Posted on July 24, 2024August 1, 2024 by Laura

VIDEO: National Geographic Food Photography Workshop at the NatGeo Food Festival in London

We’re thrilled to share the exciting details of our recent experience at the NatGeo Food Festival in London, where we had the incredible honor of giving a National Geographic food photography workshop. This opportunity was a dream come true! Giulia did the photography & Laura the styling. We’re over the moon to share our journey with you and it’s authentic behind the scenes mess!

Behind the Scenes: The Making of Our Food Photography Workshop

In this special behind-the-scenes look, we dive into the messy, exhilarating, and rewarding process of preparing for and conducting our workshop. We captured every moment, and you can watch our video blog for an insider’s view of the entire event.

From setting up our equipment to finalizing the perfect shots, the video captures it all. You’ll see the laughter, the challenges, and the triumphs as we navigated this incredible experience.

Meet the Team: Giulia and Laura

Our workshop was spearheaded by two talented individuals:

Giulia: The mastermind behind the lens, Julia brought her expertise in food photography to the forefront. Her keen eye for detail and ability to capture the essence of every dish made our workshop truly special.
Laura: With a flair for styling, Laura transformed each culinary creation into a visual masterpiece. Her artistic touch added the final flourish to our photos, making them look irresistibly delicious.

Together, Giula and Laura created a dynamic duo that left a lasting impression on all our workshop participants.

Highlights from the Workshop

Interactive Sessions: We showed a hands-on session where participants learned the fundamentals of food photography. Giulia shared her tips on lighting, angles, and composition, while Laura demonstrated the art of food styling.
Live Demonstrations: Our live demonstrations showcased real-time food photography techniques. Participants watched as we transformed simple ingredients into stunning visual stories.
Q&A and Feedback: An interactive Q&A session allowed attendees to ask questions and receive personalized feedback. It was a fantastic opportunity for budding photographers to learn from our experiences and improve their skills.

Part One of Our Journey: Stay Tuned for More!

This blog post marks Part One of our journey at the NatGeo Food Festival. We’re already working on Part Two, where we’ll delve even deeper into the workshop’s highlights, share more behind-the-scenes stories, and reveal some of the stunning photos captured during the event.

Join Us on This Exciting Journey

We’re incredibly grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with National Geographic and share our passion for food photography. This workshop was a testament to the power of creativity, collaboration, and a shared love for food.

Don’t miss out on our upcoming posts and videos. Subscribe to our Youtube @foodphotocircle to see more behind the scenes and follow us on social media to stay updated on all our latest adventures.

Posted on January 6, 2023July 30, 2024 by Giulia Verdinelli

Step-by step guide to build your food photography portfolio website

cakes food photography and portfolio review and feedback

Build your food photography portfolio website

Even if you've never built a website before

So, you’re ready to build a stunning food photography portfolio website that will help you attract your dream clients.

Congratulations!!
It’s a super important step in your career and we’re excited for you!

If, like me, you’re really NOT the techie person, you might be wondering where to even start.

Which website platform to use? And how to create a good layout?
Is SEO something to eat? 🤔

Let’s answer all these questions and more.

Step 1 - Choose a platform for your food photography portfolio website

Building your food photography portfolio from scratch doesn’t have to be overwhelming.
There are many plug-and-play, easy to use platforms and websites that are meant for this purpose and you can choose the best one for you.

These platforms will all host your website for you and some of them will let you customise your domain name.

In simple terms, these platforms will store your photos and your website for you and make it available to anyone on the internet who has a link to your website.

Best platforms to build your food photography portfolio website

First things first, let’s talk about the best platforms to use for your food photography portfolio website.
There are so many options out there, it can be overwhelming to choose just one. And one that is best for food photography!

Don’t worry, we break them down for you.

Here are some of the most popular options.

Format: This is a popular choice for food photographers because it offers a clean, minimal design and a variety of templates to choose from.
It also has a built-in blogging feature which can be useful for sharing your thoughts and experiences as a food photographer.
It’s one of the cheapest platforms for beginners.

