What is Prop Styling?

I've been focusing a lot on prop styling lately because I truly believe it is one of the things most beginning food photographers forget to address.  Prop styling refers to the placement and selection of all non-edible objects within the photograph.  The main objective of prop styling is to give the viewer the impression that the scene as seen in the photograph was FOUND this way. 

Props help to make the food look natural by implying that someone is about to, or has just, eaten the food.  The main point here is that prop styling always suggests the presence of a person and it also tells a story surrounding the food.  Although you don't initially notice the props in the photograph above, they help to tell the story of this person's light filled breakfast.  The plates in the background suggest the presence of more than one person, and the cutlery, plates, and napkin give an air of formality and elegance.  Is this a breakfast or a brunch party?  All of a sudden the photograph reveals more clues and it's meaning evolves. 

This is the power of prop styling.

Below are five commandments that I always follow when working with props.  Hopefully these will help you during your next shoot!

Commandment #1 - Always Suggest The Presence Of A Person

This is the goal of all prop styling.  Adding props to the photograph will help to suggest a setting, time, and a place, but most importantly, they will help to suggest the presence of a person.  Cutlery is the easiest prop to use---a fork or spoon will automatically imply a person.  Napkins are the second easiest.  When thinking about how to suggest the presence of a person, just think about all the things you use when having dinner....a plate, a fork, a napkin, a cup or glass.  These are the things you should be adding if you want to really suggest the presence of a person.

Commandment #2 - Always Check Prop Placement Through Your Camera's Viewfinder

On a technical level, this commandment is the most important.  You must check the placement of the prop by looking at it through the viewfinder.  I would take this a step further and say that you should add one prop at a time, taking a test shot after each prop is placed, so you can check it's placement.  The last thing you want to do is spend hours styling and adding props to your scene only to realize that the placement looks terrible after looking at it through the camera.

Commandment #3 - Always Remove One Prop Before Shooting

This is sort of like the famous jewelry rule, after adding all of your props and checking their placement through the viewfinder, remove one item before starting to shoot.  The idea here is that less is ultimately more, so removing one object will help to simplify the shot.  In reality, you don't need to LITERALLY remove something, but the essence of this commandment is DONT CLUTTER YOUR SHOT.

Commandment #4 - Always Think In Layers

When arranging props one of the commandments I always follow is that layering my props will always result in a much more interesting photograph.  Layering the props means adding more than one layer of props to the scene.  For instance, I might add a placemat, on top of which I'll add a small plate, on top of which I'll add a small bowl which my food will ultimately go into.  Get it?

The easiest way to remember this is to double up on plates, or add a napkin or placemat below the bowl, a piece of parchment paper below the cookie, etc. etc.  This layering will add visual interest and begin to tell a story of the scene.

Commandment #5 - Always Try Something Else

If you're shooting a scene and the props are not working, always, and I mean ALWAYS, try other props.  When I shoot food I always try a variety of placemats, napkins, and cutlery before deciding on the final props.  Even after I decide, I will usually shoot a second or third set-up using entirely different props just so that I'm assured that I have one good shot. 

This last commandment is really important because it will help you to start thinking of your shoots as "constructions".  I like to think that when I'm shooting food, what I'm really doing is "constructing" a shot.  Spending time with the props, changing them out and shooting new ones is all part of this process.

Any other commandments you'd like to add to the list?

Build Your Prop Styling Arsenal With These 10 Essential Props

Prop styling often gets overlooked when discussing how to construct a succesful food photograph yet it is one of the most important elements.  In my opinion, improving your prop styling is the single most important thing you can do to immediately improve your food photos.  Why, you say?  Because prop styling is the element that brings life to a photograph.  With succesfully styled props, a photograph can tell a story about the person and event being photographed.  Prop styling helps to "humanize" the photo so that it doesn't look like a forensic picture---cold, out of context, and lifeless.  What I like about prop styling is that you really get the sense that someone JUST ate the dish or is ABOUT to dive in....It helps to create drama and give a complete narrative surrounding the dish.

 So what is a prop anyway?  I think of a prop as anything non-edible that will be included in the shot.  This means everything from table tops, to placemats, and cutlery.  It's a good idea to stock up on essential props, which is why I created this list of 10 essential props, this way you can see whether your collection is missing key items.  I often pillage thrift stores and garage sales looking for treasures to make my collection complete.  I'm not sure it ever will be complete, but that's sort of what's fun about it...I can shop and shop, all the while improving my food photos.

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