Tips on taking photos of your dishes

While it isn’t obligatory to include photos of your dish with your recipe application, it does help the judges to really understand your dish and its presentation. Here are some tips for taking a good picture, even with your phone!

• Place your dish on a plain background, such as a white table cloth or tabletop.
• Try and use natural light if you can, as this sets off the dish and its components best – so in daytime by a window. Avoid taking a picture of your dish where the light is very artificial, such as on the pass, where the light has a very yellow/orange glow.
• Be aware that artificial light or very bright sunlight can also cast unhelpful shadows, so try and take the picture in more ‘ambient’ light where it is gently filling the space.
• Remove anything from shot that is distracting or unsightly – a cleaning cloth is not very appetising!
• As you are permitted to include two photos, these could be: one from directly above, one that shows a side view (as if you were a diner looking at it on the table); alternatively you could show one photo without the sauce on the dish, and one without.  It is up to you to decide how best to present your dish – but make the judges hungry!
• Remember the recipe is the most important part; sometimes even the recipes with the best photos don’t get through the blind judging; similarly, some of those with excellent recipes but less impressive pictures go through.

Pictured: Jonathan Ferguson’s photos from his application in 2022. Main photo: Humphrey Muleba / Unsplash.