Squarespace: Another popular option, Squarespace offers a variety of customisable templates and an easy-to-use drag-and-drop interface.
It also has a range of e-commerce options, in case you want to sell prints or other products through your food photography website.
It’s a little more pricey because of the e-commerce functionalities it offers.

Adobe Portfolio: If you’re using Lightroom and Photoshop for your editing workflow (and you really should be!) you’re already a Creative Cloud subscriber.
Adobe Portfolio is a great option for you to start because it integrates seamlessly with Lightroom and Photoshop.
It also offers a range of templates and design options that are easy to use and customise.
And it’s included in the monthly plan so you don’t have to add another expense to your new business!

Wix: This is a super user-friendly website builder with a wide range of templates and design options.
It’s a good choice for beginners who want an easy-to-use platform.
It gives you loads of tools for personalisation so it can get a little overwhelming but you can also use their templates as they are with minimal tweaking.
It’s also affordable, so it’s a good option to start.
WordPress: One of the main benefits of using WordPress is its wide range of customisable themes and almost endless plugins, which allow you to create a unique, professional-looking website with minimal website experience.
Our whole Food Photo Circle website is built using WordPress, for example.
It does require some more tweaking than other platforms but if you have some basic CSS coding skills and if you’re a bit more techie, the possibilities it offers are almost limitless.

Step 2 - Choose your food photography website name

When you start your business, you want to choose a good name for your food photography portfolio.

When choosing a platform, consider paying a bit more to have a custom domain name, meaning you can personalise your website name.

On some of the cheaper pricing plans, the link to your website might look something like this www.yourwebsitename.platformname.com.

Almost all the platforms offer more expensive plans that allow you to personalise your website link and make it prettier (and more professional looking).
So you might end up with something like www.yourwebsitename.com

We recommend calling your professional food photography website something like www.yourfullnamephotography.com or www.yourfullname.com or www.yourfullnamefoodphotography.com or www.yourbrandname.com

For example, our website name is www.foodphotocircle.com because that’s our brand name.
My professional portfolio website is www.mynamemysurname.com

Step 3 - Choose a template for your food photography portfolio website

A simple layout and minimal theme is often the best choice for a food photography portfolio website because it allows your photos to be the main focus.
Most of the platforms we mention have great templates that are built for photographers so try not to overthink it and choose something that speaks to you.

The important thing to remember is that when a potential client lands on your portfolio, you want them to be immediately drawn to your work, and a cluttered or overly designed layout can distract from that.

Keep it simple and image focused!

A clean, minimal layout also makes it easier for viewers to navigate your portfolio and find the photos they’re interested in.

So for example if they are an ice cream brand, they can more easily spot those stunning gelato images you shot.

Overall, an uncluttered layout and minimal theme will help showcase your food photography in the best light (pun intended) and make it easy for viewers to enjoy and appreciate your work without distractions.

Step 4 - Optimize your images for SEO so you can be found by potential clients

Now, let’s talk about optimising your images for SEO (search engine optimisation).
SEO is all about making your website and its content more visible to search engines like Google.
Meaning, how to make sure you’re not a ghost on the internet.
You want your potential clients to be able to find you when they Google!

There are some tweaks that you can make in Lightroom before you export your photos to improve their visibility and their chances to be seen on the internet.

Rename your photos and use descriptive, keyword-rich file names: Instead of using generic names like “IMG_1234.jpg” use a name that accurately describes the content of the image and includes relevant keywords for example “chocolate-cake-with-raspberries.jpg”.
In the Lightroom metadata, make good use of alt text: Alt text is a short description of an image that is used by search engines to understand the content of the image. When adding alt text to your images in Lightroom, be sure to again use descriptive, keyword-rich language.
In this field you can be more expressive and give more details.
For example “Tiered Dark chocolate cake with milk chocolate frosting, decorated with raspberries and mint leaves on a cake stand on a marble background.”

