Food Photography

The Foundation: Essential Gear and Setup

While a delicious dish is the star of the show, the right equipment is the stage that allows it to shine. Getting your gear and setup right from the start removes technical barriers and frees you up to focus on creativity. But don’t worry—you don’t need a studio full of expensive equipment to begin. A solid foundation can be built with just a few key pieces.

Choosing Your Camera

The camera is the heart of your setup, but the “best” one is the one that fits your needs and budget. Today, you have incredible options ranging from professional-grade systems to the powerful camera in your pocket.

DSLR and Mirrorless Cameras

For those serious about food photography, a DSLR or a more modern mirrorless camera is the standard. Their primary advantages lie in manual control and image quality. The ability to change lenses, manually adjust settings like aperture and shutter speed, and capture high-resolution RAW files gives you ultimate creative freedom. Mirrorless cameras are often lighter and more compact than DSLRs and offer the benefit of a real-time electronic viewfinder, showing you exactly how your final image will look before you press the shutter.

The Power of Your Smartphone

Never underestimate the camera you always have with you. Modern smartphones are equipped with surprisingly sophisticated cameras capable of producing stunning food photos. The key is to move beyond the basic point-and-shoot mode.

• Use Gridlines: Turn on your phone’s gridlines to help you with composition, especially for applying the rule of thirds.
• Tap to Focus: Don’t let the camera decide what’s important. Tap on the specific part of the dish you want to be the sharpest.
• Adjust Exposure Manually: After tapping to focus, most phones allow you to slide your finger up or down to brighten or darken the image before you take the shot. This is a game-changer for getting the light just right.
• Avoid Digital Zoom: Pinching to zoom will degrade your image quality. Instead, move your phone closer to the subject.

Selecting the Right Lens

Many photographers will tell you that the lens is even more important than the camera body. The lens is your eye, determining the perspective, focus, and overall feel of your image.

The “Nifty Fifty” (50mm Prime Lens)

If you only buy one lens for your DSLR or mirrorless camera, make it a 50mm prime lens. Affectionately known as the “nifty fifty,” it’s a favorite among food photographers for several reasons. Its focal length closely mimics the human eye, creating a natural and relatable perspective. Furthermore, these lenses typically have a very wide maximum aperture (like f/1.8), which is perfect for creating that beautifully soft, blurry background (bokeh) that makes your subject pop.

Macro Lenses

When you want to get up close and personal, a macro lens is your best tool. These lenses are designed for extreme close-up photography, allowing you to capture the glistening texture of a sauce, the delicate crystals of sugar on a pastry, or the tiny seeds of a raspberry. They reveal a world of detail that standard lenses simply cannot see.

Zoom Lenses

A zoom lens offers the convenience of multiple focal lengths in one package. This versatility can be useful in a tight space where you can’t physically move back and forth. A 24-70mm lens, for example, allows you to go from a wider scene-setting shot to a tighter detail shot with a simple twist. While incredibly convenient, they are often heavier and more expensive than prime lenses, and may not offer the same wide apertures as a “nifty fifty.”

Stability is Key

Why a Tripod is Non-Negotiable

A tripod might seem like a cumbersome accessory, but it is one of the most critical tools for creating sharp, professional-looking food photos. It eliminates camera shake, which is essential when working with natural light that may not be perfectly bright. A tripod allows you to use a slower shutter speed to let more light into the camera without creating a blurry mess. It also locks your composition in place, freeing up your hands to style the food, adjust props, and manipulate light with reflectors.

Choosing a Tripod

When selecting a tripod, look for one that is sturdy enough to hold your camera without wobbling. Key features to consider include:

• A Solid Head: A ball head is often preferred for its flexibility and ease of making small adjustments to your angle.
• Sturdy Legs: Look for strong leg locks that are easy to use and will hold their position securely.
• An Overhead Arm: For those popular flat lay or top-down shots, a tripod with a center column that can be re-positioned horizontally is invaluable. This allows you to position your camera directly over the scene without getting the tripod legs in the shot.

Building Your Scene

The food is your hero, but the scene you build around it tells the rest of the story. Backgrounds and props provide context, mood, and texture that transform a simple snapshot into a compelling image.

