How to Capture Juicy Burger Shots with Your Smartphone

Capturing juicy burger shots with your smartphone can be challenging, but these easy-to-follow tips will help you achieve mouth-watering results.

While hamburgers are one of the most photographed foods on social media, with over seven million pictures shared on Instagram alone, not many achieve that juicy look that we all know and love.

So, whether you’re a food blogger, a content creator for a hamburger restaurant, or a grill wizard who enjoys sharing their creations, this is the article for you.

Capture Juicy Burger Shots with Your Smartphone

These tips will help you improve your burger smartphone shots. If you want some other food photography tricks, check out this article.

Turn off the flash

The phone’s built-in flash is one of the worst lighting sources you can use to take juicy burger shots. If the ambient light isn’t good enough, try moving closer to a window.

If you prefer to use artificial light, you can use an external LED panel or a ring light. Alternatively, use the flashlight from another phone – it will still be harsh, but you can control the angle and distance.

Use portrait mode

Have you ever noticed how many professional photographs have a blurred background? This makes the main subject – in this case, the burger – stand out.

When you shoot with a camera, you can control this effect by adjusting the aperture and the focal length. However, on your smartphone, you only have to choose the Portrait mode on your camera app.

In Portrait mode, the phone will automatically blur the background for you. You’ll find this feature in most modern phones, but if yours doesn’t have it, you can download a different camera app.

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Choose a neutral background

A neutral background will make it easier for you to make the hamburger the hero of the photo. This is because nothing will distract the viewer’s attention from it.

You can always use a wooden cutting board or a solid-colored wall if you don’t have a photography backdrop.

Alternatively, you can have elements in the background that complement the burger – just make sure they’re out of focus.

Try close-up shots

Focusing on the details is the best way to highlight how juicy a burger is. Try taking close-up shots, and don’t be afraid to crop.

You might need to get very close to get this type of photo with your phone. This means that you’ll need to use the macro feature so the camera can focus at a shorter distance.

Alternatively, change the focal length if the phone has multiple cameras, or buy external lenses.

Find the best angle and lens

As you can imagine, photographing the burger from the side is a classic shot. This position allows you to show all the layers of ingredients.

Additionally, placing the phone at a lower angle, tilted up, will make the hamburger look bigger, which is a great way to highlight it.

However, you might want to experiment with different perspectives to get that unique and unexpected shot. While you’re at it, try changing focal lengths if your camera allows it.

You can put the hamburger close to the camera using a wide-angle lens to make it look bigger and juicier – give it a try!

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Don’t forget to style your picture

Regardless of whether you shoot with a smartphone or a camera, a big part of food photography is the styling.

Make sure you use the right food photography props to highlight the burger – this includes things like the tabletop, plate, condiments, french fries, etc.

Then, use the grid feature to create the best composition. Most camera apps have the rule of thirds, but you can download a third-party app with other overlays to step up your game.

If you’re the cook, make sure you use the tricks of the trade to build the best-looking burger you can.

Shoot while it’s fresh

It’s important to have everything ready by the time the real hamburger gets to your plate. If you start figuring out the light, the props, etc., after the burger is served, you’ll miss the freshness window.

As time passes, the buns will get soggy, the cheese will harden and look like plastic, and the grease from the meat will look anything but juicy and appetizing. That’s not to talk about the freshness of the vegetables.

So, don’t waste time – capture the colors and textures at their best by shooting as soon as possible.

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Edit your photos

Doing the best you can at the time of the shot is a given. However, taking a perfect shot right from the get-go is almost impossible, especially if it’s a casual shot at a restaurant and not a professional photo shoot.

So, you can enhance your picture and fix any production errors by editing your photos with a photo editing app. You can adjust the colors to make the meat and vegetable more vibrant.

It’s also possible to make the meat bigger so that the bun-to-meat ratio improves. You can also make the buns rounder or remove any blemishes if there are any.

Each picture will need different adjustments, and you can decide how much you want to keep natural and how much to fix.

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