Step 5 - Optimize your images to display them on your portfolio website

When you create your professional food photography portfolio website, you need to make sure that your images look their best.
You don’t want pixelated photos or photos that take 5 minutes to load!

When it comes to displaying your images on your website, it’s important to strike a balance between quality and file size.
You want your images to look as good as possible, but you also don’t want them to be too large, as this can slow down your website.

This is easily done in Lightroom – use the “Export” feature to adjust the size and resolution of your images before saving them.

A good rule of thumb is to save your images at a resolution of 72 pixels per inch (PPI).
This is the standard resolution for web images and will give you a good balance between quality and file size.

As for the exact Megabytes, it’s generally a good idea to keep them under 1 MB – between 400Kb and 700Kb is ideal.
This will ensure that they load quickly on your website and won’t take up too much space on your server.

Step 6 - Populate your portfolio website with your own images

Once you’ve chosen a layout for your food photography portfolio website, saved all your best shots in the right resolution and size and optimised them for SEO, it’s time to make your website pretty! 🌷

Often, platforms will have placeholder images that they use to populate the templates. This is the time to replace their stock photos with your own unique and stunning food photography.

If you’re wondering what images to choose and how to arrange them, follow these tips to create a stunning portfolio layout with the right images in the right order.

Remember, creating a stunning food photography portfolio is a process in different stages.
Create a first layout and sleep on it. Then look at it with fresh eyes and keep tweaking it until you’re happy with the results and proud of it!

Step 7 - How to write the “about me page” on your food photography portfolio website

When you have done a first layout for your food photography portfolio, focus on writing an “about me” page that will make your potential clients want to learn more about you and your work.

Clients want to know who’s behind the lens so they can connect with you on a personal level!

First things first, think about your personal brand and what makes you unique as a food photographer.
What do you bring to the table (another pun intended)?
Think in terms of your unique style and the experiences that make you a good food photographer.

Keep it concise and to the point.

Tell your story in short, don’t start with “when I was 8 my dad gave me a film camera for Christmas….” and write your whole life story.

Aim for a couple of paragraphs that give a clear overview of who you are, what you do, why you do it and how you do it.

Talk about your background and highlight your experience as a food photographer.
For example, you might have worked in a professional kitchen, went to culinary school or had a baking blog.

Have you shot for any clients or publications? Have you won any awards for your work? Including this information can help establish your credibility and showcase your skills.

Another important aspect of your “About Me” page is your personality.
Remember, your portfolio is a reflection of you, so don’t be afraid to let your personality shine through!
Whether you’re a foodie at heart or a seasoned pro, be sure to let your passion for food photography come through in your writing.

Have a look at what we wrote in our “about us” page and take inspiration 🙂

Step 8 - What to include in the “contact” page on your food photography portfolio website

The aim of the contact page on your food photography portfolio website is for your potential clients to get in touch with you easily.
Easily is the keyword here. Make it super simple for them to access you and give them options so they can choose what works best for them.
Without overwhelming them!

Maybe a bit obvious, but be sure to include your contact information.
This should include your name, e-mail address, phone number and location (the city or country is enough).

Also important to include your social media handles!

Some photographers also have a form that potential clients can fill out to send them a message. This can help streamline the communication process.

Be sure to include fields for the person’s name, e-mail address, and a message box where they can type out their inquiry.

Finally, consider including a brief message on your “Contact” page that explains how you prefer to be contacted.
For example “I’m most responsive via e-mail, but feel free to give me a call if you have an urgent inquiry”.

This can help set expectations and make it clear for people on how to get in touch with you if they can’t choose between the options.

Step 9 - Get feedback on your food photography portfolio website

Arguably the most important step of all!
Getting thorough and constructive feedback on your food photography portfolio website will set you apart from your competition and make sure your website is top-notch before you show it to your clients.

Show your portfolio to as many people as possible. Start with friends and family but don’t stop there.
Share it with your colleagues, other food photographers, graphic designers, food stylists, art directors and people working in the industry and ask for constructive criticism.

The best feedback you can get is from professional food photographers.

They know the ins and outs of the industry and they have experience in what clients want to see in your food photography portfolio in order to hire you.
They are the best people to give you advice on every aspect of your portfolio, from technical feedback on your images to how to structure the layout.
From what images to include (or exclude!) and how to arrange them in galleries that make sense and will convince your potential clients that you’re the right photographer to work with.

Conclusion

Congrats!
You’re now able to build the ultimate food photography portfolio website and show it to your dream clients!

Whether you choose to use a platform like Format or Squarespace, or go the DIY route with WordPress, the important thing is to choose a solution that works best for you, your needs and level of tech expertise.

Be sure to keep your layout simple and minimal that puts emphasis on your images.
Images are everything!

Don’t forget to resize your images for website use and optimise them for SEO so your clients can find you on google.

It’s important to include an “About Me” page that shows your expertise and personality and a “Contact” page that makes it easy for your potential clients to get in touch with you.

The last step is getting feedback from professional food photographers so you can really create a portfolio website that showcases your food photography skills and helps you land your dream clients.

And don’t forget to have fun and let your passion for food photography shine through!

P.S. Make sure your DOWNLOAD OUR FREE PDF about building a portfolio!

Food Photography Portfolio Tips: How to Attract Your Dream Clients

food photography portfolio tips, how to attract your dream food photography clients

Food Photography Portfolio Tips:
Make your dream clients want to work with you!

Even if you're just starting out

As a food photographer, your portfolio is often the first thing potential clients will see when considering hiring you for a project.
Therefore, it’s important to have a strong and professional portfolio that showcases your skills and expertise in the field.

Your portfolio needs to answer the usual questions clients ask:
“Why should we hire YOU?”
“Because you need a photographer” is NOT an acceptable answer…

Follow these tips to help you build a killer food photography portfolio that will make your clients want to work with you!

And pay you the big bucks.

Niche down and show your food photography work in your portfolio

The first thing you want to do when putting together your food photography portfolio for maximum impact, is niching down.
You only want to show your food shots in your portfolio!

If you can’t convert your leads into clients is because they don’t trust your skills enough.
They don’t trust your skills enough because your portfolio is all over the place and doesn’t show enough food photography.

Don’t mix food photography with portraits (unless they’re portraits of chefs, food producers etc), fashion, weddings, street etc.

You can choose more than one niche. However, go for genres that relate to each other.

For example, food and interiors or food and still life.
Food and wedding is not a strong match – these two genres are completely different and attract two very different kinds of clients.

Only show images from clients you want to work with

Your food photography portfolio needs to show your ideal clients that you can shoot for them and produce the kind of images that they want.
This is counter intuitive and sounds a bit like the chicken and egg situation but let us explain.

You need to answer the question: who are your dream clients and what kind of photos do they want to see?

If you want to work with restaurants, you need to showcase restaurant work in your portfolio.

If you want to shoot for burger brands, you need to have burgers in your food photography portfolio.
Same for ice cream, same for magazines etc.

You can do this by shooting lots of personal work in the style that your clients are looking for.
You want to work for “AmazingFoodMagazine”? Get yourself a few copies, study their style, recreate that style and put it in your portfolio.
Dreaming of working with “UltimateVeganBurgerBrand”? Look at their website, IG, their billboards and ad campaigns and shoot some images that resemble what they are producing.

Start with your best food photos

When creating your portfolio, it’s important to only show the best work you’ve done in food photography.
This means selecting your strongest, most compelling images that showcase your unique style and approach to food photography.
Remember, the stronger the images you choose, the stronger your food photography portfolio will be, the easier it will be to get your ideal clients.

If you are not happy with your food photography yet, that’s ok!
Keep shooting, keep learning new skills and trying new techniques. practice makes improvement!

Depending on the layout you choose for your portfolio, start with between 30-50 images.
Don’t include mediocre or weak shots just to fill space – quality is more important than quantity in a portfolio!
It’s better to have 10 great shots than 20 good ones.

Showcase a range of food photography styles and techniques

To demonstrate your versatility and expertise as a food photographer, it’s important to include a range of styles and techniques in your portfolio.

