Interested in creating captivating food content? Knowing where to start can be difficult if you’re an inspiring foodie influencer or want simply want to showcase your food creations. Plenty of influencer social media accounts and content online, so how can you stand out? According to Black women foodie influencers, authenticity, clarity, and personality are vital to curating long-lasting and unique content. Here’s how Erica of Eating With Erica, Joy Caracciolo, and Alex Hill of Just Add Hot Sauce develop thoughtful and fun content for their social media platforms.
Food styling for flat lays and images: It’s super important to try different angles and play with the positions of your plates when you are shooting photos or videos. The lighting and camera angle can make or break your picture/video so you want to focus on the food’s positioning to ensure that you capture it in the best light. I would also recommend making sure to build in some diversity in colors when taking pictures of a food spread — this is generally more aesthetically pleasing. I also suggest editing food pictures in the app LightRoom because they have great preset filters, but you can easily make custom edits on their platform that can really enhance your pictures.
Reels: When it comes to reels, you want to make sure that you have a lot of different video clips to choose from so that you are able to showcase as much of the food and overall vibe of the restaurant/food spot as possible. To have a better editing experience and make more exciting reels, I highly recommend using apps like CapCut, Splice, or even Canva to edit your content and add text, transitions, and voiceovers. These apps have more style options when it comes to texts, closed captioning, transitions, and templates to choose from compared to the editing functions in Instagram, TikTok, and other apps.
Let your personality shine through in your reels: Most of my high-performing posts are reels that include music and a voiceover. While voiceovers are helpful for providing information, it’s also the perfect opportunity to show your audience your personality and make the content more relatable. Using adjectives like “delicious, amazing, and incredible” is great, but I like to get creative with my voiceovers and video clips so that people see how the food actually made me feel.
Branch out to surrounding areas: Many people have food pages that are tied to a specific city or state, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t branch out to the surrounding area — trust me, if the food is good enough, people will make the drive. Going to check out food spots that are outside of your area will not only help you provide fresh, new content to your existing followers, but it can also help you gain followers in new areas and potentially get invited to visit other businesses in that area.
Repurpose your existing content: I love putting together clips from various places and tying them together with a common theme. In my opinion, videos highlighting multiple places can be really valuable to your followers because they give them a bunch of options of places to go for whatever the occasion is in one video that they can save to reference. It also allows you to use the content you already have, which is helpful in weeks when you cannot shoot new content. Here are some ideas, “5 Must-try Black-owned Businesses in Durham,” “My favorite date night restaurants in Raleigh,” or “4 new food trucks in the Triangle Area.”
Do your research: When you’re getting your food content, it’s important to order foods that are unique to that restaurant or food spot. Do your research beforehand to see what dishes are their signature menu item and what foods you can get there that you can’t get at many other places. Additionally, I highly recommend asking the manager or waitress what their favorite dish is — they often have the scoop on the best items that may not even be the most popular dishes.
Link up with other local foodies: One of my favorite parts of being a food blogger is connecting with other food bloggers online or in person at local food events. Once you can build relationships with other food bloggers, you can set foodie dates where you meet up to chat and shoot content, which is great because you can capture more food at once and share tricks from the other bloggers. Having a community of foodie friends can help you improve your game.
Food photography: Food shoots best in natural light! it brings out the natural & vibrant colors in food, so it’s best to shoot your food content near a window. so open up the shades for the best results!
Think bright! When I shot my cooking show, Spice Spice Baby on Tastemade, the team always said, “Avoid brown food because it doesn’t look appetizing on camera” So when cooking/taking the final picture, think of what can brighten up a dish…i.e like herbs, fresh toppings like pickled onions, etc. something that I’ll brighten up maybe a dull dish!
Be resourceful: Use what you have! don’t spend all the money trying to get the best equipment. Most of the time, you already have it, and it is your iPhone! Always shoot Reels/TikToks in 4k 60 for the best clarity and resolution.
Leverage food photography apps: My favorite app is Snapseed, which adds depth to photos like contrast and brightness. Add warmth and temperature to photos to bring them alive. Also, always shoot in natural light and avoid using your overhead kitchen light because it is too saturated and looks more yellow.
Bring authenticity: Be authentic to you and bring your personality to your content. People relate to authenticity, and I realized in my content that people relate to my personality, so even though a video is 30-60 seconds, there’s still a way to connect with my audience, even if it’s the first five seconds of a video.
Calendar: Add a shoot schedule to your calendar on your phone so you know what day you’re shooting and editing so you feel more organized.
Props: Incorporate props that complement your subject and enhance the story you’re telling. Consider using utensils like large wooden spoons, ingredients such as salt and pepper, small flowers, or even napkins.
Color Palette: Stick to a consistent color palette that matches the mood you want to convey. For instance, steaks can appear exceptionally appealing in dark, moody color compositions. By paying attention to these details, you can create food content that looks delicious and resonates with your audience.
Background Selection: Choose a clean and neutral background that complements your dish. For example, blueberry muffins often look great with whites and light blues. Textured surfaces like wooden boards, marble, or fabric can add depth and interest.
Lighting: Natural light is your best friend for flat lays. Set up near a large window or outdoors to ensure even and soft lighting. Avoid shadows as much as possible. First, prioritize execution over perfection. Ensure that you are consistently posting and keeping your audience engaged. If you’re not consistent, your audience may not be either.
Use quality cameras: Improve your videos and photos with cost-effective camera equipment readily available on platforms like Amazon. Consider using accessories like the Meixitoy, which easily clips onto your iPhone and significantly enhances your lighting.
Focus on community: While many people tend to focus on numbers in social media, it’s essential to prioritize building a genuine community. When you’re cooking, share why a particular recipe is special to you. If you’re dining out, explain why you chose that restaurant. What makes this dining experience or recipe unique to your page? Embrace your uniqueness; remember, no one is quite like you, and that’s your power. Be authentic and share your story. Your audience can discern authenticity, so lean into it and let your true self shine through.
