Planning and styling food for photography

Professional food photographer Joanie Simon takes the guesswork out of creating irresistible food photos. Learn how to plan for your food photography shoot—from prep to styling to lighting. She’ll teach you how to light your food with a variety of sources, and how to fine-tune that lighting for optimal control in creating or adjusting the mood. Joanie covers a lot of ground—from lens choices to set-up to technique—so you can best showcase your culinary artistry.

Total video length: 44 minutes.

Joanie Simon photo of tacos on a plate

Creating dynamic images of food

Take your food photography to the next level with tips and tricks on how to style your dishes for the camera, from the ingredients, cutlery, and glassware choices to the final dish itself. In this video, you’ll learn how to use composition to create dynamic imagery and how subtle changes in placement can change how the viewer perceives your photographs. You’ll also learn how to add movement and action for impactful photographs. 

Photo of Joanie Simon

Learn from the best

Joanie Simon is a professional commercial and editorial food photographer who has had a lifelong obsession with all things culinary. She teaches food photography to others through her online platform, The Bite Shot. She has recently published the book Picture Perfect Food. Joanie specializes in making food look beautiful, as her website notes: If you can dream it, we can prep, cook and style it. Learn more about Joanie at her website, https://joaniesimon.com. 

Nikon School Online logo on top of image of chocolate on a tablet, on a table next to a cup of coffee

Watch. Learn. Excel.

Take your photography to the next level with clear, easy-to-follow instructional online video classes from Nikon School Online. Learn exciting new techniques through hands-on demonstrations from renowned photographers. Watch anytime, anywhere on your computer, tablet or smartphone. Nikon School has been educating and inspiring photographers for over 30 years—now we’re proudly bringing the classroom to you with Nikon School Online.

Collage of images of food, taken by Joanie Simon

LCD, Video and Photo Gallery images are for illustrative purposes only.