Showing that you’re a well rounded food photographer is essential to demonstrate to potential clients that you have the skills and creativity to capture their specific vision and style.

Secondly, showcasing different styles and techniques allows you to highlight your skills and experience as a food photographer.
This way you can illustrate your ability to adapt to different lighting situations, use different camera angles, compose visually appealing shots, and use various camera settings and editing techniques to achieve a desired look.
This could include highly styled shots with perfect lighting and composition as well as candid, spontaneous images that capture the essence of food in a real way.

Let’s break down the kind of shots you should include in your portfolio:

A good mix of commercial looking and editorial looking images is best.
Make sure to include bright and colourful images as well as darker moods and tones.
Use both natural and artificial light
Mix soft light and hard light

Include a variety of subjects and kinds of food photos

Following on our previous tip, it’s crucial to show your clients that you can shoot a large variety of food subjects and kinds of food photography in your portfolio.

This creates trust in the fact that “you’ve shot it all”.
Therefore you can also shoot what they have in mind (even if you don’t have that exact subject in your portfolio yet).
for example, if a client who needs you to shoot a sandwich sees that you’ve shot burgers, they can safely assume you can tackle sandwiches as well.
If they see beer shots in your drink photography portfolio, they trust that you can do a good job at shooting cocktails too.

Make sure you include a good mix of:

Subjects – savoury, sweet, drinks, salads and pastas, burgers and sandwiches, hot food and cold food, raw and cooked food…
Occasions and meals – breakfast, lunches, dinners, Christmas, drinks…
Angles – portraits, landscapes, overhead shots, 45 degrees, eye level…
Storytelling – hands, action shots, close ups and macros, larger scenes…
Supporting shots – interiors, portraits of chefs, details…

Choose the best platform to showcase your food photography portfolio

How do you actually build and showcase your food photography work?

There are several factors to consider but overall you want to aim for a platform that is user friendly, easy to use, simple and customisable.
Remember that you’re a photographer, so you need to choose a layout and a platform that will put your images first.
You don’t need much text or fancy stuff – content is king.
Let the images speak for themselves so your client can focus on them without distractions.

Look for platforms that offer features specific to photographers: Some platforms, such as Squarespace, Format and Adobe Portfolio, are specifically designed for photographers and offer features like customisable portfolios, layouts and galleries.

Take the time to research and compare different platforms to find the one that best fits your needs.
We have a whole article about this

Start with a template that speaks to you and customise it to fit your branding and style.
Then populate it with your images.

We’ll tell you how to arrange the layout in the next tip.

Tell a story with your whole food photography portfolio

A successful and compelling food photography portfolio should not only showcase your technical skills, but also tell a story with your images.

This means capturing the mood, atmosphere, and emotions of a scene, as well as the flavours, textures, and aromas of food in your whole portfolio.
Include a mix of close-up shots and wider, contextual images to create a narrative with your photos.

Your portfolio should “flow” and hypnotise your clients to look at it longer.

Each image should follow and be followed by other images that make sense together and create a smooth progression.

When you create your layout, you can group images by colour and create a gradient from blues to violets to pinks to reds etc
Or you can pair pictures based on subjects or themes for example moving from breakfast subjects to lunches to dinners and then drinks etc.

Include client and project details

In addition to the images themselves, it’s also important to include client and project details in your food photography portfolio.

This could cover the name of the client, the type of project, and any relevant information about the shoot or the food featured in the photos.
If you haven’t worked with any clients yet, no worries!
You can include details of how you shot the image, if it was natural or artificial light, if you worked in a team or if you styled the images yourself.

This will help potential clients understand the context of your work and the type of projects you’re capable of handling.

Just pop it into the image caption or show it on an overlay that appears when they click to learn more about the image.

Include series to illustrate your food photography storytelling abilities

To demonstrate to your ideal client that you can go beyond creating a single great image, you need to include series in your food photography portfolio.