Backgrounds and Surfaces

The surface your dish sits on sets the entire tone. You can find fantastic backgrounds everywhere. Think about rustic wooden tables, clean marble countertops, or textured linen tablecloths. You don’t need to spend a fortune; DIY options are highly effective. A simple trip to a hardware store can yield a piece of plywood you can paint or stain, and vinyl backdrops with printed textures are an affordable and easy-to-store option.

Essential Props

Props should support the story, not steal the spotlight. Think about items that naturally belong with the dish: vintage cutlery, simple ceramic bowls, rustic napkins, or elegant glassware. The most important advice is to start simple and collect props over time. There’s no need to buy everything at once. Begin by using what you already have in your kitchen. A simple white plate, a linen napkin, and a single fork are often all you need. As you develop your style, you can slowly curate a collection from thrift stores, antique shops, and artisan markets that reflects your unique aesthetic.

Mastering Light: The Most Important Ingredient

You can have the most expensive camera and the most beautiful props, but without good light, your photos will fall flat. Light is the single most crucial element in food photography. It shapes your subject, defines texture, sets the mood, and transforms a simple dish into a work of art. Understanding how to find, control, and manipulate light is the key to creating truly mouth-watering images.

Natural vs. Artificial Light

The first decision you’ll make is your light source. Both natural and artificial light can produce stunning results, but they have different characteristics and workflows.

The Beauty of Natural Light

For many food photographers, especially those starting out, natural light is the gold standard. It’s free, abundant, and has a soft, beautiful quality that is incredibly flattering for food. The best light is typically soft, indirect daylight. To find it:

• Look for the largest window in your home that doesn’t receive direct, harsh sunlight. North-facing windows often provide soft, consistent light throughout the day.
• If you only have windows with direct sun, shoot during the “golden hours” (early morning or late afternoon) when the light is softer, or hang a thin white curtain to act as a natural diffuser.
• Turn off all the other lights in the room. Mixing daylight with the yellow or blue tones of household lamps can create a confusing and unappealing color cast in your photos.

Introduction to Artificial Light

Artificial light gives you complete control, allowing you to shoot at any time of day, in any location, with perfect consistency. While it involves a steeper learning curve and an investment in gear, it’s a powerful tool for professional work. The two main types are:

• Strobes (or Flashes): These produce a powerful, instantaneous burst of light. They freeze motion beautifully and allow you to use lower ISOs and smaller apertures for maximum sharpness. This is similar to techniques used in high-speed photography.
• Continuous Lights: These lights, often LEDs, stay on constantly. The major advantage is that you can see exactly how the light and shadows fall on your scene in real-time, making it easier to adjust your setup.

Understanding Light Direction

Where you place your light source in relation to your food dramatically changes the look and feel of the final image. The direction of light is what creates shadows, and shadows are what create depth, texture, and mood.

Sidelighting: Creating Depth and Texture

Sidelighting is the most popular and versatile setup in food photography for a reason. By placing your light source to the side of your dish (at roughly 9 o’clock or 3 o’clock), you create soft shadows that gracefully trace the contours of the food. This technique beautifully highlights the texture of a flaky croissant, the crumb of a cake, or the glistening surface of a sauce, making the food look three-dimensional and enticing.

Backlighting: For a Dramatic, Airy Mood

Placing your main light source behind your subject creates a beautiful, bright rim of light around the edges of the food. This technique is excellent for creating a dramatic, airy, or ethereal mood. It works especially well for drinks (illuminating the liquid), salads with fresh greens, and subjects with interesting silhouettes like a steaming bowl of soup. Be careful to bounce some light back onto the front of the dish with a reflector to avoid it becoming a dark silhouette.

Why to Avoid Front Lighting and On-Camera Flash

Just as important as knowing which direction to use is knowing which to avoid. Front lighting, where the light source is directly behind the photographer, should be avoided at all costs. It shines directly onto the face of your subject, eliminating all the shadows that create shape and texture. The result is a flat, one-dimensional, and uninteresting image that lacks appetite appeal.

Even worse is using your camera’s built-in, on-camera flash. This produces a harsh, direct blast of light that creates unflattering specular highlights (bright, greasy-looking spots), deep, dark shadows, and a cheap “snapshot” aesthetic. It’s the fastest way to make delicious food look unappetizing.

Shaping and Controlling Light

You don’t just find good light; you make it. Once you have your light source, you can use simple tools to modify it, softening it or redirecting it to get the perfect look.

