Revolution?

Could Midjourney Make You Rich as a Food Photographer?

10 Mouthwatering Example Prompts

Food photography is an excellent field to quickly gain experience in AI prompting and maybe even earn some extra money.

🤔 Why Is That?

Hiring a professional food photographer can be expensive and time-consuming.

Many smaller restaurants or snack bars may not want to or cannot afford this expense, so they often do without food photography on their menus, flyers, and websites (including their social media).

But attractive images can draw in customers. As such, having a mouthwatering website should be essential. Consider fast food joints as an example — they all use high-quality images.

Alternatively, many may use a stock photo that lacks uniqueness and may have been used countless times before.

🤔 What‘s The Solution?

You might have guessed it: Artificial Intelligence (AI) image generators like Midjourney can create exactly these mouthwatering photos of food items.

And they do this for a fraction of the money a real photographer might cost!

But achieving this still requires the right prompts and some knowledge about photography.

Therefore, becoming an AI food photographer could be a lucrative opportunity.

📸 What is Food Photography?

Food photography is the art of creating beautiful images of food. Duh!

A food photographer utilizes their photography skills and knowledge, along with composition, color, and texture elements, to create an image that stimulates the senses.

A good photo is not just mouthwatering, you can actually taste the food just by looking at it.

So they literally make the food appear as enticing as possible.

🤖 Why Use AI?

AI is widely available and more affordable than traditional photographers!

Almost anyone can use image generators to create decent images to a certain extent.

In theory, a simple prompt like “a hamburger with fries” can produce a usable image.

However, in reality, creating amazing, mouth-watering images involves much more.

🚨 There is a difference between good and great images.

Understanding the fundamental principles of photography remains crucial.

This is because AI is trained using a dataset of photos, including both good and great ones. But to create a great photo, one must understand what a great photo looks like.

So being a proficient AI food photography creator still requires a solid understanding of photography principles and a lot of trial and error.

🤤 Mouthwatering Examples

Now, let’s explore 10 examples of mouthwatering food photography images.

Top Down Photography

This style is very popular, especially for advertisements and websites.

To achieve this, simply instruct Midjourney to use a top-down camera position. Experimenting with the placement of the plate and background can greatly impact the final image.

photo of a whole wheat avocado toast with onions on a light beige — brown ceramic plate, top down photo, food photography, green vintage background, studio lightning

top down photo of a gourmet dish on a black plate and a black table, a cooked tiger shrimp covered by a light sauce, with a side salad, spices and herbes, studio lightning, dramatic look, food photography

🎯 Pro tip: The surface on which you place the plate is crucial, because it will be very prominently.

Depending on the requirements and the overall style, a wooden table, vintage wooden table, modern marble or stone surface, or even a dark concrete surface could complement your idea.

Here’s the same prompt with a wooden table. It has a completely different look.

top down photo of a gourmet dish on a black plate and a vintage wooden table, a cooked tiger shrimp covered by a light sauce, with a side salad, spices and herbes, studio lightning, dramatic look, food photography

Action Shots

Action shots are another common style in food photography, capturing dynamic moments with food, such as lifting noodles, sauce pouring onto food, or spices flying around.

a steak on a bbq grill with flames, smoke and sparks, the steak is cross yet juicy, dark background, food photography, dramatic scene

The possibilities are limitless.

a photo of a blue Chinese bowl with noodles, chopstick are holding some noodles, herbs are falling into the bowl, matching single colored blue background, food photography, camera on bowl level, photo taken from the side

Personally, I prefer a side view for these shots, as it better captures the movement in my opinion.

a jelly donut on a ceramic plate, powder sugar is falling down on the donut, camera on donut level, photo from the side, food photography, dark room

Macro Photos

Macro photos bring the viewer close to the food, capturing every detail.

a macro photo of nacho chips in a brown ceramic bowl, camera is very close to the chips, with salt and spices, food photography

closeup macro photo of a fresh apple with water drops,, food photography, low angle, camera is very close, the apple is red and the light is coming from the top, studio light

This style is especially effective with fresh fruits and vegetables in my opinion.

Low Angle

Changing the camera angle can dramatically alter a photo. Sometimes, a high angle is preferable to display the entire plate and all the food items.

side view of a strawberry pro secco cocktail in a transparent glass, garnished with fresh fruit, colorful Mexican backdrop, glossy black table, pink and blue studio lights, food photography

However, a low angle can sometimes be more effective. While it might not show everything, it can create a more dramatic effect.

Creating Emotions

Another common technique is to evoke emotions through the right setting. Incorporating people in the background or featuring a bottle of wine in an elegant living room conveys a specific lifestyle and creates a “I want that too” feeling.

a bottle of red wine and glass on a modern table in an exclusive living room in front of a huge window, with a luxurious pool in the background, the living room is luxurious, clean and minimalistic, food photography, studio lightning

💡 The image at the beginning with the food explosion is actually another perfect examples of how to create emotions and draw the viewer into the image.

🎯 Another pro tip: Telling a Story

A picture is worth more than a thousand words.

Telling a story can elevate your food photography photos as well.

a happy blonde woman holding a mouthwatering birthday cake in her hands, candles on top of the cake, pink and yellow color palette, confetti and balloons in the background, depth of field, food photography

photo of a beautiful, decorated white wedding cake, standing on a dark wooden table in a room with wedding party guests, depth of field, food photography, warm color palette

It’s not only about the people, but also about how they convey this “yes, please, me too” feeling.

In the case of the image above, the cake is delicious, but with the wedding party in the background, it suggests that you will have the same experience by buying this exact cake.

I’ve written about how AI will transform photography in another article. If you haven’t read it yet, it’s definitely worth checking out:

🤖 AI is here to stay. If you want it or not and it is our responsibility to get used to it and make the most out of it.

✍️ To answer the initial question. I am not sure if Midjourney could make you rich as a food photographer. But as an AI artist, adding food photography to your toolset and skillset could be beneficial.

💬 What food photography techniques have you tried with Midjourney, and do you believe this could change photography at all?

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