Since many clients will need you to shoot a bunch of images following a specific concept, you need to show them that you can create a group of images that is cohesive, consistent and tells a deeper story.

Think of a restaurant shoot – the client will require you to shoot a series of many images that will need to work together on their website or social media profiles.
If you shoot them all in a different style, they won’t look very consistent.
Or when shooting a magazine feature you’ll have different subjects and recipes but you’ll need to shoot with the same mood and vibe.

This is one of the main factors that will separate you from your competition and elevate you!

Update your food photography portfolio regularly

It’s super important to regularly update your food photography portfolio with your latest work.

By frequently updating your portfolio, you’re showing potential clients that you’re actively working as a food photographer and have new and exciting content to share.

Also, as you continue to grow and improve as a food photographer, it’s important to update your portfolio to reflect your current skills and style.

Make sure to replace your old photos with new ones so that overtime the overall quality of your portfolio will dramatically increase.
Show off your latest and greatest!
Select a couple of portfolio worthy images from each new shoot you do.

As you shoot, keep a list or folder of your favourite shots so you can easily add them to your portfolio when it’s time for an update.

Get feedback on your food photography portfolio

Receiving feedback on your food photography portfolio is a game changer and it will help you skyrocket your success in no time.

Having different sets of eyes reviewing your portfolio can help you identify areas where you can improve and grow as a photographer.
By regularly seeking out feedback, you can continue to develop your skills and style.

Now, not all feedback is equal.
Asking friends and family is great to boost your ego but it won’t get you very far in your business.
You need the opinion of other professional photographers and you need to attend a portfolio review to make sure your portfolio is in tip top shape before presenting it to your clients!

A pro food photographer has a more objective perspective and can provide more specific, technical feedback.

Professional food photographers can offer advice including technical details like lighting and composition, as well as guidance on how to improve your portfolio and stand out as a food photographer in your market.

They have been working in the industry for a long time and have a deep understanding of what clients want and what makes a converting portfolio.
They will guide you on exactly what’s missing in your portfolio, what you should remove and what you should keep.
They can give advice on how to structure your layout and galleries, how to present your work to clients to make sure they say yes to working with you!

Getting feedback from a pro food photographer is the only way to ensure that your clients will want to work with you once they see your work.

Conclusion

Having a stunning food photography portfolio is a must if you want to make money with your skills and work with your ideal clients.
With the feedback and guidance of a pro, you can build an effective portfolio that will convert leads into clients who want to work with you!

P.S. Make sure your DOWNLOAD OUR FREE PDF about building a portfolio!

How to Start a Successful Food Photography Business Step-by-step

How to start a successful food photography business with step by step tricks and tips

How to start a successful food photography business
step-by-step

Even if you only have a camera and one lens

Whether you’re a professional photographer looking to break into the food industry or an amateur who loves to capture the beauty of your culinary creations, starting a successful food photography business can be a rewarding and fulfilling career.

Imagine finally being able to play with your food, and getting paid for it!

Reality check: it’s not all cupcakes and unicorns. Breaking into the food photography industry can be hard and there are many challenges.

To help you get started, here are some tips and strategies for launching and growing a successful food photography business.

1 - Develop your food photography skills and expertise

As with any business and craft, it’s crucial to build the necessary skills and expertise to succeed.
In the world of food photography, this means understanding and mastering the technical aspects of photography as well as having an eye for capturing the beauty and essence of food.

Before considering a career in food photography, you need to be proficient with lighting, composition, food styling, prop styling, post-processing…
To develop your skills, taking classes, workshops, or enrolling in a formal food photography program (wink wink ) is absolutely the fastest and easiest way to get to the PRO food photographer level.

Check out our eBooks + masterclasses !

You can also learn from other photographers by studying their work and experimenting with different techniques and styles.
Something that greatly helps is “reading” the images that speak to you and ask yourself:
Why do I like this picture? What is it that draws me to it? Is it the light, styling, colours, props…
Take inspiration and try to recreate those elements in your pictures.

In addition to technical skills, it’s also important to have a good understanding of food and cooking.