Using a Diffuser: How to Soften Harsh Sunlight

If your light source is too harsh—creating strong, dark shadows and bright hotspots—you need to diffuse it. A diffuser is any piece of translucent material placed between the light and your subject. It scatters the light rays, making the light source effectively larger and much softer. You can buy a professional 5-in-1 diffuser/reflector, but a thin white sheet, a sheer curtain, or even a piece of parchment paper taped to a window works wonderfully.

Using a Reflector (or White Foam Board): How to Bounce Light and Fill in Shadows

When you light your scene from one side, the opposite side will be in shadow. Sometimes these shadows are too dark, obscuring important details. A reflector is used to bounce light back into these shadowy areas, brightening them up and revealing texture. The most effective and affordable reflector is a simple piece of white foam board from a craft store. Place it opposite your light source and angle it until you see the shadows on your dish soften and fill with gentle light.

The Art of Composition: Arranging Your Scene

Once your gear is set and your light is perfect, the next step is arranging the elements within your frame. Composition is the visual grammar of your photograph; it’s how you guide the viewer’s eye and tell a story about your dish. While there are established “rules,” think of them as reliable guidelines designed to help you create balanced, engaging, and aesthetically pleasing images.

Fundamental Composition Rules

These classic principles are the bedrock of strong photography. Mastering them will instantly elevate your food photos from simple snapshots to thoughtful compositions.

The Rule of Thirds

Imagine your frame is divided into a 3×3 grid by two horizontal and two vertical lines. The Rule of Thirds suggests placing your main subject—or key elements of it—not in the dead center, but along these lines or at their four intersection points. This simple shift creates a more dynamic and visually interesting image, encouraging the viewer’s eye to move around the frame rather than just settling in the middle.

Negative Space

Negative space is the “empty” area around your main subject. It’s not wasted space; it’s breathing room. A common mistake is to fill the frame with too many props and details, which can make the scene feel cluttered and overwhelming. By intentionally leaving areas of the background clear, you give your hero dish prominence and create a more serene, focused composition.

The Rule of Odds

There’s a fascinating quirk in our visual perception: our brains find arrangements of odd-numbered items more appealing and natural than even-numbered ones. When styling a scene, try grouping elements like cookies, berries, or small bowls in sets of three or five. An arrangement of three cupcakes often looks more dynamic and less staged than an arrangement of two or four.

Creating a Visual Flow

A great photograph doesn’t just present a subject; it leads the viewer on a journey through the image. You can intentionally place elements to direct attention and create a sense of movement.

Leading Lines

Use elements within your scene to create lines that point toward your main subject. A strategically placed fork, the fold of a napkin, a sprinkle of herbs, or even the handle of a mug can act as a visual pathway. These lines subtly guide the viewer’s gaze directly to the most important part of your photo—the food.

Creating Depth with Layering

Food photos feel more immersive and three-dimensional when they have a sense of depth. You can achieve this by layering. Place a linen napkin under a plate, which sits on a wooden cutting board. Add a small glass in the foreground (slightly out of focus) and a small jar of spices in the background. This stacking of elements from front to back pulls the viewer into the scene and makes it feel more tangible and real.

Choosing Your Angle

The angle from which you shoot dramatically alters the mood, story, and focus of your photograph. There is no single “best” angle; the right choice depends entirely on the food you are shooting.

The Overhead or Flat Lay (90-Degree Angle)

Shot directly from above, the flat lay is perfect for showcasing graphic patterns and multiple components on a flat surface. Think of a colorful pizza, a beautifully arranged charcuterie board, or a bowl of soup where the garnishes are the star. This angle removes depth in favor of a clean, organized, and illustrative style.

The 45-Degree Angle

This is perhaps the most common and intuitive angle in food photography because it mimics how we naturally view a plate of food when sitting at a table. It’s incredibly versatile and works for a wide variety of dishes, from a slice of pie to a plate of pasta. This angle shows both the top surface and the side of the food, giving a good sense of its shape and dimension.

The Straight-On (0-Degree Angle)

When your subject has height, the straight-on angle is your best friend. This eye-level perspective is ideal for capturing the impressive layers of a burger, the fluffy height of a pancake stack, or the elegant silhouette of a cocktail in a tall glass. It emphasizes structure and makes the subject feel prominent and heroic.

