Food Photography Using Aperture Priority for Better Depth of Field
Introduction to Aperture Priority in Food Photography
As a food photographer in Northamptonshire, I take a wide range of food photographs, both in my home studio and on location for clients. I follow a specific setup and process for every shoot. While I usually shoot in manual mode, recently I’ve been teaching students about aperture priority, which has also helped me better understand my own camera and lens.
When shooting at the widest focal length, my f-stop can go as low as f/3.5. Teaching aperture priority has highlighted the importance of depth of field in restaurant photography and product photography for restaurants.
What Is Aperture Priority Mode?
Aperture priority allows the photographer to control depth of field while the camera automatically adjusts shutter speed based on lighting conditions.
Why Depth of Field Matters in Food and Restaurant Photography
Creating Subject Separation in Food Photography: Shallow depth of field helps isolate dishes and draw attention to key elements on the plate.
Achieving Sharpness Across Styled Food Scenes: A wider depth of field ensures multiple elements remain in focus when styling food for menus, websites, and social media.
Key Tips for Using Aperture Priority in Food Photography
To decrease depth of field in your photograph:
Use a narrow aperture (larger f-number)
Distance yourself from the subject
Use a shorter focal length
To expand depth of field:
Widen your aperture (smaller f-number)
Move closer to the subject
Lengthen your focal length
Every photograph has some form of depth of field, and you can adjust it using either focal length or aperture. For more details, read my previous blog on depth-of-field photography around your home & garden.
In this blog, I have explained my own process when taking a food photograph and using aperture priority.
If you have not used aperture priority before, this is when the camera lets you only control the aperture you wish to use per photograph. You are not able to change the speed, so depending on the lighting you may require a tripod if the speed drops below 1/60 or increase the ISO.
Planning and Composing a Food Photography Shot
Using Foreground and Background for Depth: Carefully positioning background elements such as windows or props enhances depth and visual interest.
The images above show how moving plants around helped frame the glass. I eventually placed the plants on both sides to create a natural frame, enhancing the depth of the photograph.
Framing Food Using Natural Elements: Using plants and props helps create natural frames that guide the viewer’s eye.
Styled Food Photography and Final Image Results
Focus Stacking for Sharp, Professional Food Images: Combining aperture priority with focus stacking ensures sharp detail from front to back.
Lens Choice and Depth Control: Zoom lenses such as the Nikon 24–120mm benefit greatly from aperture priority when managing depth of field.
These images demonstrate the amount of depth of field achieved by moving the subject relative to the background. Planning like this makes it much easier to capture the intended layout in-camera.
Final Thoughts on Aperture Priority in Food Photography
The final image features a glass filled with strawberries and ice cream, focus-stacked so everything from top to bottom is sharp. Using aperture priority made it simpler to manage depth of field than relying on manual settings alone. Aperture priority is a powerful tool for food and restaurant photography, allowing consistent depth control while maintaining creative flexibility.
My Nikon 24–120mm lens, with an aperture range of f/3.5–5.6, can make controlling depth of field challenging, so moving forward I’ll primarily use aperture priority when I want to expand depth in my food photography.
Have you used aperture priority before?
How do you apply it in your photography?
Professional Food & Restaurant Photography
Are you looking to showcase your food, menu, or restaurant at its best?
I specialise in professional food and restaurant photography across Northamptonshire, creating clean, appetising images that help attract customers and elevate your brand. Whether you need content for menus, websites, or social media, let’s create visuals that make your food stand out.
Get in touch: sampeel@wellypictures.com
