How to become a professional food photographer who actually gets hired

With the proliferation of food imagery it’s incredibly hard to stand out in the crowd. But if you’re passionate about the work, it’s possible to become a professional food photographer, even with all that tough competition. However, in addition to having the necessary photography skills, you’ll need to build the right relationships and know how to get your work out there.

As a pro food photographer, I’ve worked with clients like Kraft, Schlotzsky’s, Cinnabon, Land O’Lakes, Carvel and more, as well as regional and national magazines. I’m going to share a little about how I got started, as well as my best tips for getting yourself noticed (and hired!) as a food photographer.

Here’s my game plan for taking your food photography from a hobby to a job.

1. Build the right relationships.

One of the key things to do when embarking on a career in food photography is to develop the right relationships. Professional food photographers don’t work in a vacuum. Collaborating with a team is critical to your success as a working professional, and it all starts with you.

Even as an established professional food photographer, I remind myself regularly to cultivate and nurture relationships within the industry.

Food stylists.

Some of the first professional relationships you establish should be with food stylists. Food stylists know all of the measures that it takes to create well defined food subjects. They often have backgrounds in photography, food science or the culinary arts, and know the perfect angles for the subjects you shoot, as well as how to style for directional light and how items behave on set.

Just to give you an example: Sandwiches are very finicky and my stylist knows exactly when to change out the lettuce, re-heat or replace cheese that is dead, and how to prop up and shape bread so it’s not drooping. All the while, understanding timing of ingredients and the chemistry of food and how it affects everything in a build.

Food stylists know how to catch a highlight on a sliver of tomato, and how to create and control the perfect sauce drip. As a professional food photographer, you don’t have time to do all of this, so make a food stylist your new BFF. If you don’t have access to a food stylist in your area, find a chef! Many chefs understand the merit of plating, which can be very helpful when first starting out.

Prop stylists.

Prop stylists are also important to your contact list. Prop stylists are usually trained in the arts and understand color palettes, framing subjects, and how to manipulate and place objects for the camera. They can help you envision and execute whatever theme you are trying to undertake in a photo shoot and can provide context by sourcing the perfect backgrounds, surfaces and props that will complement your concepts and enhance the value of your imagery.

If you don’t have access to prop stylists, see if you can find a visual merchandiser. Maybe it’s a window dresser at a store you like, a local art student, an interior decorator, or someone you know who has a sense of taste that you admire.

2. Test yourself.

A test is a non-client piece or body of work that is for your own portfolio or creativity. Testing is a way to invent and express imagination, which will in turn, flex your brain muscles and promote strength and diversity in your work. A test can range from trying new lighting techniques to a new recipe, new story development or pushing through creative barriers.

As creatives, we often get stuck in a rut, or are bound to a client brief. Going outside our comfort zone during tests can be successful or incredibly frustrating, but it’s important because when it works, we have upped the ante and produced something new to use in our portfolios.

Even when they don’t work, tests exercise the brain to come up with new problem solving skills as we learn from our mistakes or limitations. This is good practice for problem solving on set, because trust me, it happens regularly. There have been times I’ve been on set and the client decides to make last minute changes to the creative direction. Whether it’s with lighting or props, it takes time to adjust and requires patience, confidence and the ability to take direction.

To this day, I still constantly test when I can find the time because it’s important to my growth as a professional. I develop ideas and keep a notebook of shoots that I want to do. I keep detailed pages on lighting ideas, themes, propping inspiration and food story ideas. Most all of my award-winning work was derived from my personal tests and have had a more editorial slant that came from long standing shoot ideas I wanted to work on. This work fuels the imagination and fulfills your sense of creativity.

3. Develop your voice but be versatile.

One of the things that I was taught early on was to develop my voice and photographic style. And, while this is important, you also need to adapt to changing photography trends and client demands. Don’t be so rigid or stuck in your comfort zone that you don’t have versatility in your work.

From the time I started shooting with strobes, I was working to develop my voice, but I kept examining other possibilities as well. Clients do tend to look at a body of work and categorize food photographers by a style, but what they are always looking for is versatility.

