Food photography is a whole different thing in the photographic world. There are even food stylists, whose job is to make the food look delicious. The funny thing is, often the food is inedible after being made so perfect looking. Elmer's glue used as milk for cereal, strawberries painted with nail polish, things sprayed with water just before the shot. I don't get into it that far, but I always enjoy snapping a photo of a meal that has some feeling for me. At our house, I make pancakes almost every Sunday and it's become a family tradition. And I can never make plain old pancakes. I have to add something, usually fruit or nuts, to fancy them up. This weekend I added fresh raspberries and a sprinkle of sugar on the wet side. When I flipped them, the sugar kind of camelized on the grill, which was my intent, but I will say it made the grill a bit sticky. Then, when some concoction I've put together actually works (this isn't as often as I'd hope as I'm not the best cook), I'll put off eating it long enough to try and get a good photo. Part of the appeal is the food looks good, yes, but there is always some emotional connection. My Sunday morning pancakes. Burgers grilled at my inlaws on warm summer evenings. Love the food/family connection.
A few pointers on food photography:
1) Turn off your flash. Natural light is the most appealing and helps your food look the right color. Try placing your dish near a window so the light hitting the food is soft and diffused. Harsh sunlight is not a camera's friend. Open shade is good too.
2) Pay attention to the background. Shoot so you can't see the dirty dishes in the background.
3) If you have a macro mode on your point and shoot camera, use it. It creates a shallow depth of field that lends great atmosphere to your photo -- and throws the background out of focus, keeping the food as the main subject.
4) Shoot from low down. Everyone looks down on their plate, so shooting level with your food can give it a unique look.
