How to get perfect pictures of your pancakes

Shrove Tuesday is just around the corner and means only one thing – pancakes! Not only are these tasty treats a delight for our tastebuds, they’re also pretty easy on the eye too.

With the day itself crepe-ing up on us, we’ve got a few tips on how to get perfect pictures of your pancakes.

Essential tips for the best food photographs

Get the right lighting: Your lighting is going to impact how tasty your food looks, so it’s really important to get it right. You should always look to use natural lighting where you can.

Choose your angles: Have a look at your food and take pictures from a variety of different angles. Try a few shots from overhead and a few from 45 degrees. Rotate your plate or bowl until you find the best angle to show off your food.

Go for minimalism: Keep the clutter in the background to a minimum. Remember that the food is the centrepiece and anything else can be distracting. A simple backdrop should do the job.

Pick the right lens: Choose your lens carefully. If you want to get up close to your food, then use a macro lens. In most cases, you aren’t going to need an ultra-wide-angle lens for food photography, but a nifty 50mm can also do a fine job.

How do I get the best photographs of my pancakes?

1) You don’t need to be chef to take great pictures of your food and it doesn’t matter if some of your pancakes aren’t quite as easy on the eye as others. Stack your pancakes from top to bottom, with the most golden brown pancake taking top spot.

2) If you’re making stacks of delicious fluffy pancakes, then these can get quite unstable the higher you stack them. Pop a toothpick in them to help keep them sturdy and honey to help stick any fruit on top.

3) To help give your pancakes a bit of volume and to make them look even fluffier, you can cut small cardboard discs and place them in between each pancake!

4) Use a neutral-coloured backdrop or tablecloth so that you can really make your pancakes the forefront of your image.

5) Create your scene! Pour out a glass of juice or a mug of coffee, pop a bowl of fruit in the background and make it as appetising as possible.

6) There’s so many tasty toppings that you can put on your pancakes! Whether that’s lemon and sugar, golden syrup or chocolate spread, we won’t tell you which one tastes best, but some toppings do look better than others. The thickness of honey means that it reflects light better than syrup and looks fantastic on camera. Why not get an action shot as you drizzle the honey over the top of your pancakes?

7) Experiment with your shutter speed and aperture to get the best shot of your pancakes. Remember that a narrow aperture will give you a very deep depth of field which will make objects in the background very sharp. Play around and experiment with your shutter speed to get a nice crisp picture of your pancakes.

You can find out more about how to turn your Instagram into foodie-heaven and tips on how to begin earning money on pictures of your plate here!