Gone are the days when food photography was only the realm of expert photographers, professional cooks, and major brands. These days, smartphones with high-resolution cameras and tons of features have put pro-level food photography within reach of just about anybody.
Snapping eye-catching pics of food is a popular pastime, if the countless Instagram posts, Pinterest pins, TikTok vids, and YouTube guides are any indication. Celebrating exotic, visually interesting, and fresh ingredients is a major trend, and considering how nutritious they are, that’s a good thing. Check out these incredibly photographic “superfoods.”
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Probiotic Ingredients
Probiotics are trending, but it’s not just because of their incredible support for a healthy gut, digestive system, immune system, and heart. Among lovers of food photography, these foods are popular because of how versatile and attention-grabbing they are. Depending on the focus, probiotics can be a pastel backdrop or a vibrant accent for any image.
The pure white backdrop of creamy Greek yogurt is hard for the eye to resist. Colorful berries have wonderful antioxidants, and they stand out in a big way from the yogurt.
Other trendy ingredients (both in terms of gut-friendly probiotic supplement options and food photography) include kombucha, kefir, and miso soup. In photography, the fermented tea’s orange tones and curiously floating “mother” provides a color palette that is impossible to ignore.
Ube Yam Ice Cream
Instagram users love the appearance of this purple plant-based ice cream. While some people make it with high-fat ingredients, such as sweetened condensed milk and heavy cream, the ube yam itself has good nutrients, including potassium, vitamin C and anthocyanin antioxidants. For photography, who can resist the look of purple ice cream from the Philippines?
Depending on how much ube powder gets added to the ice cream, the shade of purple varies. With more milk, it’s possible to obtain lavender-colored hues that are bright and airy. With more ube powder, the ice cream can take on a deep purple that looks extremely tropical. Of course, ube powder can add flavor, nutrients and style to other gastronomical creations, too.
For a similar color profile in an even healthier package, check out acai berries. When added to smoothies or made into a paste, acai also has a purple hue, though it’s more on the red side of the color scale.
Star Fruit
Also known as carambolas, star fruit is an exotic fruit with a refreshingly sweet and sour flavor. It’s like mixing a green apple with a grape. Start fruit is especially popular in tropical locations such as South America, India, the Philippines and Malaysia.
As far as health is concerned, this fruit has gained popularity because it’s rich in vitamins and low in calories at the same time. There are many antioxidants and minerals in this tangy, tropical fruit.
From a photographer’s perspective, star fruit is at its best when cut horizontally. This produces slices of fruit with a distinctive five-pointed appearance, the “star” that gives carambolas their name. Adorning appetizers, salads and desserts for the camera is easy with these curving stars to play around with.
Dragon Fruit
There are several varieties of pitaya, or dragon fruit. Some are yellow on the outside, with a sweet flavor like pear mixed with melon. The tiny seeds are safe to eat, and they give pitaya a texture similar to a kiwi. The type of dragon fruit that generally shows up in food photos is a red variety, however.
On the outside, dragon fruit has a firm, scaly and flexible rind that isn’t edible — but it’s visually striking. The inside flesh is white with tiny black seeds. This color combination of deep pink/red with white and black is classic in any type of photography, from fashion to interior decorating. As far as health benefits go, dragon fruit is just as shocking as its appearance. According to WebMD, pitaya has plenty of fiber, antioxidants, iron, vitamin C and prebiotics for feeding your good bacteria.