It’s not enough to take pretty pictures. Commercial clients want to know that, as a professional food photographer, you can light in various methods. Every one of my commercial clients has completely different lighting patterns and I use anywhere from two to five lights for a typical food photography shoot. Editorial work is slightly different, and you’ll have a wider creative latitude to show off your specific style and add your own flair.

One of my key strengths as a professional food photographer is that I can look at a creative brief and translate that to exactly how I will create a lighting pattern for my clients. From dark and moody to light and bright, soft to hard light, barn doors to soft boxes, umbrellas and grids — understand the tools of light and how to use them.

I have one client that has a specific look and feel, but changes the lighting and mood of every single promotion that they create based on the season. Versatility widens my potential client base, and it can do the same for yours. I can guarantee that if I didn’t have that flexibility and knowledge that I would not retain that client.

4. Create a portfolio.

When you have a cogent body of food photography to present to the world, it’s time to get your work out there. Create a website or online portfolio you can share with prospective clients.

You don’t need a custom-made website. A simple template that fits with your style and includes your branding is enough. If you already have a website for other genres of photography, you could just add a food page to your existing body of work, but it’s best to create a new website for your food-centric work. Most professional photo editors and art buyers in larger markets don’t want to see images of children or weddings, they want to know that you understand food. Period.

Curate your photos.

It’s not enough to just take pretty pictures of random food props or food items. There has to be an actual story and sequencing to your images. Don’t arbitrarily place one image next to another if it doesn’t resonate a cohesive mood. When you test, try to get two to four like-minded shots so that you can at least have two with a similar feel for sequencing purposes. Perhaps you take a shot of ingredients followed by the final recipe or plated food. Or, incorporate a lifestyle shot next to a styled food shot of that same dish. This will help define your story.

Sequencing can be a bear to take on. We all get tired of looking at our images, and it can become one big blur after a while. I highly recommend hiring a photo editor if you can afford one. They have a fresh and critical eye, and years of experience to edit your imagery and sequence them so that there is a cohesive look and feel to a particular body of work. They can help you define categories and structure your site so that the flow is compelling enough to make people want to hire you.

In larger markets, there are many professional photo editors that take consultant work. If you are in a smaller market, look to a local magazine that you like and get in touch with their photo team. If you can’t hire a photo editor, pick through a favorite food magazine or cookbook and study what makes the photos resonates with you. Look for contrast in the sequencing or whether the work is categorized by color or light type. Then go back to your imagery and see if you can sequence your pictures in a like manner.

Edit, edit, edit.

You are better off with a smaller number of pictures that are strong than a body of work that is overwhelming. Many photo editors and art buyers will stop scrolling web pages after just a few images, so don’t feel the need to start out with a multitude of images. Pare it down and only feature your strongest pictures. Make the feature photo(s) on your home page your strongest work.

5. Ask for critique.

This is one of the most essential steps that you can take to break out of food photography as a hobby and turn it into a career path. Photo editors, art directors and creative directors that attend portfolio reviews are going to be ruthless, but that is what you want. If you are not thick-skinned, this may not be the business for you.

At one of my first portfolio reviews, I thought I had a decent enough body of work and a few tear sheets that were up to par. I sat at a table in New York City with the creative director of a national food publication. He flipped through my work rather quickly, stopped and looked at one photo and said, “It’s hard to make the food look good, isn’t it?” In that moment, I wanted to crawl out of my seat… But he was right. It could have been crushing, but I took that information and went back to the drawing board.

I found a professional stylist that I could work with, and basically shot in a studio once a week (all of this, while having a full-time job). I shot for almost two years, every weekend, nonstop. You have to be committed to the long haul. Even if you think you style food pretty well, I guarantee you that a stylist can make it better, and those in the industry can tell the difference.

Seek out the right people.

Ask your friends or peers in the photography industry what they think of your work as well. They may not be professional food photographers, but they understand the technical aspect of photography, which can be immensely helpful. I don’t recommend asking family members, as they will typically give comments to please our egos rather than critique our work, and this will not be helpful.

There are many great portfolio reviews across the country, but most of them are not free. Remember, these are busy professionals at the top of their game and it is an investment that is well worth the advice you will receive. To start out, I would recommend a review from three professionals to keep it succinct and provide you with enough feedback to hone and refine your skills.

