#8. Get The Correct (Not Always Right) Angle

Shooting a bowl of soup is different than shooting a tall sandwich. A bowl of soup is flat and needs to be shot from a higher angle than a hamburger or something with more height on the plate. This is where experimentation, creativity, and experience comes in. Overhead “helicopter” shots (90°) have become very popular in magazines like Bon Appétit, where the majority of the photos are shot from directly overhead. I just don’t know why, except that it makes for a repeatable layout and is much easier to shoot technically. Stale, but repeatable. (There goes my gig with Bon Appétit). Bottom line is, mix it up and understand what angle works best with different dishes, heights, and textures. ​Sandwiches rarely look good flat. Slice it at an angle and stack one half on top of or aside the other to see and shoot the cross section. As you stack it, lower the camera angle.

Some dishes lend themselves to an overhead (helicopter) shot, especially when there is interesting geometry like this pic. There's nothing wrong with it, but try other things. It can lack dimension. Shot at 90°

Soupy dishes or anything in a bowl will benefit from higher angles to encompass the dish. Shot ~ 60°

Taller dishes need lower angles to help your viewer see what you saw. This burger shot from a higher angle would not have the same impact. Shot ~ 20°

Vanilla Bean Belgian waffles with bananas, strawberries and whipped cream. Shot at 0° along with in house art in the frame to show the character of the restaurant, also known as an environment shot.