We’ve all seen photos of food on menus, recipes, and all over Instagram, but these 7 Shutterstock artists take culinary imagery to the next level with aerial photos of skillet dishes, bright patterns made from blood-orange slices, and colorful ombre cakes.
Capturing everything from ingredients to completed meals, these artists show how impressive food photography can be when you’re willing to get a little creative. See a sampling of each artist’s aesthetic below, and click through to explore more of their mouthwatering cuisine-filled portfolios.
Natalia Lisovskaya focuses on the details in her food photography, capturing close-up images of desserts and snacks. Using wooden backgrounds for contrast, she makes every meal look almost too pretty to eat.
Simone van den Berg brings colorful elements to her photography, creating bright, playful images of food. With these grilled baby carrots, she contrasts orange and bright blue with a fun, floral print, crafting an image that’s perfect for spring or a summertime barbecue.
Jill Chen not only captures vibrant images of food, but also finds ways to get creative with her edible art. This photo at the top of this post is just one in a series in which Chen collected similarly colored fruits and vegetables for images focused on a single palette. She’s also photographed red, orange, and green collections of brightly colored foods.
Area 381’s aerial ingredient photos are perfectly posed, taking you step-by-step through the baking process. There are also photos of single items, like pumpkins, watermelons, and smoothies, all positioned on crisp, clean white backgrounds that will make you wish your kitchen could look that good.
In addition to more traditional photos of food, Ingrid HS has a clever series of background images in which she uses fruit slices to form colorful patterns. Cutting up lemons, limes, oranges, and even tomatoes, she captures fruity photos that make anything they’re used in feel bright and fresh.
With more than 6,000 images in their portfolio, photographers B. and E. Dudzinscy have a way of making anything look delicious. Their vivid, rustic food photography captures the colors and textures of meals in a way that makes them pop off the page.
Ruth Black’s photography is impressive, but the beauty of her photos comes more from the pastries she creates than from the images themselves. She captures cupcakes, macarons, cake pops and cookies, showing that she is truly an artist — with both a camera and with food. We loved this cake image so much, we even featured it in our Game of Brands blog series.
Explore more fantastic food photography in our “Edible Art” lightbox »
Top image: Collection of fresh, purple-toned vegetables and fruits by Jill Chen