7 Must Have Food Photography Props

Your food is beautiful. The recipe crafted to perfection. The light, softly coming into the frame of your camera and on to your food photography backdrop. Now it’s time to create that style, the environment. Here are 7 must have food photography props that will make the food in your photography pop off the screen.

By the way, I have a whole chapter on styling and composing in my Food Photography Masterclass right next to all the great lighting and photography tutorials HERE. 

1. Beautiful Linen

Sometimes, I feel I need a degree in linen folding. I swear if I tallied up the time it took to make my food photography, folding the linen ever so perfect would be at the top for most time spent!

However, a great linen collection is a must have food photography prop for anyone. A well placed (and folded) linen will help guide the viewer around the image, adding those much needed lines and framing for your compositions.  

Be wary of linens that are too colorful or have patterns that would distract from the food and steal the show. 

Four new linens just came in to my studio from Casa De Linos and they’re beautiful. The textures, frayed edges and tones make them perfect food photography props. 

But I also love linens from Celina Mancurti and Dot and Army.

2. Wooden Bowls, Wooden Spoons, Wooden Everything!

Wooden food photography props are always a winner. They add that touch of nature into your composition.

My lifestyle revolves around natural ingredients as much as possible, which influences my art and for my props I like to keep in line with that theme. To go along with wooden tables, ceramics and handmade goodies, wooden props fit right in.

For a while now, I’ve been in love with olive wood. Every time a prop made of olive wood pokes out at me in a store, I just have to buy it. Etsy is always a good place to buy handmade wooden props, but I also pick up props like this olive wood salt cellar and acacia wood cocktail muddler from amazon.

3. Cutting Boards 

In the spirt of wooden props, a list of food photography props wouldn’t be complete without some great cutting boards.

You can get them in all shapes and sizes, but I prefer to stick to the normal square or rectangle. The odd shaped cutting boards or serving trays can be a real pain to compose, especially if you plan on including other props. 

Some of my favorites are the teak hardwood chopping block by Do It Wiser and these homemade customizable chopping blocks from Ekisma. Although, I have a really cool video on how to make your own rustic looking cutting board in an afternoon!

4. Ceramic and Matte Finished Plates

Ceramic and matte finished plates are the go-to staple for food photography props. Some of the biggest problems in food photography, are reflections. You definitely don’t want those pesky bright spots sucking all the attention from your food. 

Plus ceramic plates bring that natural feel and look to the environment you are creating around your recipe. There are tons of boutique artisans on Etsy, take a look at Lesily Feeman, I love her muted colors and natural textures.  Other personal favorites, who specialize in crafting beautiful tableware are Handmade Studio TN and Hawkins NY.   

5. Cast Iron & Dutch Ovens

One of my favorite food photography props to style my recipes in are the pans, baking steel, griddles or dutch ovens they were cooked with. Cast iron has that perfect matte finish, which the food pops off of in images. 

I also feel it brings the viewer closer, emotionally, to the food photography and crafting that recipe for themselves. 

Cast iron skillets and dutch ovens are not all the same. I had one brand, where the skillet cracked in half just from shipping! Luckily, I’ve always had a great experience with Lodge, they’re budget friendly, made in the USA, and look beautiful. 

6. Glass Jars, Bottles, and Mason Jars

Having an assortment of glass jars, salad dressing bottles, Masson jars are great food photography props to pop into the backgrounds of your images. I always find myself sneaking one or two into every photo. 

Bottles and jars work great to frame up your subject, or add that bit of foreground for a more layered effect in your images. 

Some of my favorites this year are these 12oz liquor bottles which are perfect for styling those drink shots or even to throw olive oil in. I also love my set of Weck tulip jars, perfect for spices and dry foods. Those jars make it in to more food photos than the should, but they are just so beautiful.

7. Backgrounds and Tabletops for Food Photography

Not necessarily a food photography prop, but I thought I would include them, because I now how my own collection!

You can purchase this collection from the wonderful people over at Best Ever Backdrops. Choose from 8 awesome backdrops in the Skyler Burt Collection using some of my favorite surfaces that I use everyday here in my studio.

What sets these backdrops apart from the more traditional kind is that they are 100% waterproof, stain proof and almost indestructible!

Right now you can save big on your order, where the more backdrops you buy the more you save or if you just want to pick up one use the promo code SKYBEST10 and get 10% off.

There is a whole lot of awesome with this Skyler Burt Collection of backdrops at Best Ever Backdrops so be sure to grab them all.

Be sure to follow along and subscribe to the WeEatTogether YouTube Channel here, for all the new food photography tutorials, tips and tricks.