Food Styling: Making Your Dish Camera-Ready

Food styling is the bridge between a delicious meal and a mouth-watering photograph. It’s the art of arranging food to look its absolute best for the camera. This isn’t about deception; it’s about presentation. A great stylist understands how ingredients, textures, and colors interact with light and composition to tell a compelling story and evoke a feeling of hunger and desire.

Preparation is Everything

Long before you plate your dish, the styling process has already begun. The choices you make during preparation have a profound impact on the final image, turning a good shot into a spectacular one.

• The Importance of Fresh Ingredients: Your camera will capture every detail, so start with the best components possible. Look for produce with vibrant colors, unblemished skins, and crisp textures. Fresh herbs should be perky, not wilted. The vitality of fresh ingredients translates directly into a more appealing and lively photograph.
• The Concept of a “Hero” Dish: When cooking, prepare more than one plate. You can then scan your options and select the single best-looking version—the “hero”—for the photoshoot. This might be the piece of salmon with the most beautiful grill marks, the salad with the most balanced distribution of ingredients, or the cookie with the perfect cracks on top.
• Under-cooking for the Camera: A professional food styling secret is to slightly under-cook your food. Vegetables retain a brighter, more vibrant color when blanched instead of fully cooked. Meats often look juicier and plumper if they aren’t cooked all the way through. The goal is to capture the food at its visual peak, which often happens just before it’s perfectly ready to eat.

Plating and Garnishing

How you arrange the food on the plate is central to your composition. It directs the viewer’s eye and highlights the most delicious aspects of the dish. Think of the plate as your canvas.

• Plating Techniques: Don’t just place food on the plate; arrange it with intention. Create height by stacking elements, like a tower of pancakes or a carefully piled pasta. Generate a sense of movement with a graceful swirl of sauce or a cascade of ingredients. Use negative space on the plate to ensure your main subject has a clear focal point and doesn’t look cluttered.
• The Perfect Garnish: A garnish is the final touch that can elevate a dish from simple to sophisticated. It should complement the food, not overpower it. A sprinkle of flaky sea salt, a few fresh cilantro leaves, a zest of lemon, or a drizzle of olive oil can add a final layer of texture, color, and visual interest.
• Creating the “Perfectly Imperfect” Look: A sterile, perfect scene can sometimes feel uninviting. To make your image feel more authentic and lived-in, embrace a touch of messiness. A few artfully placed crumbs next to a slice of cake, a deliberate drip of syrup down the side of a glass, or a smudge of chocolate on the plate can make the scene feel more natural and relatable.

Storytelling with Props

Props and styling elements help build a narrative around your dish. They provide context, create a mood, and help the viewer imagine themselves enjoying the meal.

• Choosing Props that Complement the Food: Your props should support the hero dish, not compete with it. A rustic, homemade soup might be paired with a weathered wooden spoon and a linen napkin. A delicate pastry could be set on a vintage porcelain plate with a silver fork. The goal is harmony between the food and its surroundings.
• Creating a Mood: The style of your props, combined with your lighting, sets the emotional tone. For a dark and moody scene, you might use dark ceramics, antique cutlery, and rich, textured linens. For a light and airy feel, opt for white plates, simple glassware, and bright, clean surfaces.
• Adding a Human Element: Introducing a human element can instantly make a photo more dynamic and engaging. This can be as simple as a hand reaching for a glass, holding a fork, or sprinkling a garnish. A half-eaten slice of pie or a glass with lipstick on the rim tells a story and invites the viewer to be part of the moment.

Camera Settings for Delicious Shots

With your scene beautifully lit and composed, the final step before you press the shutter is to dial in your camera settings. Understanding how your camera’s core settings work together is the technical key to unlocking professional-quality images. It’s how you translate your creative vision into a perfectly exposed, sharp, and color-accurate photograph.

The Exposure Triangle Explained

Think of exposure as the brightness of your photo. It’s controlled by three interconnected settings: Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO. This trio is known as the “Exposure Triangle” because changing one setting will require you to adjust one or both of the others to maintain the same level of brightness. Mastering this balance is fundamental to taking control of your camera.

Aperture (f-stop)

Aperture refers to the opening in your lens that lets light into the camera, and it’s measured in f-stops (e.g., f/1.8, f/4, f/11). Beyond controlling brightness, aperture’s most important creative function is managing the depth of field—how much of your image is in sharp focus from front to back.

