Best Food Photography Books For Self-Learners (With Reviews)

Whether you're an aspiring food photographer trying to find your way in your chosen career path or an established professional seeking inspiration, this article will help you find a food photography book that best suits your needs and helps you tell the story of food most attractively.

As an amateur photographer, I was eager to read every article and watch every video or masterclass available, only to find that the amount of unstructured information was too overwhelming. After taking a couple of online courses, I felt I needed some additional visual material to reflect on when making my creative decisions and seeking ideas and inspiration. 

I love the old-school learning method with a warm blanket and a book to read at my own pace, away from screens and social media. If you're anything like me, you might have already explored the available books that could serve your food photography learning goals. Over time, I purchased a few books from authors whose photography I genuinely admire, and I hope you'll find value in my reviews of the four books that I consider the best additions to my library.

In this article, I'll be reviewing the following books:

• "Picture Perfect Food" by Joanie Simon
• "The Complete Guide to Food Photography" by Lauren Caris Short
• "The Ultimate Guide to Food Styling" by Julia Konovalova
• "How To Photograph Food" by Beata Lubas

Let's explore each of the books in more detail.

Joanie is the creator of The Bite Shot and an extremely talented educator. She also offers Artificial Academy for anyone seriously thinking about learning artificial lighting from A to Z. Her YouTube videos are very informative and will deliver lots of value to photographers of almost any level of experience. Joanie is one of the best at making difficult concepts sound easy and digestible. This book is proof of that.

In this book, Joanie covers all major aspects of food photography in small sections, each spanning 2 to 3 pages, organized into categories: Camera Settings, Light and Shadow, Story, Props Styling, Composition, Food Styling, and Finding Inspiration. It contains sample images that support the theory, helping to visualize the concepts taught. From different angles and white balance to shopping the right ingredients and networking with your peers—this book covers a broader perspective than any other book on the list.

What I loved the most about this book are the challenges under each topic that encourage you to pick up your camera and apply the theory into practice. I tend to leave this for later when the book is fully read, but then I get overwhelmed with all the things I need to practice. Following the suggested challenges in each section makes it much easier to follow the learning path and build upon your skills.

I also appreciated the personal touch with Joanie's pro tips in her book. I like to revisit them once in a while to refresh my memory.

Overall, this book is very easy to navigate and a great way to start learning food photography. All the material is broken down into small ("bite-sized," using Joanie's own words) sections. You can even find sections dedicated to photographing particular types of food (like sandwiches, salads, soups, or flat foods), which are great to start with when preparing for a photoshoot. And with Joanie's playful writing style, you'll have a lot of fun reading this book.

What other buyers say about the book (from Amazon reviews):

• "This book not only helped me to take better pictures but also taught me how to operate my camera without having to take a class."
• "I highly recommend this book for beginners because it consolidates so much information out there, and Joanie has a very simple way to explain it all. I also recommend this book for the intermediate photographers out there who want to keep little reminders about what to do in specific cases."
• "The book is an absolutely great resource for those beginning their food photography journey, with clear lessons and actionable challenges. Even those who are more advanced photographers will benefit from this book as well—it’s full of inspiring images and different perspectives."
• "If you want not only to learn but actually understand food photography, get this book. Beautifully written, easy to understand, and the photography is stunning."

The book covers a broad array of topics, so it is not a very detailed guide but rather provides an overview of all the different aspects and the entire process of taking food photographs. It is a great place to start for anyone starting their journey.

If you are looking for a digestible roadmap (and maybe have spent some time on Joanie's YouTube channel and love her approach), this book might be an excellent match for you. However, if you're looking for detailed step-by-step tutorials for creating particular looks and styling advice, keep reading.

This book is written by the professional food photographer Lauren Short, who has a large following on Instagram and YouTube and is also the founder of the Food Photography Academy with PLENTY videos about everything related to food photography. Access to the academy is subscription-based and very affordable.

In her book, Lauren covers the following key topics: Lighting, Composition, Crafting a Story, Editing and Processing, Styling, Case Studies, and Finding and Developing Your Style.

If you're looking for a complete guide with just the right amount of details to help you clearly understand all the major concepts of food photography, this might be the best resource available. If I were just starting out and wanted a "food photography bible" to start with, this would be my first choice. Lauren takes you through the entire image-making process, from the idea to editing the taken images, sharing her problem-solving techniques along the way.

Lauren is also a great educator; the book is well-organized and easy to read. All the core concepts are visualized using reference images to demonstrate the practical applications of the lessons taught. Lauren doesn't seem to hold back anything, sharing her go-to equipment, setups, props, and camera settings.

One of my favorite chapters was "Case Studies," where Lauren guides you through some of her photoshoots, describing the equipment used, the lighting, camera, and lens setup, the composition and lighting, backgrounds and props used, as well as her editing process (including editing in Adobe Photoshop) from RAW to a fully edited image with the vivid colors Lauren is famous for.

This is an "over-the-shoulder" type of guidance where you feel like shadowing a professional food photographer and learning all the food photography tips and tricks for creating beautiful imagery. The case study section is also accompanied by behind-the-scenes videos that can be accessed online.

The author also provides valuable information on the different types of artificial lighting used in food photography, sharing their advantages and application tips. I found it very useful when deciding on my first artificial lighting gear.

It might already sound obvious that I really loved this book, and it's 100% true. Lauren covers every aspect of her image-making process, and reading this book was a pleasure.

