Showcasing incredibly delicious food is one of the most satisfying experiences in photography. But establishing a successful food photography business is a challenging task that requires an extensive skill set, a faultless reputation, and an impressive portfolio. If you’re wondering how to grow your photography business in the coming months and years, consider these tips when taking the next leap forward.
1. Enhance Your Personal Branding
Food photography has become one of the fastest-growing niches, which means budding photographers face plenty of competition on their path to success. The best way to engage clients and art directors is to develop compelling personal branding that leaves people with no doubt about what kind of photography you create. Whether you specialize in a specific aesthetic or an aspect of the food industry, highlight this on your website and social media to ensure you attract clients for relevant jobs.
2. Increase Productivity With Tethering
It doesn’t matter whether you’re working with a local restaurant or an ad agency, photographers must ensure their imagery closely aligns with the client’s vision. Alongside the ideal TetherPro Cable to connect your camera to your computer or mobile device, powerful tethering software means you can apply presets, preview, and save images instantly after pressing the shutter.
This makes it easy to notice and correct focus and compositional issues. Plus, you’re bound to save loads of time as shoots become increasingly efficient when you don’t have to use multiple cards to transfer, organize and name photos after each shoot.
The new Tether Tools All-In-One Portable Studio Tethering Kit comes with the gear you need to improve your food photography workflow. The kit is a mobile, modular tethering system with the ability to quickly adjust from portrait to profile, to flay lay while remaining tethered to your laptop. With the included Rock Solid Tripod Roller, and optional ONsite power, the All-In-One Portable Studio Tethering Kit becomes a mobile tethering setup you can quickly move around the studio, or break-down, transport, and setup just about anywhere.
3. Streamline Your Workflow
If you want your food photography business to grow in the future, you have to develop a highly effective workflow that ensures you deliver projects fast and with outstanding quality. Rather than getting bogged down with inefficient processes, software like Adobe Lightroom and Capture One allows you to automatically import and apply presets to images, and Tether Tools’ Smart Shooter tethering software has an Overlay Mode that allows you to overlay text or other images to your shot to nail your composition!
You can also use Photoshop’s Automate or Capture One’s Dynamic Location settings to streamline how you process and export files. This ensures you can share work immediately with clients, get tactical, and spend more time where it really matters.
4. Network Effectively
In a niche like food photography, it’s hard to imagine a career taking off without putting time and effort into networking. If you’re just starting out, there’s a good chance you’ll be working alongside local food bloggers and restaurants as you establish your reputation. Get to know these people as they may introduce you to executives at larger food chains or ad agencies that specialize in food content. Although it might seem daunting at first, dropping into the store for a casual chat, connecting on social media, or emailing local businesses about your photography services can help you climb the food chain faster.
5. Become a Better Food Stylist
If you really want to grow your food photography business, you have to be willing to learn the craft of styling. Of course, it’s important to have the technical ability to make food look delicious when operating your camera. But knowing how to style different cuisines to create certain moods will definitely make you a more appealing choice on a shoot. While higher-level shoots almost always employ separate food stylists, having the skills to do both tasks makes you especially attractive for companies working on a budget. Meanwhile, you’ll know exactly how to direct food stylists when you reach the next stage in your career.
Start Growing Your Food Photography Business Today
The food photography industry is undoubtedly competitive. But you can make sure your talent rises above the pack by focusing on your branding, improving your technical skills, and providing unmatched professionalism. Paired with the consistency, collaboration, and ingenuity of a tethering workflow, your food photography business can level up its growth.
Want to learn more about how you can enhance your food photography business? Check out our new Ultimate Food & Beverage Photography Guide. Gain expert knowledge, gear recommendations, and more!
