There is a misconception that food should be lit from all areas. But actually back or side lighting helps to define to movements of smoke or other details.

Backlighting gives the food a boost and pop using shadows to define various textures and shapes. Food looks delicious. By illuminating the light from behind, many images can have a glow effect. This is something a lot of food photographers perhaps don’t use a much, but it’s well worth it to feature shadows and make the food look scrumptious. You can use either windows light or soft box, placing it behind the food either at a 45 degree angle or right behind it. The more shadows you want the more you pull the food away from the light source.

If the front side of the food is too shadowy, use a simple reflector to bounce some off that backlight into the foreground and BOOM!

Adjustments on shadows and highlights can be made in post production using Lightroom or Photoshop. We will cover more of these programs later on.