Whether it's amateur chefs or free-wheeling foodies, it seems that everyone these days is taking photos of their food and uploading them to Twitter—even before they’ve taken their first bite. While some of these photos can make you and everyone on your news feed’s mouth water, most seem to be poorly lit, unappetizing messes.
We take a look at what makes a good food photo and how you can take one with whatever camera you have on hand. A great food photographer makes the viewer want to reach into the magazine—or computer screen, or tablet—and take a bite of whatever the chef is making. For some, this means hours of prep, lighting, and styling, but for everyone else who just wants to show their friends what they managed to cook up in the office’s toaster oven, or ordered in their favorite cafe, a few simple changes to your photography technique are guaranteed to make your Twitter followers want whatever you're having.
[Lauren Crabbe is a San Francisco-based photojournalist.]