5 Things to Do Before Shooting Food Content for Social Media

Creating food-related social content can seem like a huge undertaking, but with a little preparation and strategic thinking, you can cook up a successful food shoot in no time! Follow these five quick tips to planning the perfect food shoot before you dig into creating your next batch of content.

Storyboard Your Perfect Plan

Content producers tend to be very creative and visual thinkers. If you’re a visual thinker, then laying out what you want to do in a storyboard can help you and your team understand exactly how your shoot should go. Sketching out different “scenes” or moments you want to capture can help you be sure that you gather all the supplies you need to make that happen. It can also help you remember to catch every shot you need, like a shot list that you would can use when you’re on location taking photos. Though shoots don’t always go according to plan, laying it all out upfront will help you stay on track.

Make a List, Check it Twice

After you’ve figured out how you want you set up to look and what you want to shoot, figure out what you’ll need to get there. You can do this with an organized list. Check out your prop stash to see what you already have. Then, jot down what you’ll need and figure out where you’ll need to go to get it or if you can order it online to save you a trip to the store!

Pick out Pretty Produce

If you’re using fresh foods like fruit and vegetables, play close attention to how they look when you’re shopping. Yes, Photoshop is a useful tool for removing imperfections, but if you pick out the most blemish-free produce in the beginning, it allows you to cut out some of the editing you’ll have to do in the end. It may take a little more time to shop, but you’ll thank yourself later when you’re not working overtime to remove flaws from your images or video.

Keep the Budget in Mind (Save Things for Later)

No matter how much you have to spend, it’s always good to consider your budget. It could help in case you want to save money to splurge on a more expensive prop later. Collecting and storing non- perishable food props like spices, condiments, and frozen goods can keep you from re-buying  them later. After all, you likely will only use a portion of these items, so tossing out the unused portion wouldn’t be putting them to full use.

Stock up on Seasonal Props

The tip may be the most useful of all! In marketing, you’ll often find that you create content for periods far ahead of when these seasons or events actually occur. That means that you could be shooting fall content in summer or summer content in winter. As a content creator, that means it can sometimes be tough to find a specific holiday or seasonal props that you may need for a content shoot. Yes, you could always shop online, but as we all know, social media moves fast, so there isn’t always time to wait for things to ship when you need them ASAP.

Looking for things ahead of time or stocking up when you know that items are available, or better yet on sale because the season over, can save you the trouble of trying to find something that isn’t available in a store  when you need  it. So, to save time and effort in the future, you can work to start stocking up on seasonal props for your brand when you see them to use for future shoots.

After you’ve prepped, you should be all set to shoot your content! If you need help making your staged shots feel authentic, check out this article. Or, if that isn’t enough, we’re always here to help you whip up something sweet. Contact us!



Ignite Social Media