This will enable you to capture the flavours, textures, and aromas of food in your photos and create compelling images that tempt the viewer’s taste buds!
To learn more about the culinary arts, consider taking cooking classes, working in a restaurant or simply cooking at home!

Remember, practice makes improvement!

2 - Create your online presence

Building an online presence in the form of social media channels and your website is essential for any food photographer. It’s often the first point of contact with your potential clients!

Decide on a maximum of two platforms to start with, create an account and set up your profiles.
You might choose IG and FB, or IG and TikTok, or TikTok and Pinterest. Choose a platform that resonates with you.

While there are some best practices to follow when posting, focus on quantity rather than quality.
Keeping a certain standard for your photos is important, however consistency in posting and engaging is much more important.
If you focus on quality too much, you might post less consistently or stop altogether.

Social media is also a great tool to show your personality and start building your network in the food photography industry.
Connecting and engaging with other people in the industry like food stylists, food photographers, food bloggers, chefs etc is one of the most important things you can do and the sooner you start, the better!

Good networking takes time and social media can definitely help you get started.

3 - Create an effective food photography portfolio

Having a strong portfolio is essential for any food photographer. Your portfolio is often the most important tool that will help potential clients decide to hire you for their project.
That’s why your portfolio should showcase your best work and highlight your unique style and approach to food photography.
It’s crucial to make a good impression and illustrate your whole range of skills and expertise.

To create a professional-looking portfolio, use a website or online portfolio building platform to display your work such as Squarespace, Format or WordPress.

When creating your portfolio, unlike social media, focus on quality over quantity (go for 30-50 images to start with) and include a mix of shots: commercial, editorial, landscape, portrait, dark, light, close ups, wider scenes, action, people and hands…

You want to have a good mix of all of these things, put together nicely so the layout makes sense and flows.

A portfolio is also an evolving tool!
As your skill grow, you need to keep updating it with new work that reflects your most recent abilities.

You will have to do this in stages.
Build it and then have a professional food photographer review it!
All the work and tweaking you put into your portfolio might not get you the results you want unless you ask for feedback from someone who knows the ins and outs of the industry.

A portfolio review from a pro food photographer will help your portfolio stand out from the competition, reflects your unique style, is technically well arranged.
They will help you choose the right images and tell you if your portfolio is missing some key photos. You will understand what clients are looking for!
You will also get advice on how to present your work to your dream clients so they will beg to shoot with you!!

Build your portfolio tips!

4 - Set competitive rates and packages

Pricing is one of the main (and most difficult) factors to consider when starting a successful food photography business.

It is one of the main struggles food photographers face when they want to go pro.
“How much should I charge for my photos”?
Sounds familiar? We get this question all, the. time.

Research the market and your competition to determine competitive rates and packages for your services.
Be sure to factor in your experience, equipment, and the time and effort required for each project when setting your rates.

This is easier said than done!

Start by understanding your CODB (cost of doing business) meaning: how much does it cost you to run your food photography business?
Once you get clear of what your expenses are, it’ll be much easier to come up with how much you should charge to run the show and make a profit.

You may want to offer discounts or special deals to attract new clients and build your portfolio when you’re starting out.
However, a word of warning: this could backfire.
The right way to do it is to make your client understand the value they’re getting, despite the discount you applied for portfolio building.

5 - Build a network in the food photography industry

This is arguably the most important part. Networking and marketing are key to building a successful food photography business.
It is the part that takes the most effort and consistency.
And it also takes courage – I feel you, fellow introverts!

Connect with other food photographers, chefs, food stylists, food bloggers to get your name out there and build your network.
Consider attending food photography trade shows, conferences and events, and join relevant online communities and forums to connect with potential clients.

Google is your best friend here, have a look at what’s happening in your country.
Be sure to also have a strong online presence, with a professional website and active social media accounts showcasing your work.

Networking can also provide valuable opportunities for learning and collaboration.
Community over competition is the key here!