6. Get yourself out there.

Once you have developed relationships, strengthened your portfolio, and finalized your website, word of mouth is going to be your best friend. Stylists can be your biggest allies, as most stylists are freelancers and work with a range of clients. You might ask them for references in the creative or marketing departments at brands they have worked for so that you can send those individuals a promo piece or an email with a link to your work.

Use LinkedIn and Facebook to your advantage. Look for like-minded food photography groups you can join, network like crazy and connect with peers and professionals in the industry. Update your homepage with tantalizing imagery of food that you have shot.

Push new work out there! And yes, it is work, but the payoff can be worth it.

7. Book your first clients.

OK, so how do you procure actual work? When I started out, I had no clients. I constantly asked my colleagues, friends and contacts if they knew of any brands or businesses that needed food photography and I finally landed my first job when one of them had a friend with a restaurant that needed imagery for their landing page. I met with the client, we discussed their needs, they hired and we agreed upon a trade for food credit.

One of the best ways to book jobs in the beginning and build your professional food photography portfolio is by working for trade with small businesses. A large brand cannot take a chance by hiring a budding food photographer, so start small and work your way up. Approach anyone and everyone. Know a small business or restaurant in your town? Email them and tell them you are willing to do a trade. And barter for food, why not?

Once you have tear sheets to add to your website, you can start to get the necessary exposure to extend your reach of work as a professional food photographer.

8. Send out a promotional piece.

Once you feel confident that your website is edited and sequenced properly, start thinking about a promotional piece, and not the digital kind. In today’s world, many photo editors, magazines, businesses and brands are more likely to look at work that is in printed form. Whether it’s a flyer, postcard or other promotion, think of it as a way to catch attention.

We are all inundated by emails and spam on a daily basis so much that we have lost the fascination of the digital world. In addition, many email promos go to spam if the recipient does not know you. But a printed piece? It’s like getting a beautiful, handwritten card in the mail. You want to open it. Who doesn’t love a personal touch?

When creating a promotional piece for the first time, keep in mind that it has to have a theme or striking image — it’s your wow factor. You are promoting your image and trying to instill a need for imagery to that client, so make it stand out! Add a catchy title or headline, and of course, all of your contact information.

Do your research first.

I find that sending a printed promotion to editors/businesses is the best way to get their attention. One piece of advice that I cannot stress highly enough is to do your research and make sure you are a good fit for that client. Don’t just randomly send out promotions. Make fewer pieces of higher quality that really focus on the right clients. Use a nice paper stock, hire a designer if you can afford one, or use a template. Many promo printers have pre-designed templates that can do the job nicely.

Be patient.

Don’t stress if you don’t hear back immediately. Sometimes an editor or business will keep those promo pieces on hand, and though you may not get a job right away, they will keep you in mind for upcoming projects. Or, sometimes it might not be the right fit, but don’t despair. Research, research, research until you find the right clients.

At one point in my career, I was sitting on the other side of the table, and I was the one hiring food photographers. There was one photographer’s work that I really admired and respected, but I didn’t have any project for her to work on at that time. Cut to a year later, and I called her. An appropriate assignment came up and I immediately thought of her, as she was at the top of my list. It just goes to prove the point that a printed promotional piece and portfolio reviews do work.

9. Enter a contest.

Photo contests can be a great way to get exposure when you’re trying to become known as a professional food photographer. Before you enter one, read the requirements carefully, choose the right category to fit your strengths, review the other entries, select your strongest images, and then go for it!

I cannot underline enough, the importance of a strong image that stands out from every other entry. And it goes without saying, follow every requirement or it’s likely that your entry will be disqualified. Judges and juries of contests do not have time to reply to or give feedback on an entry that doesn’t meet the outlined requirements. Sometimes it just takes one exceptionally strong photo to win!

Entering food photography contests can have a profound effect on your career if you win. One contest that I won got me a very prestigious client. Another benefit is that often times judges will provide feedback, which will help you sharpen your skills, give insight into your practice, and clarify your purpose. If a contest offers this, take advantage, as it will help your growth.

If you follow these steps, you will start to see a noticeable change in your food photography business. Don’t give up, be determined and resolute, continue your practice, hone your skills, get your work out there, pursue clients, and you too can become a successful professional food photographer.

Photos by Shell Royster

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