It’s December and officially totally acceptable to start listening to Christmas CDs, put up your Christmas tree, dream of snow and plan your Christmas dinner menu with a vengeance.
If you’re a food photographer like me, it’s also a great opportunity to showcase your most beautiful Christmas and seasonal holiday food photography shots either on Instagram or your food photography portfolio page or both!
Now, the question is, how can you make your Christmas, Hanukkah and other seasonal holiday food photography stand out? How can you create festive food images that will attract the right food photography clients who are eager to find a food photographer that can bring their festive menu to life!
Because it’s so important to have a portfolio that includes stellar festive food images, I’m sharing my top 5 Christmas and festive food photography tips as well as recent festive food images I created for some of my most favourite clients, right here with you on the blog today! Enjoy!
1 - USE SEASONAL FESTIVE FOLIAGE IN YOUR IMAGERY!
Any food photo can instantly look more celebratory when it includes foliage, berries, branches and leaves! I especially love working with eucalyptus, holly, pine, yew, spruce, ilex, cedar and any other evergreen seasonal foliage I can forage in the park or find at my local flower shop.
Case in point, by adding the snow berries (and candle) into this shot for Kolamba at Home, we were able to immediately and subtlety evoke that Christmas vibe. The soft light and elegant linen backdrop, the sparkle of the golden cutlery and celebratory drink completed the scene!
2 - INCLUDE A FESTIVE COLOUR SCHEME IN YOUR FOOD PHOTOS
Which colours jump to mind when you think about Christmas? Red and green, am I right? Using these two complimentary colours can really evoke that festive feeling and hence are great to incorporate into your Christmas food photography.
You can weave these colours into your work by focusing on traditional red and green Christmas foods such as cranberries, Brussel sprouts and all the green seasonal cabbages and kales. Or, for those of you who love shooting baked goods, why not use red and green icing on your Christmas cookies and muffins? Alternatively, you can include red and green into your food photography props and backdrop selection, allowing any food you shoot to look festive!
Eager to make your festive food shots extra special? Then why not consider using golds, silvers and anything that’s sparkly and bright like I did for my recent Christmas shoot for Waitrose! In addition, incorporating candles and glitter can instantly create a festive vibe be it that you’re showcasing traditional Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa foods.
Finally, the colour I often connect to the December holidays is white. Not strictly a colour, I know, but still so festive, elegant, beautiful and totally Christmassy if you ask me! Is it a colour you can use in your festive shots too?
4 - CHRISTMAS TABLE SETTINGS & FESTIVE GATHERINGS
Whether you’re photographing Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa foods, capturing a beautiful table setting as well as the coming together of friends and family at the dinner table is a must!
Personally, I love photographing large gatherings and the interaction between people and food any time of the year, but find it especially fun and rewarding to capture these precious moments within the context of the holidays.
For example, the image here was taken at a 1-2-1 food photography intensive I taught a few weeks ago; the inclusion of our hands in this festive table shot, really brought the image to life and made it look extra festive, wouldn’t you agree?
3 - DELVE DEEP INTO CHRISTMAS PRODUCT PHOTOGRAPHY
This holiday season is all about giving and hence being able to photograph food products that are perfect stocking fillers whilst giving them a festive spin is an awesome way to showcase your versatility as a food photographer!
For this Christmas image here, we used some dried fruit as well as foliage to help prospective customers envisage these goodies under the Christmas Tree! Now can you think of ways you can showcase food products and give them a beautiful festive spin?
5 - FESTIVE PHOTOGRAPHY BEYOND TRADITIONAL CHRISTMAS FOODS
Though it’s certainly true that Christmas in the UK isn’t the same without mulled wine and mince pies, the truth is, there are so many other foods we can enjoy this festive season! More importantly perhaps, there are heaps of restaurants and food businesses that don’t sell either one of these food items, yet still need an ace photographer to capture their festive menus with flair.
Now the question is, how can you help prospective food businesses envisage their foods styled and photographed by you this holiday season? I say, why not do something a little different, something that will set you apart from the crowd. Why not photograph other foods not normally associated with Christmas that still require a festive twist?
With that in mind, I wanted to share some delicious foods I photographed for Ottolenghi at Home the other week, including Middle Eastern dishes and Mediterranean sweets, no Christmas pie in sight ;)!
BEFORE YOU GO….
Found this post helpful? Why not download my FREE restaurant photography PDF which includes my top restaurant photography tips as well as a checklist to make your food photography shoot at any cafe or restaurant a total success! You can download the PDF by signing up to the newsletter community below.
If you’re ready to up level your food photography, you may also want to check out my food photography e-courses and mentoring program for food photographers. I’d love to hear from you and am always happy to answer any questions you might have about the mentorship program!
food photography, food styling, food blogging, Creative business, creativity
K J Espinel
