The Movie Version
Short Text Version
When you go into a restaurant and you might want to take a picture of the food, there are 3 things that you can do to help your photography.
First, find a table near a window with indirect light. This is the most important thing that you can do to make sure that your scene is well illuminated. A caution here, do not get direct light, or it might add too much light to your scene and the picture will just look blown out.
Second, when you take a picture of the food, make sure the light is hitting the back quarter of the food. This will give it a rim light and help separate it from the background, adding a nice 3D effect to the food. Speaking of the background.
Third, take a few seconds and make sure that there is nothing distracting or odd in the background of your picture. This can detract from the star of the picture, which is that awesome meal that you are about to dive into.
Bonus tip, if you are up for it, either grab a picture of someone enjoying their meal or have the waitress grab a quick picture of you all at the table. Photography can be a good way to meet new people.
I hope that you have found this useful. Thank you and have a great day.