In the era of Instagram, Snapchat and every other social media sharing platform, documenting our food has now reached an apex with restaurants, chefs, bloggers, influencers, and foodies utilizing social media platforms to share their every meal.. At the International Hotel School we have a cooking and baking school in Johannesburg, that offers  Culinary Art  as a programme, which incorporates how to plate food to perfection. There is no right or wrong way to style food, but our IHS lecturers have put some really quick and easy tips together that will make every dish you create pleasing to the eye as well as the palette!

Utilize the beauty that food already has to offer.

Think about your food in terms of colour and the amazing shapes they can offer, when styled appropirately.

Lay it out.

 If you have a salad, opt to lay it out on a platter, try using an ombre effect to create a greater visual appeal. Mixed salads are easy, but if you want to be the talk of any get together, try  change it up a little.

Have some fun.

Use other sweets and treats to create fun lettering and alphabets as garnish and décor.

Opt for white, always!

Never let the colour of your food clash with your cutlery and crockery. Let your food stand alone as the focal point on a plate. Always try to use white crockery to serve food on, this also makes the food look easy on the eyes and nothing will be trying to compete for attention.

Add paper.

Serviettes and napkins add an element of professionalism as well as pretty to your photos.

Maintaining a clean environment.

Ensure that your environment is always kept neat and tidy, and that there is no stains on the table.

Style from the camera view.

When photographing the only view that matters is the view from the camera. It is best to put yourself in the position of where the camera will be situated.

Bulk up.

Food generally sinks to the bottom of a dish,  however there are a few ways to ensure that this doesn’t happen; you could add styrofoam to the bottom of a pasta bowl to bulk the dish up so it looks good in photos or you could add a ramekin or small bowl onto your plate and pile the food around it.  The other option is to use small glass stones at the bottom of your bowl in soups or noodles and vegetables.

Add movement.

A really good way to add to any photo is the illusion of movement; this could be in the form of drizzling syrup onto pancakes, sprinkiling cheese on to pasta or add utensils into dishes as though someone is eating from it.

Using garnishes.

This adds to any dish be it cilantro or any herb; it finishes off a plate and brings more colour into a dish.

We hope that these food styling tips were very useful and will make all your culinary dishes look that much more appetizing on the social media realm.  If you have any of your own tips and tricks that you would like to share with us email us on info@dev.brokenpony.club.

 (Sources: http://armywifetosuburbanlife.com/2014/08/11/9-food-styling-tips/,  http://www.graphics.com/article/food-styling-tips-and-tricks, images; http://armywifetosuburbanlife.com/2014/08/11/9-food-styling-tips/, http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3673/9309060762_852ed46bc7.jpg, http://media4.s-nbcnews.com/j/streams/2014/October/141002/2D274906912290-today-plates-14101-tease.today-inline-large.jpg, https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/8d/a4/20/8da4205c92c2a4f30b0038debde97e10.jpg, http://www.brit.co/food-photography-and-styling-tips/, http://fasttracktostockphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/shutterstock_281752481.jpg