAPTER?
A:	There’s really no set way to read the book. If you’re new to photography, however, I recommend that you read the first two chapters to get an understanding of the basics and build a solid foundation of photography before diving in to the lighting and food-specific information. If you’re a fairly seasoned photographer who understands your camera and most of the basic techniques, then you can go ahead and jump straight to the more food-specific chapters.