• A low f-stop number (e.g., f/1.8 – f/2.8) creates a wide-open aperture. This lets in a lot of light and produces a shallow depth of field, resulting in a beautifully blurred background that makes your main subject pop. It’s perfect for isolating a single cupcake or a hero slice of pie.
• A high f-stop number (e.g., f/8 – f/11) creates a narrow aperture. This lets in less light and produces a deep depth of field, keeping more of the scene in focus. This is the ideal choice for overhead flat lays or large table scenes where you want every dish to be sharp and clear.

Shutter Speed

Shutter speed dictates how long your camera’s sensor is exposed to light, measured in seconds or fractions of a second (e.g., 1/125s). In food photography, you’ll use it to either freeze motion or ensure stability.

• Fast Shutter Speeds (1/250s or faster) are essential for “action” shots. Use a fast speed to freeze the motion of a syrup pour, a dusting of powdered sugar, or a splash of coffee. The faster the motion, the faster your shutter speed needs to be. This is a key technique in high-speed photography.
• Slow Shutter Speeds are perfectly acceptable for static scenes when your camera is on a tripod. Because the tripod eliminates camera shake, you can use a slower shutter speed (like 1/15s or even longer) to let in more light without worrying about a blurry photo. This allows you to keep your ISO low for better image quality. This is also a technique used in night photography.

ISO

ISO measures your camera sensor’s sensitivity to light. A low ISO (like 100 or 200) means it’s less sensitive, while a high ISO (like 3200 or 6400) makes it much more sensitive. While a high ISO can help you shoot in dark conditions, it comes at a cost: digital noise, which appears as a grainy, speckled texture that degrades image quality. For food photography, the golden rule is to keep your ISO as low as possible. Since you’re typically using a tripod and controlling your light, aim for an ISO of 100 or 200 for the cleanest, sharpest, and most detailed images.

Getting Colors Right

Accurate color is what makes food look delicious and appetizing. A brilliant red strawberry that appears orange or a crisp white plate that looks blue can ruin an otherwise perfect shot. Fortunately, your camera gives you the tools to get it right.

Understanding White Balance

White Balance (WB) is the setting that tells your camera how to interpret color based on the “color temperature” of your light source. Natural daylight is cool (bluish), while indoor tungsten light is warm (yellowish). If the WB is set incorrectly, your entire photo will have an unnatural color cast. While “Auto White Balance” can work, for more consistent results, try setting it manually to a preset like “Daylight” or “Cloudy.” For ultimate accuracy, you can set a custom white balance using a grey card.

Shooting in RAW vs. JPEG

This is one of the most important technical decisions you can make. We strongly recommend shooting in RAW format. Think of a JPEG as a finished, compressed photograph; the camera makes permanent decisions about sharpening, color, and white balance for you. A RAW file, on the other hand, is like a digital negative. It captures all the unprocessed image data from the sensor.

Why is this a game-changer? A RAW file gives you complete flexibility in post-processing. You can easily and non-destructively adjust the white balance, recover seemingly lost details from the brightest highlights and darkest shadows, and fine-tune colors with incredible precision. Shooting in JPEG locks you into the camera’s initial interpretation, while shooting in RAW gives you the power to perfect your image later.

Focus and Sharpness

A tack-sharp focal point is non-negotiable. It guides the viewer’s eye and gives the image a professional, polished look. Even a slightly soft or misfocused shot can feel amateurish, so it’s crucial to get this right in-camera.

Choosing Your Focal Point

Your focal point should be the most important or appetizing part of the dish. Don’t just focus on the plate in general; be intentional. Focus on the glistening edge of a steak, the flaky crust of a pastry, a single plump blueberry, or the drip of sauce running down the side of a burger. This is the “hero” element of your photo, and it needs to be perfectly sharp. This detailed focus is crucial in macro photography, where even slight misfocus is noticeable.

Manual vs. Autofocus

Both autofocus (AF) and manual focus (MF) have their place in food photography.

• Autofocus is fast and accurate for most situations. To ensure it focuses where you want, switch to a Single-Point AF mode. This allows you to move a single focus point around the frame and place it precisely on your desired focal point, rather than letting the camera guess.
• Manual Focus offers the ultimate control, especially when your camera is on a tripod. Switch your lens to MF and use your camera’s “Live View” screen. You can then digitally zoom in on your subject on the screen and turn the focus ring on your lens until it is perfectly, undeniably sharp. This method is foolproof for static scenes and macro shots where precision is paramount.

