We live in an image-driven culture that exposes thousands of images to us every day. To make your brand stand out in a crowd, it has to communicate to your consumer in a memorable way. And do so in a way that can’t be confused with your competition. Great food photography does that.
With unprecedented product choices in the retail landscape, it’s essential to provide appetite appeal that triggers an immediate “buy it” reaction in consumers’ minds.
Savvy consumer packaged goods companies know their brands and their consumers intimately. Package designers and food photographers alike must have an equally intimate knowledge of the brand, the brand’s competition, and the target consumer as they develop the visual “feel” of a brand’s packaging. All elements must stay within the brand’s “character.” Depending on the character, photography can be fun and playful, warm and inviting, light and fresh, or sinfully indulgent.
Who are your consumers? What types of magazines do they read? What do they watch? If your audience is composed of people who read Gourmet, Bon Appetit, or Food and Wine, and who watch the Food Network, then thay may be open to contemporary or cutting-edge images. On the other hand, these images might not appeal to the “meat-and-potatoes” crowd.
Consumers who buy organic products usually read magazines that show food in more natural environments. Backgrounds are photographed out of focus and with natural styling. Pro-organic consumers relate this style of photography to healthful, natural products.
Who is your competition? How are you different? Can you show that through your package? Call attention to your product by creating images that are more appetite appealing than those for competing brands. You can also add simple props and backgrounds that correlate to your brand’s essence.
Consider Steak House Choice Pub Style Burgers (an Albertson’s private-label brand). These are expensive, high-quality products, and the photograph is the key asset on the package that communicates this quality difference to consumers. The packaging photography features rich, dark, wood backgrounds that consumers associate with a premium steakhouse.
Complementary lighting amplifies the texture and the moistness of the meat while also creating dark shadows to make the product seem bolder. The angle of the light focuses attention on the product while illuminating enough background to provide a sense of place.
Read on for more of Teri Campbell’s thoughts on mouthwatering food-packaging photography.
Teri Campbell is a former photographer for Procter & Gamble’s in-house creative group. His studio handles packaging photography for companies including P&G, Kellogg’s, HJ Heinz Co., Campbell’s, and Kroger.
- By Teri Campbell Creative Leader, Teri Studios
