Photography Resources - Amy's Healthy Baking

After trustworthy recipes, your photography is the most important aspect of your food blog. It captures people’s attention and draws them in. You don’t need to break the bank to take good photos, but owning a few basic pieces of equipment and software will make a huge difference!

Photography Equipment

DSLR Camera. A digital SLR (or DSLR!) makes a huge difference in the quality of your photographs. Starting in December 2010, I used a Canon EOS 60D. I switched to a Canon EOS 70D in December 2015, and I love it even better than my previous camera. For my videos, I use my Canon EOS 70D and my Canon EOS 80D as well. They’re all incredibly dependable and still some of the top-rated models on the market. I can’t recommend them enough!!
Lenses. I highly recommend a 50mm lens. I used this one from 2014 through November 2021. Then I upgraded to this 50mm lens. I love 50mm lenses because they’re perfect for food photography, especially since your subjects don’t move as much as squirming kids!
Macro Filters. Instead of spending thousands of dollars on a macro lens, I bought these filters on sale for about $15. (They fit my original 50mm lens!) Between my original 50mm lens and these attachments, I spent about $145, but they produce images that look as if they were shot with a $2000 macro lens. Best investment I’ve ever made in my photography!
Diffuser. Unless you have gorgeous white sheer curtains, an inexpensive diffuser works wonders. It filters the harshest beams of sunlight, which reduces the shadows and glare in your photos. This is the one I own.
Reflectors. I recommend foam boards and tin foil. They’re inexpensive and get the job done. No one needs to know if you prop them up with cereal boxes (like yours truly!).
Tripod and Remote. It takes a while to get the hang of them, but these two things enable you to still shoot on overcast days. When you’re not a slave to the sunshine, it makes life a whole lot easier! I use this tripod, this tripod head (because my camera doesn’t attach directly to the tripod!), and this remote. I love how this remote doesn’t need to be pointing directly at the camera to work, unlike many other camera remotes, and I actually bought two of both the tripods and tripod heads (so I could film multiple angles for my recipe videos!). I highly recommend all three of these!
Artificial Lights. Natural light is amazing and the gold standard many food bloggers swear by, but… Not every window has a good amount (or good quality!) of natural light. Although I started by exclusively using natural light, I switched to this small tabletop artificial light from 2014-2018 when my apartments and houses had zero good natural light. I went back to natural light for about a year from 2018-2019, but when I realized using artificial lights gave me a LOT more flexibility in my schedule (aka it’s impossible to shoot at 5 pm during the winter months and use natural light!), I began using these larger and much brighter artificial lights instead. Now I can’t imagine photographing without them… They’re INCREDIBLE and worth every penny!
White Balance Filter. Nobody wants to eat chocolate chip cookies that look weirdly blue or brownies that look strangely green… So I set a custom white balance before every photo shoot using this handy filter!

Photography Props

Wooden Background Boards. I also call these my “faux tabletops.” You can buy vinyl that’s printed to look like wood, but nothing beats real wood. There are quite a few tutorials on how to make your own (here, here, here, here, and more…), or you can purchase them online too. My dad and I actually made the one you see in many of my earlier photos (here, here, here, and here!) using laminate wood flooring from Home Depot that snaps together. So easy!
White Marble Backdrop. In the spring of 2018, I switched to using a white marble backdrop. I bought it here (so inexpensive and affordable!), and I absolutely love the way it looks. I’m obsessed with that light, bright, and airy feeling it gives my photos!
Small White Plates and Dishes. Yes, small. Yes, white. It’s easier to fill up a smaller plate and zoom in to capture the details of the dish. White is always classy and elegant, and it won’t distract from the food like colored dishware. If you have the space and budget to buy more, colored pieces (especially pastels) make a great addition to your prop cabinet, but stick with whites to start. You can’t go wrong with them!
Linens. Napkins, fabric samples, whatever you can find! Don’t spend a fortune, but they add a fun textural and colorful element to liven up your shots.
Non-reflective silverware. I love my slightly tarnished forks and spoons (as well as my wooden ones!), and although they’re difficult to find in regular stores, antique shops and thrift stores often carry pieces that have lost their shine. They generally charge less, and it means you don’t have to worry about glare in your photos. Win-win!
Paper Straws. These are a fun way to bring more color to your shots! I never actually drink through them, only photograph with them.
Food, Drinks, and Baking Ingredients. I love using these in the background of my photos! Anything from coffee and milk to oats and cornmeal to nuts and chocolate chips… And everything in between. I’ll also use measuring cups, measuring spoons, and cookie cutters in my shots too!
Sprinkles. These deserve their own category! With so many different colors, shapes, holiday themes, and more, there will always be a jar that fits the occasion for your photos. Like linens, they add a textural and colorful element without being overly distracting.

Editing Software

Lightroom. Lightroom is the program that the majority of food bloggers use to edit photos. It’s not as expensive as Photoshop, and it has all of the tools you need to enhance your shots. I switched to using Lightroom to edit all of my photos in September 2015, and I truly can’t imagine using anything else. It makes photo edits so fast and easy!
GIMP. GIMP is practically like a free version of Photoshop. I used it for a few years, until I switched to Lightroom, and it made all of my photos look professional.
PicMonkey. Many bloggers turn to PicMonkey for collages and text overlays. It’s easier than downloading lots of fonts to your desktop!

Photography Books

The Basics of Food Photography: Compositional Elements. This is my eBook, and it’s geared toward beginning photographers. Each chapter explains one of the eight easy practices commonly used to compose great photographs, whether you use a point-and-shoot camera or a DSLR. Within just minutes, you’ll see a big difference in the quality of your photos! You can find more information about it here!
Tasty Food Photography. This eBook by Lindsay (from Pinch of Yum) completely changed my photography. It gave me the confidence to start shooting completely in manual with my DSLR, which drastically improved the quality and clarity of my photographs. You can find more information and purchase it here, and I definitely think it’s worth every single penny!
Food Photography: From Snapshots to Great Shots. This book is a wonderful resource to have. It covers every aspect from composition to lighting to editing, and it’s a great starting point for beginners and casual food photographers alike. I bought it here!