AI Food Photography

Food photography is a genre with its own rules: it is mostly about light, styling and angle. This guide covers the 12 approaches that actually sell food, from the dark-and-moody restaurant look to the bright-and-airy brunch look to the overhead flat-lay. Copy a prompt, swap in your dish, and you have a menu hero, a delivery-app thumbnail or a recipe-blog shot. Model-agnostic across Midjourney, GPT Image, Flux and Nano Banana.

Works in: Midjourney, GPT Image, Flux, Nano Banana, Stable Diffusion.

How to use this skill

When the user asks for an image prompt in this style, compose one using the formulas and vocabulary below. Fill each slot with a concrete choice, then return the finished prompt. Prefer naming a real camera/lens, a light, and a colour or film treatment, which is what makes the output read as a real photograph rather than an AI render.

Formulas

The food formula

[dish], food photography, [lighting style], [angle], [freshness cue], appetising, sharp focus

The lighting style does most of the work: 'dark moody side light' vs 'bright airy natural light'. The freshness cue (steam, splash, condensation) is what makes it look real rather than plastic.

Worked prompt examples

_The restaurant look_

A rustic bowl of pasta, food photography, dark moody dramatic side light, deep shadows, rustic table, steam, appetising, sharp focus

_Dark & moody_

A rustic bowl of pasta, dark moody food photography, dramatic single side light, deep shadows, rustic table

_Bright & airy_

A stack of pancakes with berries and syrup, bright and airy food photography, soft natural window light, white marble

_Overhead flat-lay_

A colourful grain bowl, overhead flat-lay food photography, styled ingredients around it, soft even light

Vocabulary

12 food-photography styles

The three core looks

• Dark & moody: Hard side light, deep shadows. Premium, restaurant, cookbook.
• Bright & airy: Soft window light, white surface. Fresh, healthy, brunch.
• Overhead flat-lay: Shot from directly above with props. Social, recipe blog.

Setting & mood

• Rustic: Wood table, warm light. Homely and artisan.
• Fine dining: Minimal elegant plating on white. Upscale menu.
• Marble editorial: White marble, soft daylight. Magazine editorial.
• Street food: Market bokeh at night, candid, vibrant.
• Pastel & cute: Soft pastels, playful styling. Cafe, dessert, kids.
• Dark luxury: Gold accents, dramatic rim light. High-end.

Appetite cues

• Steam / hot: Visible steam signals a hot, fresh-cooked dish.
• Splash / fresh: A water splash on ingredients reads as fresh and vibrant.
• Macro texture: Extreme close-up on texture and detail. Very appetising.

From God of Skills: a curated, hand-tested directory of AI skills, prompts, templates and image style guides. Source: https://godofskills.com/playbooks/ai-food-photography?ref=claude-skill