BronsonLee
Member
A new camera would help way more than any food presentation
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My cooking never looks good.
- Thread starter BladeoftheImmortal
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A new camera would help way more than any food presentation
PuppetSlave
Member
I think a large part is that you seem to cook everything together. If you fix some vegetables on the side and use for decoration/color it matters less that all your food seems to be a mash of carbs and meat with white/grey sauce on everything. Presentation is key
So yeah, eat your veggies
So yeah, eat your veggies
bennywhatever
Member
Tips on food styling:
1. Pay more for stupid expensive foods like gluten free oysters or something.
2. Your plate should have very small portions of said expensive food on it.
3. Pay a bunch of money for a nice camera and photoshop to create a great instagram photo.
4. Your food is now cold and doesn't taste good.
There we go, that sounds about right.
EDIT: In all seriousness, I think the advent of instagram and facebook has made people care way too much about what their food looks like. If it tastes good and has the right nutrition for you, that's really all the matters. Have you ever seen Burgoo? One of my favorite foods of all time and it looks like vomit.
1. Pay more for stupid expensive foods like gluten free oysters or something.
2. Your plate should have very small portions of said expensive food on it.
3. Pay a bunch of money for a nice camera and photoshop to create a great instagram photo.
4. Your food is now cold and doesn't taste good.
There we go, that sounds about right.
EDIT: In all seriousness, I think the advent of instagram and facebook has made people care way too much about what their food looks like. If it tastes good and has the right nutrition for you, that's really all the matters. Have you ever seen Burgoo? One of my favorite foods of all time and it looks like vomit.
Extra Sauce
Member
Use white plates. None of that "motif" bullshit. I know it sounds petty, but my meals instantly started looking much better when I went from serving them on my old ass beige, flowery plates to white plates.
edit: I thought my response would be unusual but apparently, it is known.
edit: I thought my response would be unusual but apparently, it is known.
As others have said, you need to add more color to your dishes. That is what really makes them pop. Anything is going to look boring when it's one monotonous color tone. Throw some fresh chopped spring onions onto that Mac & Cheese dish as a garnish and it'll stand out 10x more. Maybe even some red onion as well to give it a second color tone. It'll look great and taste awesome as well.
entremet
Member
I agree. It makes sense for restaurants since people want to feel like they're paying for something that had some effort put into it.
NealMcCauley
Member
Taken with my 5s
git good OP
I'm sure it was good but the lighting and color of the food reminds me of the chestburster scene in Alien haha.
thecouncil
Banned
but...
edit: though i suppose if youre just cooking for yourself, who cares? are you trying to trick yourself, OP?
BladeoftheImmortal
Member
PuppetSlave
Member
Actually there have been studies that show that your body take up more nutrients and stuff when the food looks good.
flyinpiranha
Member
Just find herbs and fresh veggies that pair good with what you're serving.
Fried egg? Toss it on a small corn tortilla and add fresh cilantro/tomato
Mac & Cheese? Fry some bacon and dice and then add some sauteed tomato, garlic, and onion.
Steak? Any type of sauce (I prefer good reduced wine/mushroom)
For that dish in OP (the pasta) just fry up some bacon and dice, toast some panko breadcrumbs and toss it on top with fresh green onion.
It really just comes down to finding veggies/herbs that you enjoy and pair well with your dish.
Also, never forget that the simplest of things can make a pretty good puree. Even a lemon wedge or zest can add to a lot of seafood dishes.
I made this yesterday out of random stuff we had
Julienned zuchinni, pasta, tomato, onion, spinach, garlic, chicken sausage, mushrooms:
Just taken with a 1+1
Fried egg? Toss it on a small corn tortilla and add fresh cilantro/tomato
Mac & Cheese? Fry some bacon and dice and then add some sauteed tomato, garlic, and onion.
Steak? Any type of sauce (I prefer good reduced wine/mushroom)
For that dish in OP (the pasta) just fry up some bacon and dice, toast some panko breadcrumbs and toss it on top with fresh green onion.
It really just comes down to finding veggies/herbs that you enjoy and pair well with your dish.
