Becoming a food content creator can be very exciting and very confusing at the same time. Although there are many food bloggers out there, I’ve found that there is very little transparency and resources to help those just starting out. I started my Instagram account in 2019 and have has the opportunity to grow my platform immensely. Along the way, I learned a LOT through trial and error. In this space, I’ll be sharing all the basic things you need in order to become the food blogger you always imagined you would be!
This article is just Part One! Once you finish this, check out my article on Food Photography Props!
Choose Your Platforms
Gone are the days where a simple website is enough. Content creation through social media is the future. Think of food blogging in 2022 as fishing. Your audience is the fish, your intermediary platforms are the bait and your website is the final catch. Without the bait, it’s a waste of time to sit around waiting for a fish to come around. That’s why social media is so important! Platforms like Tiktok and Instagram are free to use and a great way to build your ideal audience. I would recommend spending a year growing your intermediary platforms because you invest in the website. Use this time to niche down, build a relationship with your audience and share recipes in the captions!
What Camera Should You Use?
When you’re getting started, it can be tempting to reach for a fancy DSLR camera. However, if you’re a beginner and have no experience, I would recommend sticking to your phone. Most phones these days are great and have a solid depth of field to work with. I used my iPhone 6 and XR for 2 years before I switched to a professional camera. At the beginning, work on the composition of your pictures rather than the quality. (More information on this in the next section!) A professional picture of a single bowl of soup is worse than an alright quality picture that is well composed.
Once you feel like you have a grasp on the composition and can seamless take pictures, you can move onto making them look more professional. I currently use the Nikon D7500, which is a great beginner friendly camera, with the 35mm 1.8 lens. Using a DSLR camera undoubtedly transforms the quality of your pictures!
For Tiktok and Reels, I personally use my iPhone 11 and find it is a lot easier to work with than a video camera or a DSLR. There are a lot of really great video cameras out there, but in my experience the iPhone is just the most user friendly. In my opinion, while the quality is not AS high as a DSLR camera, it’s pretty good.
Transitioning To Tiktok & Reels
Video content creation is the future! As all our favorite social media platforms are transitioning to video media, now is a great time to learn how to create video content. Video content is a great way for your audience to get to know you better and see (rather than read) how to make all their favorite meals! When creating video content, the goal is to keep things fast-paced. The first 1-2 seconds of the video are the hook. Most of the time, if you nail the hook, your video performs well. Additionally, I find that videos that perform well generally fall into one of three categories : they educate the viewer, they are controversial or they are worth saving. Most of the time, food content will fall into the first category or the third one!
Learning Food Photography
There’s a lot of small components that go into good food photography. I’m still in the process of learning, but the three most important things I’ve noticed are lighting, composition and editing. First of all, NATURAL LIGHTING! Try to always take your pictures in natural lighting, because it’s the most aesthetically pleasing. If you don’t have natural lighting available, do ample research on artificial lighting as it can be expensive. Next, use a variety of props to create well composed photographs (see examples in the videos below). Finally, edit your pictures! Most of the food photographs you come across are edited to make the colors pop. I use Lightroom Mobile (free app) to edit my pictures. There are a lot of really great resources and videos online to learn food photography, but here are a few of my favorites to watch if you’re just getting started :
- Using your iPhone for Food Photography
- The Basics of Getting Started
- All About Natural Lighting
- How to Make Artificial Lighting look Natural
- Compositional Techniques
- Food Plating & Styling
- Editing with Lightroom for FREE
Got that all covered? Check out my article on Food Photography Props!