How to Create a Background for Food Photography

Since I’ve been photographing while out and about the past few weeks while traveling, backgrounds have been top of mind for me. A few weeks ago, I wrote about embracing your background to create a sense of place with your photos. Today, I want to bring things back to basics with some ideas for things to use as backgrounds and how to capture them in your set. 

It’s easy to create a background for food photography and there are loads of options including things you may have around the house.

Vinyl surfaces

Let’s start with a more obvious one - vinyl surfaces. Because these are so light, they can easily be taped or tacked to a wall to create your scene. 

In the first photo, my vinyl surface is taped to the wall and the table is pushed up against the wall to meet it. In the second, same for the wall, but I have another vinyl surface on top of the table to create a new look. 

Hanging painted canvas

You can hang a painted canvas behind your set to create a textured wall. I’ve done this by draping it over a scrim or reflector arm holder in the past, but you can also use any kind of bar such as rolling hanging rack and drape it over or secure it with clamps.

The photo on the right is the start of the final photo that was used as the cover for my cookbook, Beer Bread. 

Draped linens

Sometimes you simply need to dress up a plain white or cream wall. A great way to do this is to install a closet hook at the top of your shooting wall. You can then add a standard hanger or create one with a rod and twine to drape a long linen or table runner. 

Propped up boards

I have a habit of propping up anything I can find to create the look I want for a photo. Sometimes this is a little risky because it isn’t quite as secure and could topple onto set, but for the most part, if I work quickly, I propping up boards or leaning solid surfaces against the wall works well. 

In the left photo, long boards are resting on the floor and leaning against the table. In the right photo, I have a vintage wood drying tray sitting on the table and leaning against the wall.

Curtains

I love backlight so it’s pretty natural to let curtains in a window work as my background. This is the same set, shot in two different ways. First, I draped a dark linen tablecloth over the curtain rod. When bright light hits it, it highlights the sheerness of the fabric. In the second, I used a sheer white curtain. 

Cookie sheets

If you have an old cookie sheet with a patina, it can make a dramatic background for a tight shot.

Contact paper

Prints are an acquired taste for food photos, but I love them. Taping or tacking contact paper onto a wall is a fun, affordable way to create the look of wallpaper. I leave the backing on and just tape it up, but you can also remove the backing and stick it to a foam core board to create a more stable background you can prop up. 

I hope this sparked some new ideas for backdrops!

---

UPDATES

My latest cookbook, The California Farm Table Cookbook, will publish June 18 and I cannot wait! Not only am I excited for it to be out in the world, but I have so many photos in it to teach from. I can’t wait to start sharing them with you. 

As a part of the release, events are being planned with more to come. You can learn more at the Events Calendar here on my website. The first one is in my home county where we’ll be having a launch party at Dresser Winery.

Looking even further ahead, I’ll be in Snohomish, Washington again this September to teach flower photography with Fleurs Creative. More details to come.

---

Club CreatingYOU.® has been running for several months now and I’d love for you to check it out. I’m keeping the membership at a super affordable rate on Substack with lots of helpful content to build your skills released each month. 

Tips for Spring Egg Photos

My blog posts may contain affiliate links which means I earn a small referral fee if you decide to make a purchase.

A few years ago I tried naturally dying eggs and I had such great luck with using three methods - black rice, purple cabbage, and red beets. A couple years later, I tried again, varying the length of time I let them sit in the liquid. 

The deep colors led to some fun photos so I thought I’d break down a few ideas for photographing eggs for spring. Whether you dye Easter eggs or you want to capture the beauty of all those colorful farmstead eggs, these are a few of my ideas. 

Add natural elements. 

In these first two photos, I used this piece of driftwood that I found years ago on a hike. Well, that’s not true. I didn’t find it, my husband did. And he said - you could use this in a photo. He knows me well. 

I went much darker and moodier in this third photo because this was the year I let the eggs sit in that black rice liquid for a few days to see how dark it could get. I coordinated the colors with the scarf and plate and added dried flowers and greenery. 

Find fun egg cartons. 

I bought this 6-pack egg carton at the farmers market for the carton itself. I have used it in so many photos thanks to its natural color and that its size keeps the eggs from overwhelming other subjects in the photo. 

The octagon egg carton I found on Etsy a few years ago and had to order them. There are several versions available. Some sellers have them in colors as well.

Add interest to the shot. 

The two ways I love adding more interest to egg photos are with the table I photograph them on and capturing some of the floor below. The first photo is a small white table set on top of a plank wood surface that acts as the floor. In the second, I’m using a white wood stool over vinyl surface on the floor. It’s the same vinyl surface you see in the octagon carton photo. Oh, and baskets are always fun for eggs. 

Play with the ombré.

Whether you buy eggs or you dye them, you can take advantage of their colors and arrange them in shades for the shot. These brown eggs were purchased at the farmers market. I bought a few dozen so I’d have several shades to choose from. 

You could also pick one natural dye and leave the eggs in for varying times, 4 hours, 12 hours, and 24 hours, to get light and deep shades to work with. 

Here’s that post from my old food blog with my method for naturally dying eggs if you want to try it. Let me know if you do!

---

Don’t miss my free quick course:

Creating a Moody Farmhouse Kitchen Photography Backdrop

While my photography style has changed some over the years, one thing I still love to create is a more moody farmhouse kitchen look. But what do you do if you don’t have that type of kitchen to photograph in?

I find that piecing together wood boards with a vinyl surface can create a rustic countertop look as a photography backdrop. In this video, I show you one way to create it to give you ideas for what you can create in your own space. This is a photo I included for my Farm Fresh Photos stock photography membership.