Premium Product Photography
Capturing premium, consistent, and luxurious food photography.
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Project Overview
Capturing Luxury:
Product Photos that Embody Luxury and Fine Foods
As part of the new business venture during my time at SaveCo Cash & Carry/SaveCo Tech Ltd, a big part of the project was being able to capture high quality product images that had a premium look and feel, fitting the aim of the website which is Fine Foods and premium quality goods.
This involved a large amount of research into the types of photography, lightning techniques, use of shadows and exploring different types of backgrounds that would strike elegance and give it that clean, luxury feel.
The products I was dealing with ranged from luxury high-end Wagyu steaks to your common home cuts of meat and chicken.
Alongside this, product photography of other items such as condiments and assortments were required to also fit the brands look and feel, which meant products had to be hand picked specifically to fit the brands image. Thus, making this project an exicting one when it came to managing consistency across different products.
Please note: This is a stock image for the purpose of aesthetics for this project.
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Clients Goal and Challenge
Client’s Goal
Create a visually compelling and cohesive collection of product images that showcases luxury, consistency, and premium quality. Each photograph should showcase the product with refined lighting, simple composition and meticulous attention to detail, reinforcing brand identity and elevating perceived value. The images should be versatile for use across e-commerce, social media, and marketing materials, ensuring a seamless and sophisticated visual experience.
Challenge
The biggest challenge in photographing meat, condiments, and other food products is maintaining their fresh, appetising appearance while ensuring a consistent, premium aesthetic. Meat can dry out or discolour under studio lighting, while condiments may appear messy if not carefully styled. Achieving the right lighting to highlight texture and depth without creating harsh reflections or unflattering shadows is crucial. Additionally, balancing colour accuracy while making the products look rich and indulgent requires precise styling, composition, and post-processing to create a luxurious and cohesive visual identity.
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My Process
Photography and Creative Process
1
Concept and Planning
Define the visual style and brand identity, ensuring a luxurious and premium look. Create a shot list and mood board for consistency. Prepare fresh, high-quality ingredients and set up props, backgrounds, and lighting to complement the products.
2
Preparation and Setup
Arrange food to highlight texture, colour, and depth. Use various backgrounds and placements to enhance visual appeal. Experiment with angles and compositions to achieve an elegant, high-end presentation while keeping the setup clean and polished.
3
Execution and Capture
Use controlled lighting to highlight textures without creating harsh reflections. Adjust camera settings for sharpness and accurate colour reproduction. Capture multiple angles and variations to ensure flexibility in post-production.
4
Post-Production
Retouch images to enhance details while keeping a natural, premium feel. Adjust colours, contrast, and highlights for consistency. Remove imperfections while ensuring the food looks appetising and luxurious. Export images in formats for web, print, and social.
Photography Variations
To ensure the best possible outcome, I took numerous photos from different angles, lighting setups, and compositions. The image shown here serves as a title image, representing the overall look and feel of the shoot. Additional shots provide variations in perspective, detail, and presentation, allowing for greater flexibility in selecting the perfect final image.
Studio Set-Up & Arrangement
This photography setup is designed for tabletop product photography, featuring a curved marble-textured backdrop mounted on a still life table for a seamless background. A large softbox light is positioned to the right, diffusing light evenly to minimise harsh shadows. A Canon DSLR camera is mounted on a tripod for stability and precise framing.
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Finalising
The Results
To achieve high-quality results, capturing the photos was just the first step. Extensive post-processing was essential to ensure they looked crisp, clean, and as premium as possible. This involved color grading in Lightroom to refine hues, highlights, and shadows, while Photoshop was used to perfect the details—removing dust, adjusting product packaging for consistency, and ensuring all images were aligned to the same scale and position. These meticulous edits helped create a polished and professional final look that stood out.
- Meat & Poultry Photography
Photography of meat and poultry, involving composition, lighting, cleaning, retouching in and colour grading.
- Product Photography
Focus on soft lighting and shadows with key colour corrections to ensure product stands out and looks sharp.
Closing Thoughts
Creating premium, consistent, and luxurious food photography requires a careful balance of planning, styling, lighting, and post-production. Every detail, from ingredient freshness to lighting precision, contributes to the final image’s impact. By following a structured process, you can ensure that each shot not only looks appetising but also aligns with the brand’s high-end aesthetic. With the right approach, food photography transforms into a powerful visual storytelling tool that elevates the product and captivates the audience.