The document provides 9 rules for taking good food photos for Instagram. The rules include looking for shapes and patterns in the food arrangement; getting close to the subject to capture details; focusing on a single part of the photo; using natural lighting and avoiding filters that make the photo look unnatural; framing the shot using the rule of thirds; and choosing filters specifically for food like Amaro or Sierra. Following these rules will help take better food photos for Instagram.

1. Orange presents
HOW TO:
not take crappy food photos
ON
Instagram

2. Look for shapes and patterns. RULE#1
Lines and
circles of things
look
good.
Round
things
on
square
plates
look
good
—
and
vice-­‐versa.
If
you
manage
to
find
food
arranged
in
the
shape
of
a
smiley
face,
you
have
mastered
everything
you
need
to
know
about
photography
and
have
no
need
to
read
@ps
2-­‐9,
you
prodigy
you.

3. Look for shapes and patterns. RULE#1

4. Get all up on
your food’s business. RULE#2
What
does
this
mean?
Food
doesn’t
have
a
personal
bubble,
so
don’t
be
afraid
to
invade
its
space.
The
iPhone’s
@ny
camera
packs
a
whopping
punch,
which
lets
you
get
uncomfortably
close
to
your
subject
and
capture
every
nook,
cranny,
pore,
and
blemish.
This
feature
is
the
potent
force
behind
untagged
Facebook
pics.
Luckily,
food
has
no
shame .

5. Get all up on
your food’s business. RULE#2

6. And focus on focus. RULE#3
Add
onto
Rule
#2:
here’s
a
quick
lesson
on
the
power
of
depth of field .
Put
your
food
in
the
limelight
by
bringing
the
subject
close
to
your
lens
and
locking
the
focus
on
your
phone’s
screen.*
You’ll
wind
up
with
a
sharp,
clean
foreground
and
a
delighPully
blurry
background.
*To
lock
the
focus
on
the
iPhone,
tap
the
part
of
the
screen
you’d
like
to
focus
on
before
taking
the
picture.
A
blue
square
should
appear.
Hold
the
square
un@l
“AE/AF
Lock”
appears
at
the
boVom,
then
snap
away.

7. And focus on focus. RULE#3

8. And don’t use fake blur. RULE#4
See
Rule
#3
to
wind
up
with
a
quality
photo
that
looks
less
like
a
hazy
senior
portrait.

9. And don’t use fake blur. RULE#4
Nope.

10. Opt out of the frames. RULE#5
Instagram
takes
an
electronic
dump
on
the
iPhone’s
8
MP
camera
and
“all-­‐new
op@cs”
with
a
wide
array
of
goofy frames (Yes,
I’m
referring
to
you,
“Nashville”).
The
“I-­‐just-­‐developed-­‐this-­‐roll-­‐of-­‐film”
retro
borders,
rounded
edges,
and
vigneVes
aren’t
cool
and
vintage
as
much
as
tacky
and
distrac@ng.

11. Opt out of the frames. RULE#5
No. Yes.

12. Bump up the contrast. RULE#6
Preteens
who
got
a
hold
of
new-­‐fangled
social
media
years
ago
have
this
rule
of
thumb
down
to
an
art.
Almost
everything
looks
beVer
when
dark
colors
are
darker
and
light
colors
are
lighter .
When
choosing
a
filter,
tap
the
sun
icon
on
the
boVom
le_
of
the
screen
and
see
if
that
helps.
That
way,
if
you
had
a
random
case
of
the
shakes
while
snapping
a
pic,
a
liVle
contrast
can
take
the
blur
away.
Slap
on
a
filter,
and
hooray!
You
cheated
yourself
out
of
a
terrible
photo.

13. Bump up the contrast. RULE#6

14. Let there be natural light. RULE#7
Please,
for
the
love
of
all
things
edible,
do
not
turn
your
flash
on.
Nothing
is
nas@er
than
greasy
food
appearing
even
shinier
in
a
glaring
spotlight.
(This
applies
to
point-­‐and-­‐shoot
cameras,
too.
Nine
@mes
out
of
10,
your
food
does
not
need
automa@c
red-­‐eye
reduc@on.)
Sunlight
through
a
window
and/or
a
restaurant’s
overhead
ligh@ng
is
plenty
of
brightness.

15. Let there be natural light. RULE#7

16. Choose your filter wisely. RULE#8
Whatever
you
do,
steer
very,
very
clear
of
Kelvin.
Instead,
test
out
one
of
the
following
food-­‐friendly
filters:
Amaro,
Hudson,
X-­‐pro
II,
Sierra,
Hefe,
Valencia
And
unless
you’re
shoo@ng
a
wedding,
there’s
no
need
to
turn
food
black
and
white.

17. Choose your filter wisely. RULE#8
X-pro II Hudson

18. Think inside the box. RULE#9
Instagram
crops
all
photos
into
squares,
so
framing
your
shot
rule of thirds
well
is
vital.
The
trick
is
to
use
the
,
and
lucky
for
you
(and
your
followers),
Instagram
provides
you
with
a
built-­‐in
a
rule-­‐of-­‐thirds
grid
when
deciding
on
composi@on.
All
you’ve
got
to
do
is
align
your
subject
with
the
crosshairs.

19. Think inside the box. RULE#9