“Presentation is everything.” We all know how important the look of your food is in relation to its (perceived) taste. Thus, it also matters how your food appears in an image for a Facebook post or ad.
It’s likely you don’t have the budget for, or the training to be, a professional food stylist. That doesn’t mean you can’t have appealing images.
Here are some Facebook ad/post image best practices:
MAKE SURE THE IMAGE LOOKS APPEALING
No matter how much you adjust the lighting, angles, aperture, etc., you can’t fix up an image that doesn’t look appealing.
Here’s an image that was used to advertise a meal delivery service on Facebook. Does this person’s greasy thumb make the chicken look appetizing? Not at all–in fact, most of the comments criticized the inclusion of the thumb.
USE GOOD LIGHTING
Here’s a checklist to follow:
- Use natural light whenever possible.
- Do not use the flash on your camera or smartphone.
- Have the light source come at an angle to avoid shadows.
- Consider using a light box. Here’s a video on how you can build your own.
TOUCH UP THE IMAGE USING PHOTO EDITING SOFTWARE
In Photoshop, a good first step is to choose Image > Adjustments > Levels then select “Auto.” Next, you should adjust the brightness and contrast, located in Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast.
In addition, you may need to perform a white balance so that objects that are white actually appear white. Go to Image > Adjustments > Levels and choose “Options.” Under “Algorithms,” choose “Find Dark & Light Colors.” Click “OK,” then click “Auto.”
If you don’t have Photoshop on your computer, you should install Photoshop Express on your Android device or iPhone. It’s free, and it has an auto-fix feature that adjusts contrast, exposure and white balance.