What other buyers say about the book (from Amazon reviews):

• "I bought this book because I wanted to learn to stage and take beautiful pictures, and that is exactly what I learned from this book. Easy for anyone to use and learn."
• "This book on how to photograph food will help those amateurs as well as photographers wanting to take commercial food shots. It’s straightforward enough for a beginner, yet complete enough for a pro."
• "Lauren breaks down the food photography process into easily digestible and understandable pieces."
• "Overall, this is an awesome food photography book that is a must-read for anyone looking to improve their skills and take their food photography to the next level."

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a comprehensive guide that is informative and also provides practical guidance.

Julia has a huge (100k+) following on Instagram (@imagelicious), and it is well-deserved. Her behind-the-scenes shorts inspired me to pick up my camera and start shooting. Having followed Julia on Instagram for quite some time, I decided to add her book to my library, and I have never regretted a single cent of it.

The book consists of three major chapters, namely "Food Styling Pillars (Main Concepts and Techniques)," "Food Styling How To's and Know-Hows," and "Food Styling Lessons."

The first part of the book is dedicated to the basics of food photography, where Julia covers everything from color theory, layering, lighting, and general styling tips. My favorite is the second part of the book, which focuses on styling different types of food, like meats, salads, soups, or pasta. She shares step-by-step images of styling the scene.

Not only does she show the process of building the scene, but she also shares what hasn't worked out and why. It's precious to know that your setup might not be 100% perfect the first time, but you can keep adjusting until it clicks. Styling has always been the most frustrating part of food photography, and this book helped me enter my photoshoots with much more confidence, removing guessing from the decision-making process.

I don't think any other book could provide a more hands-on approach than this one. I'd say this book is 20% theory and 80% practice. Even the theoretical part is filled with visual examples and tips and is anything but plain and boring.

To me, this book is similar to a mentorship with a professional food photographer who shares behind the scenes photos and explains the thoughts behind every choice related to a photo shoot.

What other buyers say about the book (from Amazon reviews):

• "The step-by-step images, comparisons, photo setup “recipes”, and tips and tricks are all so helpful. Applying her tips and techniques has already improved my photo composition skills."
• "From color theory to image composition, the book teaches the art of styling with clients in mind and how to shop and cook with photography. This book is a must-read for aspiring food photographers with practical tips on juggling shutter speed, aperture, and ISO and how to compose in-progress shots."
• "Within just 5 minutes of talking to her, I learned so much that it transformed my photography and food styling. It is an absolute must for learning the fundamentals as she breaks down key instructions with step-by-step pictures. She gives you all the best tips in one book, which is incredibly valuable!"
• "The instructions are step by step with great images to accompany for visual learners or those short on time. Also the book is organized into really handy sections, making it easy to treat this as a reference book vs reading all, if that suits you better."

To sum up, this book is an excellent choice if you're struggling with styling and composition and are looking for hands-on, step-by-step guidance on creating fantastic food photographs.

Beata has been one of my favorite food photographers for years. I love her images' simplicity, dreaminess, and rustic feel. Considering her IG following, I'm far from being the only one.

I bought this book to learn more about the "chemistry" behind her style. Having learned all the essential technical aspects of food photography, you might want some "dessert" to source inspiration from and polish your skills. This book is a perfect match.

My reasoning behind this purchase might differ from yours, but this book is well-suited for a broad audience, from beginners to seasoned pros. Bea has broken down the book into seven chapters: "Tame your gear", "Become a student of natural light", "Work the frame", "Styling made easy", "Creative process", "The art of edit", and "Mindset and growth". Illustrated with Bea's beautiful pictures, the technical aspects are easy to grasp. This book provides a balanced overview of the technical details and the intangible art of creating.

This book combines the abovementioned books and covers everything needed to create great food photographs. It might not be as detailed in particular aspects as some of the previously described books. Still, it's a great resource for food photographers of any level of expertise who admire Bea's story-telling and styling skills.

What other buyers say about the book (from Amazon reviews):

• "Amazing book. Under one cover, there’s everything I was searching for all over the Internet: from composition to editing tricks, from difference in focal lengths to storytelling through your photography. Technical and creative at the same time."
• "A must-read for any budding food photographer who wants to take their art to the next level. A very guided, step-by-step approach on how to further hone your skill set with examples, behind-the-scene shots and clear, concise explanations."
• "It has awakened my mind and eyes to see little details and notice how natural light works. It also dives into the editing tools in Lightroom, which gives the reader a huge benefit!"
• "This book is a MUST. It is thoughtfully put together and incredibly well-written. It's informative, instructive, beautiful, and my new photography "bible.""

Note that Bea focuses mostly on natural light. If you're more drawn to artificial lighting or want to learn more about it, consider options #1 or #2 above.

CONSLUSIONS

If you are just starting out and are looking for a comprehensive resource that covers the technical aspects and styling, I highly recommend "The Complete Guide to Food Photography."

For beginner-friendly and extremely digestible lessons about everything it takes to create great food photos, Joanie's "Picture Perfect Food" is a must-have guidebook.

If you need help with styling and planning your photoshoots and enjoy behind-the-scenes content, or maybe you are wondering how to approach your next commercial food shot to create great pictures of "difficult" food, you'll enjoy "The Ultimate Guide to Food Styling" (or "The Complete Guide to Food Photography"). This is also a great way for food bloggers to learn how to take top-notch food pictures.

Finally, Bea's "How To Photograph Food" will always be a great choice for inspirational guidance on capturing artistic food photographs with the "wow" factor. If you want to take the leap from good to great food shots, grab this book.

Having said that, I love the combination of the four books and wouldn't trade any one of them. They each have a unique value and have helped me master the art of food photography.

P.S. If you prefer learning from video courses and are looking for a fast track course to learn food photography, I highly recommend Eva Kosmas Flores' photography and styling course. Click here for a detailed review and a discount code.