Having strong professional relationships with other food photographers and industry professionals, will skyrocket your success.
You can learn from their experiences and expertise, collaborate on projects or photo shoots, and refer clients to each other.

This is KEY! Working with food stylists, prop stylists and chefs as part of a creative team is an essential skill that clients want to see in your portfolio and that you need to master.

6 - Invest in better food photography equipment

Having the right equipment is crucial for producing professional-quality food photography.
However, did you notice how we put this as the last step?

Assuming you already have a camera (any DSLR or Mirrorless) and at least one lens (the 50mm is cheap and the best for food photography) you are good to start your food photography business.
Nope, you don’t need anything else to start.

1) First and foremost, you should invest in your education.
2) Secondly, you should invest in marketing. Some trade shows, awards and conferences have a cost. Your website and promotional material has a cost.
3) Lastly, you can invest in gear.

Early on, you may want to invest in backdrops, props, and other accessories to help you enhance your photos and create your unique style.
These are relatively cheap and can really elevate your photos to make them look more premium without the need for fancy lenses and cameras.

Contrary to popular beliefs, gear is really not the factor that is going to make you a pro photographer.
When you’ve made some money, reinvest in higher quality cameras, lenses, and lighting equipment that will enable you to capture more high end images of food.

If you already have camera and lenses, you will want to invest in better lighting equipment such as flashes, strobes, light modifiers etc.

1) First and foremost, you should invest in your education.

2) Secondly, you should invest in marketing. Some trade shows, awards and conferences have a cost. Your website and promotional material has a cost.

3) Lastly, you can invest in gear.

If you already have camera and lenses, you will want to invest in better lighting equipment such as flashes, strobes, light modifiers etc.

Conclusion

Starting a food photography business can be difficult if you don’t know have a plan or a roadmap.

There’s a better way to do it!

By following these tips and strategies, you can launch and grow a successful food photography business.

Not gonna lie, it takes dedication, hard work, and a passion for capturing the beauty of food.
If you have these ingredients, you can definitely turn your love for food photography into a rewarding and lucrative career.

And have a ton of fun while doing it! 🙌🏻

P.S. Make sure your DOWNLOAD OUR FREE PDF about building a portfolio!

Behind the Scenes: The Making of Our Food Photography Workshop

Meet the Team: Giulia and Laura

Highlights from the Workshop

Part One of Our Journey: Stay Tuned for More!

Join Us on This Exciting Journey

Build your food photography portfolio website

Even if you've never built a website before

Step 1 - Choose a platform for your food photography portfolio website

Best platforms to build your food photography portfolio website

Step 2 - Choose your food photography website name

Step 3 - Choose a template for your food photography portfolio website

Step 4 - Optimize your images for SEO so you can be found by potential clients

Step 5 - Optimize your images to display them on your portfolio website

Step 6 - Populate your portfolio website with your own images

Step 7 - How to write the “about me page” on your food photography portfolio website

Step 8 - What to include in the “contact” page on your food photography portfolio website

Step 9 - Get feedback on your food photography portfolio website

Conclusion

More interesting articles:

Food Photography Portfolio Tips:Make your dream clients want to work with you!

Even if you're just starting out

Niche down and show your food photography work in your portfolio

Only show images from clients you want to work with

Start with your best food photos

Showcase a range of food photography styles and techniques

Include a variety of subjects and kinds of food photos

Choose the best platform to showcase your food photography portfolio

Tell a story with your whole food photography portfolio

Include client and project details

Include series to illustrate your food photography storytelling abilities

Update your food photography portfolio regularly

Get feedback on your food photography portfolio

Conclusion

More interesting articles:

How to start a successful food photography business step-by-step

Even if you only have a camera and one lens

1 - Develop your food photography skills and expertise

2 - Create your online presence

3 - Create an effective food photography portfolio

4 - Set competitive rates and packages

5 - Build a network in the food photography industry

6 - Invest in better food photography equipment

Conclusion

More interesting articles:

Food Photography Portfolio Tips:
Make your dream clients want to work with you!

How to start a successful food photography business
step-by-step