Post-Processing: The Final Polish

Shooting a beautiful photo is only half the journey. Post-processing, or editing, is where you refine your image, correct minor imperfections, and truly make the flavors pop off the screen. This is not about drastically changing the photo, but rather enhancing the natural beauty you worked so hard to capture. A thoughtful editing process can elevate a good shot into a great one.

Essential Editing Software

The software you choose depends on your workflow, budget, and how much control you desire. Many photographers use a combination of desktop and mobile applications. Fortunately, powerful tools are available at every level.

Desktop Options

For the most control and highest quality results, desktop software is the professional standard. These programs are designed to handle RAW files and offer a comprehensive suite of tools.

• Adobe Lightroom: The industry standard for a reason. Lightroom is an all-in-one solution for organizing, editing, and exporting your photos. Its intuitive sliders for exposure, color, and detail make it accessible for beginners, while its advanced masking tools offer deep control for experts.
• Capture One: A powerful competitor to Lightroom, Capture One is renowned for its superior color rendering and tethering capabilities (shooting directly to your computer). It has a steeper learning curve but is favored by many professional commercial and food photographers.

Mobile Apps

Editing on the go has never been easier or more effective. Modern mobile apps provide remarkable power right from your phone or tablet.

• Lightroom Mobile: A free and surprisingly robust version of its desktop counterpart. It syncs seamlessly with the desktop app if you have a subscription and offers precise control over all the essential adjustments.
• Snapseed: A completely free yet powerful app from Google. It offers a wide range of tools, from basic tuning to selective adjustments, allowing you to edit specific parts of your image with just a finger.
• VSCO: Known for its beautiful, film-like presets (filters), VSCO is great for achieving a specific aesthetic or mood quickly. It also includes a solid set of manual editing tools for fine-tuning.

Basic Editing Workflow

Developing a consistent workflow saves time and helps you achieve a cohesive style. While every photo is different, most edits follow a similar sequence of adjustments. Think of it as building your image up layer by layer.

Step 1: Adjusting Exposure, Contrast, and White Balance

This is the foundation of your edit. Before touching color or details, ensure the core elements are correct. Start by adjusting the overall brightness with the exposure slider. Next, tweak the contrast to add a bit of punch, defining the separation between light and dark areas. Finally, correct the white balance. This crucial step ensures your whites are truly white and removes any unnatural color casts (like a blue tint from window light or a yellow tint from indoor bulbs), making the food look accurate and appetizing.

Step 2: Enhancing Colors with Saturation and Vibrance

Once your tones are balanced, you can enhance the colors. Use the vibrance slider first; it intelligently boosts the less-saturated colors without overdoing the already vibrant ones, which is great for food. Use the saturation slider sparingly afterward, as a little goes a long way. The goal is to make the colors look rich and delicious, not radioactive.

Step 3: Sharpening and Adding Clarity to Textures

Food is all about texture, and this is where you can make it shine. A touch of sharpening can bring out the crispiness of a crust or the fine detail of a fresh herb. The clarity or texture slider is also fantastic for enhancing mid-tone contrast, which makes details pop without affecting the brightest or darkest parts of the image. Be subtle; too much can make the photo look gritty and unnatural.

Step 4: Cropping and Straightening for a Stronger Composition

Your final step is to refine the composition. Straighten any crooked horizons or lines—a tilted table can be very distracting. Then, consider cropping the image to strengthen the composition. You might crop to better follow the rule of thirds, remove a distracting element at the edge of the frame, or simply create a tighter, more impactful shot of your hero dish.

Common Editing Mistakes to Avoid

The goal of editing is to enhance, not overwhelm. A heavy-handed approach can quickly make an appetizing dish look artificial. Here are a few common pitfalls to steer clear of.

• Over-saturating colors: Pushing the saturation slider too far is a classic beginner mistake. It makes colors look neon and unnatural. A bright red strawberry should look delicious, not like a plastic toy.
• Making the image look unnatural or “over-edited”: If an image looks heavily processed, it loses its authenticity. Avoid pushing sliders like contrast, clarity, and shadows to their extremes. The best edit is one that doesn’t look edited at all.
• Excessive sharpening that creates halos: While sharpening is important, overdoing it creates bright, glowing outlines (halos) around the edges of objects. Zoom in to 100% to check for these artifacts and dial back the sharpening if you see them.