Lauren Caris Short - The Complete Guide to Food Photography: How to Light, Compose, Style, and Edit Mouth-Watering Food Photographs

I always knew I wanted to work with food somehow, but I wasnt quite sure in which capacity. I had dabbled with the idea of running a cake business, as I had a passion for baking, even setting up a small business as a teenager (and by business, I mean I made cakes for my Mums friendsgotta start that entrepreneurship early!) before interning at a bakery in London after I left school. As much as I loved baking, I realised the monotony of making cake after cake with little creative freedom wasnt for me.

Then, back in 2012 when I was just 20, Ben and I got married. This meant that finding a stable job was more of a priority, so I ended up working in a corporate job in London as a tax technician, training to get my ATT qualification while I worked. As much as I enjoyed my job and the people I worked with, it wasnt long before I became known as the office baker and spent nearly every spare minute cooking.

In 2014, our lives changed massively again when Ben was transferred to Switzerland, so we upped and moved from the suburbs of London to a new country, with a new language, a new culture, new jobs, and started all over again. I found myself in another corporate tax job, and after about a year, I knew I couldnt see myself there for the next forty years of my career. It was time for a change.

I began reading food blogs, getting sucked into the recipes, the beautiful images, and the stories, and I started to wonder if this could be the perfect blend of cooking whilst maintaining variety as a creative outlet for me, so I started my own food blog. Believe me, my photos were terrible. I only started the blog to share my food, and my only photography goal was to take photos good enough to showcase the recipe so that people might want to make it. But I quickly realised what I loved most about blogging was the photography.

I became obsessed with learning more about photography, trying new skills and constantly challenging myself to improve. It wasnt long before I decided to pursue food photography more actively, taking on some small client work and building myself a portfolio site. I was still working in my corporate job for about a year and a half whilst running my blog before I left to take my photography full time. It was a terrifying decision, but every part of me knew that this was what I was meant to do, and seven years later, I couldnt be happier I took that leap.

It wasnt an overnight success story; I dont think theres such a thing really. I didnt jump into taking great photos; my skills and style have evolved slowly over many years and continue to do so. Its one of the most exciting parts for meIll never stop learning.

A great photo isnt about the brand of camera or lens you use, its about what that photo makes the viewer feel. Great gear doesnt make a great photographer. We want our viewer to imagine the texture and flavour as they bite into something or feel swept back to a memory of baking as a child. In real life, we experience food through sight, sound, taste, smell, and textureits a complete experience. A food photograph, however, takes everything except sight away, so we must work a lot harder to convey all those other elements.