Also, never forget that the simplest of things can make a pretty good puree. Even a lemon wedge or zest can add to a lot of seafood dishes.
I made this yesterday out of random stuff we had
Julienned zuchinni, pasta, tomato, onion, spinach, garlic, chicken sausage, mushrooms:
Just taken with a 1+1
modernlifeisANDY
Member
Sometimes it's just the way you take the photo.
Homemade meatball grilled cheese with basil:
Homemade mac&cheese:
Grilled chicken and pasta with tomato cream sauce:
Homemade meatball grilled cheese with basil:
Homemade mac&cheese:
Grilled chicken and pasta with tomato cream sauce:
User 479360
Banned
That chicken looks really good. The other foods I would never eat, so I'm biased, but the presentation is lacking.
It doesn't really matter so long as it tastes good, imo.
It doesn't really matter so long as it tastes good, imo.
BronsonLee
Member
...what have you done Mumei
DJ_Lae
Member
Some colour or contrast would help, with veggies on the side or chopped parsley, but I think simply turning off the flash would help too.
Cream-based sauces generally need the most help as they're colourless a lot of the time.
Not that I'm one to talk, I usually don't pay a ton of attention to the look of my food.
Cream-based sauces generally need the most help as they're colourless a lot of the time.
Not that I'm one to talk, I usually don't pay a ton of attention to the look of my food.
BobTheFork
Member
I'll switch with you. I was a chef for 10 years and I can make really amazing looking food that's horribly bland. It's not even bad, just bland. I really have to have a recipe and I can't just create good food from scratch.
Taken with my 5s
git good OP
This thing looks like it's going to possess my body and then make me rape the entire local girls dorm
having nice plates will make the food look alot better. learn to deconstruct your food on the plate instead of throwing all the ingredients in a pot and calling it a day. and also learn to use garnish to add the finishing touches to food.
the elbow pasta mac n cheese looks like it has a broken sauce. make sure you dont let the sauce boil when youre adding the cheese. the end product will create a creamier texture
heres an example of what a made a few days ago
the elbow pasta mac n cheese looks like it has a broken sauce. make sure you dont let the sauce boil when youre adding the cheese. the end product will create a creamier texture
heres an example of what a made a few days ago
btw im a chef
InfiniteBento
Member
I agree with a lot of the posts in here. To really present your food nicely, natural lighting is great. Avoid flash. Avoid pot shots like that unless what's inside has a great amount of contrast in color.
Use vegetables and herbs to give your food more color. Deconstructed plating also works incredibly well (two posts above me). Its an awesome way to present food that really speaks for itself.
You can also buy molds for your food. Like molds for making the rice a nice little pressed pile instead of just thrown on the plate. Same can be used for some pastas and desserts too. That book I linked is only one of hundreds of books on plating. Search up some tips and tricks and buy some supplies to push your plating a bit further.
Use vegetables and herbs to give your food more color. Deconstructed plating also works incredibly well (two posts above me). Its an awesome way to present food that really speaks for itself.
You can also buy molds for your food. Like molds for making the rice a nice little pressed pile instead of just thrown on the plate. Same can be used for some pastas and desserts too. That book I linked is only one of hundreds of books on plating. Search up some tips and tricks and buy some supplies to push your plating a bit further.
