Prop Importance

Sometimes a photo is missing a little extra something, that’s where props step in to save the day. Take food photography for example, when shooting a bowl of Mac N’ Cheese the shot might be a little dull when it contains only a bowl of pasta but when you set a napkin, silverware and a cocktail alongside the dish your subject becomes much more attractive to photograph. The use of props makes for a better picture, which will in turn make for a more visually pleasing photo to use as content on your social media feed or campaigns.  

Props build the scene and can help create a narrative, but be careful as to not overdue the scene. Create a natural and practical scene when staging a photograph – viewers will know when the scene has been overdone with props or if props are not used realistically. For example, the use of a fork would work for photographing Mac N’ Cheese but you wouldn’t put a knife in the Mac N’ Cheese bowl for the picture – that doesn’t make sense!

When selecting props to use in your photography make sure they are visually pleasing to the scene you are creating. A red solo cup wouldn’t look appropriate in a fine dining steak dinner setting, but a nice glass of red wine would fit the scene. Using props that make the scene you are capturing look appropriate are so important, your audience will notice.

Get creative when staging your photographs! When setting up the scene utilize different artistic objectives like depth and shadows to create dimension within your photograph and to push your creative envelope. 

The idea of prop usage is to create a more interactive, relatable and creative setting that will capture your audience’s attention when viewing your photographs. Props help you paint a picture to your audience whether it be in product photography or food photography. The appropriate use of props will assist you in producing more productive content for your

business.