Is This the End of Food Photography?

Just kidding. It’s not that serious. 😉

But I *have* been hearing rumors about how food photography might be getting pushed out by the rise of Reels and TikTok taking over the social media space.

Here’s the truth: no matter what, food photography is not going out of style.

Why?

Because food companies’ best marketing asset is always going to be food photos. PERIOD!

And sure. There is totally money and business in more “relatable” video content like Reels and TikTok. If that’s your thing, go for it! Personally, I love watching Reels and spend hours scrolling through TikTok… 👀

But that doesn’t mean food photos are going out the window. It just means this ever-expanding social media space is, well, expanding more!

So why isn’t food photography going away? Well, partially because the applications of food photography are much broader. A Reel is made for Reels. A TikTok is made for TikTok. But a high-quality food photo can be a Facebook ad, an Instagram ad, a website image, an Instagram post, a packaging photo, and so much more. That’s why it’s always going to be worthwhile to have high-quality food photography skills in your arsenal.

Just peep the very first photo of food taken in 1832, waaaaay back before Instagram or even color photography was a thing:

Like, this stuff’s been around since the very beginning!

And keep in mind, Reels and TikToks are pretty new in the scheme of things. We can’t be sure if they’ll stick around, or what their future looks like. Maybe they will stick around, and if that’s the case, that’s awesome because it gives those creators room to be in this vast space, too.

Just remember, the addition of new forms of content doesn’t mean the most stable, wide-reaching form of food content is going somewhere. Food photography has been valuable well before TikTok or Reels and it will continue to be valuable well after similar trends come and go.

In fact, the knowledge about how to take phenomenal food photos can be applied to TikTok and Reels to make awesome video content. So why not master those concepts and apply them to new, trendy mediums? Things like composition, lighting, texture, editing, etc. are timeless!

So as the online world continues to evolve, remember: no need to freak out! Food photography is a skill that’s profitable no matter what new app or trend or meme or whatever is in the spotlight at the moment.

And we’ll be here — ready to help you learn all those awesome food photography skills so you can earn lots of $$$ no matter what form of social media is popular next. 🙂