Ever considered a career in food photography? Photographing food can be a fun and lucrative career but it’s important you take some food photography classes to learn this new skill.

What’s different about food styling is you have to love to cook, have an eye for art, and be a photographer all in one! There is a lot to learn and it may seem difficult to decide where to start.

To help you learn we have put together a list of our favorite online courses so you can get started with a food photography class today!

Food Styling Courses from CreativeLive

We are huge fans of CreativeLive, they are one of the leaders in online learning and offer vast and diverse workshops. Here are our favorite food photography classes they offer.

1. Getting Started in Professional Food Photography

The title says it all, this is the course to get started in food photography. Students gave this class very popular ratings because it’s full of amazing easy to learn information.

Watch veteran photographer Steve Hansen as you learn the basics of food photography. This course will make your clients eager to pick your photos over basic stock photography sites.

Furthermore, students say this course is great if you would like to learn tips on how to shoot beverages and main dishes. The class is full of helpful techniques on how to use the equipment you already own, which will save you money.

Also, you will learn how to interact with food and prop stylists. You will gain Steve’s tips for marketing. This food photography course is a perfect buy for those looking to start a new career in the industry.

2. Story on a Plate: Food Photography & Styling

This class is all about artfully photographing food. Taught by Professional photographers Todd Porter and Diane Cu-Porter, these two will teach you how to shoot food in any lighting situation. This course is designed to arm you with the technical skills and industry knowledge you need to succeed.

3. Business of Commercial Food Photography

Confidence in your photography is only the beginning of growing a career. This course will teach you more about the business side of food photography. Expert, Andrew Scrivani, teaches students how to pitch to clients, communicate with vendors, and set themselves apart from their competitors in the competitive food photography industry.

Food Photography Courses from Udemy

After you have mastered the basics of food photography with some CreativeLive courses, head on over to Udemy. This course is designed to teach you editing and the best sorting methods for food photography.

Udemy offers a variety of online classes and students can easily follow along on video at home. We recommend this course for amazing information on Lightroom and Photoshop.

4. Learn Lightroom and Photoshop CC: Improve Food Photography

For this class, make sure you already have Lightroom and Photoshop downloaded before purchasing.

Overall, the course is designed for beginner photography students. Learn lighting and composition techniques using the most popular editing softwares on the market. Students really enjoyed how the course was broken into 3 main parts. Starting with general adjustments in Lightroom, then deeper editing and retouching with Photoshop.

After those two lessons, you are taught how to prepare pictures for websites, blogs, and social media. This is helpful knowledge when it comes to the business side of food photography.

5. Food Photography: Capturing Food in Your Kitchen

This class is just under an hour and is a quick start to food photography techniques in your own kitchen. The course is great for photographers looking to break into food photography and also for food bloggers. This is not a course for fancy art shots, it’s more about real-life kitchen shots.

Food Styling Photography Classes by Craftsy

When you are feeling more confident in the basics and editing then move onto Craftsy. Just like the other platforms, Craftsy offers lots of video courses.

But, they work very closely with their teachers and offer a smaller range of classes to make sure they only provide the best ones. Classes range from 20 to 30 minutes and students enjoy bonus materials at the end of every class.

6. Food Photography: From Plate to Photo

Acclaimed food photography expert Andrew Scrivani answers all your questions about food photography. Starting with how to use natural lighting and showcasing textures of food. These lessons leave clients happy with mouth-watering food photos.

Students learn new popular creative techniques including how to identify the “hero” product for a photo. Also, how to select complimentary props and colors to develop context in your day to day food photos.

You will also learn about how to photograph some of the more challenging dishes such as salad, soup, and desserts.

We recommend these classes for anyone who wants their food photography to become a full-time business. Also, students discover the three best angles to shoot food from — the iconic tabletop view, the interactive diner’s view, and the artistic overhead.

Lastly, Andrew takes you on a tour of the professional lenses he uses and offers recommendations for inexpensive equipment and homemade accessories that will transform your food photography.

The Best Food Styling Courses from SkillShare

Skillshare is one of the most popular online platforms and offers a variety of photography courses. Everything from the business aspects of photography to niche industries such as food photography.

Their classes are around 30 minutes to 1 hour long and provide all the best tips and tricks. Learn online with some of the top video and image specialists in the industry.

7. Food Photography: Shooting at Restaurants

Over 12,000 students have taken this course. Get started online with freelance food photographer, Daniel Krieger. His work has been featured in the New York Times, Eater.com, and many more.

What we love about these online classes is how Krieger teaches you in bite-sized video lessons. You will learn how to get the most out of your gear, how to order, and shooting in daylight vs sometimes dark restaurants. Whether you want to take images with your iPhone or DSLR camera, this class is worth a check on your list of courses to take.

If you want to take your skills a step further, try the end of class assignment. Krieger asks you to head over to your favorite restaurant and order in person as much as you want applying the skills he teaches you in class. Line up some delicious food and start shooting.

Food Photography Classes by LinkedIn Learning

LinkedIn Learning offers a variety of online classes to help gain technical business skills. We love the community vibe and how you can gain access to some of the biggest photographers in the industry.

Try a one month free trial to get started and sort through your favorites today in the comfort of your own home while watching someone else’s studio setup.

8. Learning Food and Drink Photography

In this food course, you will learn from the Award-winning food and advertising photographer Bill Robbins. You will gain information on how to enhance a food’s color, shape, and texture while telling a story. Each photo will become better than the last with this intensive course.

Learn everything about the industry including more photoshop techniques. Also, gain effective skills in creating mood with your food photography.

What we love most about this course, is you can showcase it in the”Licenses and Certificates” section of your LinkedIn profile. They also provide a downloadable PDF to share with others to demonstrate your new skill set.

Conclusion

Start with the basics and work your way up with all these amazing online courses. Every platform offers something different and you can decide which one suits you best.

Don’t forget to join their online community pages as well to share your knowledge and exchange tips of the trade. Also, have a look at these food photography books to help you learn even more!