Show and Tell: Bad Food Photography

The primary goal of food photography is to make an ingredient or dish look irresistible. It is more difficult than one might think, but it is surprising how often that goal isn’t achieved even in popular cooking and food magazines.

Take a look at this image from Cooking Light for example:

Risotto is delicious and this portrayal makes it appear exactly the opposite. It’s hard to tell it is even risotto in that bowl and any elements of color or texture are completely lost. The image also applies one of the most overused and amusingly simple strategies for making food look appetizing: “Stick a fork in it.”

Luckily for us, Cooking Light is capable of better: