In episode 540, Dyutima Jha teaches us how to keep readers on our food blogs for longer by creating visually compelling narratives with our photos, and which common mistakes to avoid.

Dyutima is an architect-turned commercial and editorial food photographer and podcaster based in Singapore. She is the first South Asian woman to host a food photography podcast, My Food Lens. After 15 years as an architect, designing healthcare facilities around the world, she found her passion in food styling and photography. Today, she has a successful business working with clients around the world and teaching other photographers how to do so as well. Her work has been featured in a range of food & photography magazines like Thrive magazine, Whalebone magazine etc. and she has worked with several prestigious clients like The Intercontinental Hotel Singapore, McCormick etc.

In this episode, you'll learn about the importance of visual storytelling, lighting, angles, and consistency in creating compelling narratives that engage and retain the viewer's attention.

Key points discussed:

- Plan Food Photo Shoots in Advance: Use a storyboard to stay focused creatively and save time during a photo shoot.

- Think of Your Recipe as a Story: Like a movie, there's a plot, hero, theme and genre. Use these elements to tell your story.

- Bring Readers into Your Story Through the First Image: Improve first impressions with powerful opening photos that hook readers emotionally or visually

- Activate the Viewer's Imagination: Create a sequence of events and narrate this through your photos using ingredients, movement and context.

- Readers Disengage with Technically Weak Photos: Check lighting, camera angles, storytelling cohesion, and color editing in photos.

- Readers Disengage with Disconnected Visuals: Do your photos match with the vibe, colors and branding of your website? Do they match the specific type of recipe?

- Show Readers the Bigger Picture: As a final photo, include the context of where readers might enjoy the recipe; use props to narrate this visually.

- Make Dull Food Look Appetizing: By adding contrasting colors using herbs or flowers and by using macro shots, you can make unappealing food look great.

Connect with Dyutima Jha

Website | Instagram