Passionate about food? Fancy making the most out of your DSLR to capture your culinary skills? Jamie Oliver and professional food photographer David Loftus have teamed up with Nikon to offer an insight into the secrets of great food photography.

For anyone that’s tried it, food photography can be an extremely challenging subject. Over the past year the number of people taking snapshots of the food they create has increased and, thanks to the benefits of social media, it’s now easier than ever before to share your creations with food-loving friends and family.





Nikon has recently teamed up with Nikon ambassador and DSLR photography enthusiast Jamie Oliver, and his collaborator – professional food photographer David Loftus.

In their latest campaign they discover the tricks of the food photography trade and reveal some good ways to improve the shots you take. 

The simple message of advice from David Loftus is to ‘shoot lots and shoot fast’. A close inspection of their recent video shows David and Jamie using two DSLRs that were both launched in 2012 – the entry-level D3200 and professional Nikon D4. While the emphasis of the video focuses towards the Nikon’s entry-level DSLR – the D3200 – David Loftus picks up his Nikon D4 from time to time to create a series of shots with an extremely shallow depth of field.

According to Jamie Oliver ‘the best shot in the world is 45 seconds of time, and the boss in the room is the food.’ By this Jamie refers to the amount of time you have to capture your masterpiece in all its glory. In the video, Jamie pays close attention to the ingredients he uses, suggesting all ingredients have a personality which should be well represented in the photographs that we take as photographers.

For anyone that would like to attempt food photography or refine their technique, Jamie Oliver and David Loftus have come up with ten top tips for capturing great food images –

Top tips for capturing great food images

1. Use neutral backgrounds to bring out textures in the food.
2. Embrace natural, ambient light to show off fresh ingredients.
3. Shoot quickly, especially when dealing with heat.
4. Shoot often, and capture the mess. Cooking is messy!
5. Take action shots using slow shutter speeds to portray energy.
6. Set the scene to tell a story and don’t be afraid to get your hands involved.
7. Use macro settings to capture stunning close ups.
8. Use colourful ingredients and off-white plates to serve up.
9. Get creative. Find an interesting angle, even if it means shooting from a height or leaning inside a cooking pot.
10. Adopt the point of view of the creator. The same applies before eating!

To read our full review of the Nikon D3200 as featured in the video, click here.

To read our review of the Nikon D4 as featured in the video, click here.