Prime crotch
Banned
you could serve food on a platter, showing a pan and some newspapers isn't really giving that shabbam
angelcage87
Member
I'll give my 2 cents OP:
-The first thing that comes to mind when I think about food presentation, is the dish itself. The dish plays an extremely important part on how your final product looks like. Imagine that same soup you posted served on a nice bamboo cup, accompanied by some toasted bread cubes, that would certainly look more appetizing;
-Second thing would be, learn some basic garnish. It doesn't have to be especially complicated to make things look spectacular. A touch of olive oil on a fish fillet makes it that much more attractive. Use can use herbs, sauces, or element from the food itself, an example would be seafood shells placed on top of a sea food risotto, or for your mac and cheese you could fry a couple of raw spaghetti until brown, brake them a bit and place them standing in the center of the dish, with some basil leaves on the base ( they used these at a restaurant I used to work at), sky is the limit here(as long as you respect the dish);
-Third advice would be not to place too much food on the dish, as it usually doesn't look too good, try to play with the dish shape and mantain some ratio of food filled/blank space, also try to be smart about pairing your food with other food, an example of this would be cutting your omelette into small circular shapes with a cookie cutter, pile some of the disks on a wooden board, with a small cup filled with a dipping sauce on the side, or other appetizers od sorts (example, rice shrimp crispies);
-The first thing that comes to mind when I think about food presentation, is the dish itself. The dish plays an extremely important part on how your final product looks like. Imagine that same soup you posted served on a nice bamboo cup, accompanied by some toasted bread cubes, that would certainly look more appetizing;
-Second thing would be, learn some basic garnish. It doesn't have to be especially complicated to make things look spectacular. A touch of olive oil on a fish fillet makes it that much more attractive. Use can use herbs, sauces, or element from the food itself, an example would be seafood shells placed on top of a sea food risotto, or for your mac and cheese you could fry a couple of raw spaghetti until brown, brake them a bit and place them standing in the center of the dish, with some basil leaves on the base ( they used these at a restaurant I used to work at), sky is the limit here(as long as you respect the dish);
-Third advice would be not to place too much food on the dish, as it usually doesn't look too good, try to play with the dish shape and mantain some ratio of food filled/blank space, also try to be smart about pairing your food with other food, an example of this would be cutting your omelette into small circular shapes with a cookie cutter, pile some of the disks on a wooden board, with a small cup filled with a dipping sauce on the side, or other appetizers od sorts (example, rice shrimp crispies);
I believe the key to good looking food photography is great lighting and contrast in colors and textures. Food photographed in bad/low lighting, will for the most part, always look unappetizing and grey. Open a window and try to get as much natural light as possible.
As some people said, if you're not the best at plating try to get a close well lit shot of your food. Also, as a general rule of thumb, try to photograph your food on a while plate or at least a surface that is 1 solid color. Good luck!
Here are some of my shots of my cooking.
Edit: All taken from my iPhone by the way.
As some people said, if you're not the best at plating try to get a close well lit shot of your food. Also, as a general rule of thumb, try to photograph your food on a while plate or at least a surface that is 1 solid color. Good luck!
Here are some of my shots of my cooking.
Edit: All taken from my iPhone by the way.
Here come the fannibals...lol
Artofwar420
Member
You guys inspire me to up my cooking game.
OP, everything looks dull because, as others said, it doesn't have much color besides yellow, grey and brown. Add spices that help color food, like I add paprika powder or curry to minced meat and use vegetables and herbs. Also the pictures themselves don't flatter the food. And in the first picture the omlette/egg food has broken up so it gives it even more unflattering look.
Some of the pics here... Yum!
Still would eat
Some of the pics here... Yum!
Eye for an Eye
Member
Just because we need more delicious food pictures.
Clean your kitchen, make it look presentable.
Try browning your food on top by placing it under the broiler for a minute or two. Like with the mac and cheese. Get some shredded Parm cheese and bread crumbs. Mix in a bowl together and throw it on top. Then brown it in the oven to get a nice golden color. It'll also add a nice contrast to the texture of the food.
Corningware dishes are also nice for making things look presentable.
Clean your kitchen, make it look presentable.
Try browning your food on top by placing it under the broiler for a minute or two. Like with the mac and cheese. Get some shredded Parm cheese and bread crumbs. Mix in a bowl together and throw it on top. Then brown it in the oven to get a nice golden color. It'll also add a nice contrast to the texture of the food.
Corningware dishes are also nice for making things look presentable.
Astral Dog
Member
Mother of God.
Just watch a few cooking TV shows and pay attention how they present the plates,it can help you.
Just watch a few cooking TV shows and pay attention how they present the plates,it can help you.
Facism
Member
GamePnoy74
Member
Foodie thread?
Foodie thread.
