Top 5 food photography tips from finding angles to loose change

Good Food's food photographer William Meppem shares his top five tips.

1. Choose the best angle for the shot based on the dish. High dishes can be shot from a lower angle to show off the height, and lower dishes can be shot from a higher angle or over-the-top so they fill more of the frame.
2. A large, soft single light source is best. Daylight is fantastic. Our studio faces south, which is perfect because the light is soft and even all day.
3. Keep darker elements of the dish closer to the light, and have lighter elements in shadow for a more even shot.
4. Gloss the dish just before shooting to bring out the highlights. This can be done with a spray of water or a brush of sauce.
5. Keep coins on hand to adjust perspective. You may have noticed when looking through your camera or phone that objects on the edge of your frame tend to lean outwards, especially tall things like glasses. The wider your lens – and especially with phones – the more distortion you get. If you wedge coins underneath the base of the "tilting" objects, you can tip them back into frame and they'll look straight. It gives you a more professional image.

William Meppem photographs the dishes from Good Food's new TV show, Good Food Kitchen, screening on Channel 9 at 1pm Saturdays, or catch up on 9Now.