As a food blogger, what you write about is as important as the photographs accompanying your work. In fact, your photographs may be even more important, as people “eat with their eyes,” and you want to engage them with a veritable feast!
As Canada’s food photography industry grows larger every day, food bloggers need to stand out even more. One way to achieve this is by perfecting the art of visual storytelling.
Imbuing deeper meaning into your food photography is no easy task. But once you get it right, it can be used to connect with readers more profoundly and reach a much wider global audience, propelling your food blog forward and allowing you to foster more brand loyalty.
So, what is visual storytelling, and how does it intersect with the vibrant, sensory world of food photography? Below, we answer this question before offering some pro tips for approaching industry- standard food photography through a more emotionally driven lens.
What Is Visual Storytelling?
Visual storytelling is the art of conveying a particular message or narrative through pictures, colors, shapes, and images rather than written or spoken words.
The ability to tell a story through the food and other subjects you photograph is incredibly powerful—not just because it brings an image to life but also because it transcends the limitations of language. No matter your mother tongue, every sight-seeing person is free to interpret the visual medium of photography.
How Do Food Photography And Storytelling Connect?
With the right perspective and intention, food can be an incredible medium for sharing stories with the world. It may be essential for our physical survival, but its value doesn’t end there.
The food we eat can have a lasting impact on our emotional states and serve as powerful catalysts for memory and nostalgia. Think about the meals you ate growing up—how they shaped your years and enhanced celebrations (or sorrows) when you were feeling it all.
Food connects with every sense we have, and looking at pictures of it can conjure up feelings, memories, or inspiration in a way that other subjects can only dream of.
As a food blogger, you probably already inject a fair amount of personal history into your work. Continuing that trend in your brand's photography is a great way to deepen your connection with audience members.
Tips For Portraying More Emotion In Your Food Photography Shoots
When it comes to blogging about food, you can take many different angles. From nostalgic or traditional home recipes to refined wining and dining at Canada’s best restaurants, every story told through food blogging is as unique as the creator behind it.
But if you’d like to make your content more emotionally motivating or feel that your photo library is looking a little uninspired, picking up a few visual storytelling tips can drastically improve your blog’s quality and help you reach a wider audience of readers. Here are five to get you started:
Have a story in mind
It’s important to have a creative vision in mind before you set up your photography shoot. But when it comes to visual storytelling, it is helpful to take this idea even further.
Think about the narrative behind what you are photographing.
What story are you wanting to tell here? Is it about romance? Childhood? The throes of adolescence? Grief? Or something a little harder to define? Identifying your story is the first step to telling it through your photography.
A narrative such as a first date experience, learning a culturally important dish from a grandparent, or experimenting with a new ingredient are all simple storyline structures that can help you craft images that feel more genuine and relatable to audiences.
Focus on key narrative points
Every story has a beginning, middle, and end, and your photographs should, too. When you’re building your portfolio, you’ll always select photos that tell a story, and you need to do the same for your food shoots.
Once you’ve identified your story, determine its main narrative points. This can be simple if you’re photographing a set menu starting with an entree and ending with a dessert, but it's a bit more of a challenge if it’s a food product or single dish. You’ll need to focus on the following points to really capture the art of storytelling.
Use lighting to guide the atmosphere
Light is an extremely powerful tool in the world of photography and visual expression. Soft, warm, darker-toned lighting creates ambiance and coziness, helping to convey a sense of familiarity and home.
Cold, bright light tends to create a more sterile-feeling atmosphere that can be great for highlighting specific products in all their glory. Use light to sculpt moods and emotional narratives by harmonizing them with the food content you capture during a shoot.
Understand color theory
Much like light, color has the potential to influence mood and tone in a photograph. Understanding the emotional or psychological implications of each dominant color can help you produce photographs that share narrative commonalities with the story you are telling.
For instance, red and orange tend to be associated more with passion, energy, and vitality. Green can convey growth or nature, and yellow projects cheerfulness and hope.
When photographing a dish or a piece of fresh produce, find ways to tie together the natural colors with their commonly associated meanings to enhance the storyline.
Draw from personal experiences
The best way to use food photography as a tool for visual storytelling is to add an authentic, often personal touch. When you’re working with a real memory or experience, sharing your story through the food you capture will happen naturally.
Each time you set up your studio or workspace for a food photography shoot, contemplate the origin of the concept you are working with and find ways to relate to it personally.
This can help infuse your photography with a more authentic look and feel while enhancing the story you are telling. Ultimately, the key to great visual storytelling is personalization and relatability.
Tell The Story Of Your Brand With Compelling Food Photography
Your blog is your brand, and you can help your readers connect with the food you photograph by imparting a deeper narrative behind your lens. By drawing on personal experiences, brushing up on your color theory knowledge, and thinking more laterally about the delicious products you choose to capture, your blog can become even better.
Having the power to engage audiences through visual storylines is a precious thing, but from a brand perspective, it is also advantageous. Use your newfound visual storytelling skills to enhance each food photography session and satisfy your audience's cravings from the first glance.
More Reading:
- Food Styling for the Holidays | Food Bloggers of Canada
- Food Styling Tips: Styling Salads | Food Bloggers of Canada
- Food Styling Tips: Styling Chocolate | Food Bloggers of Canada
- Food Styling: Tips for Styling Picnics | Food Bloggers of Canada
- Food Styling Tips For Grilled Food | Food Bloggers of Canada
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