Here's some Trader Joe's Pork Belly I cooked up last week:
I used it to put into some ramen I made at home, using Sun Noodle fresh ramen and tonkotsu pack:
A few days later I wanted to make more ramen but ran out of the pork belly...went to Trader Joe's to get more but they ran out as well. Ended up using their pork carnitas as a substitute and it worked out great.
(All taken with an iPhone 6 and CameraBag 2 app with NC-1D filter)
Foodie thread.
Here's some Trader Joe's Pork Belly I cooked up last week:
I used it to put into some ramen I made at home, using Sun Noodle fresh ramen and tonkotsu pack:
A few days later I wanted to make more ramen but ran out of the pork belly...went to Trader Joe's to get more but they ran out as well. Ended up using their pork carnitas as a substitute and it worked out great.
(All taken with an iPhone 6 and CameraBag 2 app with NC-1D filter)
You need some colour. Since you're often cooking Chinese style and individual plating for that is just weird, adding some chopped parsely, green onion or cilantro on top would be an instant improvement. Another way to add green is to throw a handful of frozen peas into what you're making. You can also use raw sliced carrots to add colour, even dress them up like so:
Other options: add pieces of bell pepper (red, yellow, green), sliced almonds, cut your massive beige/brown factor. Eat vegetables! Steam some gai lan or something and add that so there is some green
If you make stewy/saucy stuff, serving it in a clay pot (hotpot style) can make it look a lot better too.
Other options: add pieces of bell pepper (red, yellow, green), sliced almonds, cut your massive beige/brown factor. Eat vegetables! Steam some gai lan or something and add that so there is some green
If you make stewy/saucy stuff, serving it in a clay pot (hotpot style) can make it look a lot better too.
Gherid__lacksGPS
Banned
Put it on a fucking plate. I like square plates and have used some rotary looking triangle plates. White works well as a standard, but I also like to use earth tones on lighter colored foods.
Garnish it with high contrast, complementary color.
When placed on the plate, keep the contents uniform.
As said, the photo's should have good lighting, with a high contrast between color. A vignette can help, too.
Garnish it with high contrast, complementary color.
When placed on the plate, keep the contents uniform.
As said, the photo's should have good lighting, with a high contrast between color. A vignette can help, too.
AlexMeloche
Member
Everything is brown in your pics, that may be why it kinda looks bad.
Here is some salmon and guacamole I made the other day:
Here is some salmon and guacamole I made the other day:
Frankly I think some chefs care to much about presentation and not about the quality of each individual component on the plate.
Who cares what it looks like, just eat it and love it.
Taste/smell >>>texture>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>looks
When i see these picture people have taken of there food I feel like this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDpENE6yPV4
Who cares what it looks like, just eat it and love it.
Taste/smell >>>texture>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>looks
When i see these picture people have taken of there food I feel like this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDpENE6yPV4
zorlaczerohero
Banned
What's this dish? Poached egg, fish cake and corn salad I'm guessing. Looks really good.
I make a similar thing with poached egg on a Sweetcorn fritter over some asparagus and chopped parma ham.
And what's this? I love sprouts! I need to know! Guessing baked fish with Tartare sauce on something magnificent and sprouty.
Pops Maellard
Member
Stop making random amalgamations that you think taste good. "Beefy Mac and cheese" sounds pretty meh and it will never look good regardless of how it's served.
Also lighting and dishes.
Also lighting and dishes.
Make sure the food looks good. Chinese food tends to be covered in a thick sauce, so its hard. Grilled marks on the other hand look delicious
Arrange it neatly in a nice bowl. Have an interesting surface to put it on.
Garnish is very very important. Whether its chopped parsley, or crumbled sausages or a fucking entire egg
A nice plate will do wonders. I bought this plate for $15 at sur la table. Just for the fucking plate!
Arrange it neatly in a nice bowl. Have an interesting surface to put it on.
Garnish is very very important. Whether its chopped parsley, or crumbled sausages or a fucking entire egg
A nice plate will do wonders. I bought this plate for $15 at sur la table. Just for the fucking plate!
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