Like with any art form, taking food photography from "the thing I do for fun" to "the thing that pays my bills" requires your full commitment and passion. Lucas Zarebinski has been in the photography field for about ten years—from assisting other photographers to running his own studio—and has an impressive list of clients including Details, Esquire, New York Times, and Everyday with Rachael Ray,, but he still wouldn't call it a steady job. Find out how he got into the field, what he recommends to aspiring food photographers, and take a look at his studio and equipment. More

The thing is, food blog photography is completely different from professional food photography. Most of the time, we're working in low-light situations where we neither have the time nor the ability to set up lighting rigs or even an off-camera flash, for that matter. Over the years, we've figured out the best ways to get presentable photos out of just about every situation food blogging will put you in. We've compiled the most important tips here. More

A picture is worth a thousand words. Or calories. And that's why we've got loads of them. (Photos, not calories. ...Okay, calories too.) Here are ten of our favorite food porn-y photos from 2010. More

"Right now, people like messy," said New York-based food stylist Alison Attenborough in this fascinating Wall Street Journal piece on how food styling in glossies and on television has changed over the years. No more hairspray and powdered deodorant spray gimmicks to engineer that "perfect" luster—now it's all about the au naturel, bitten-apart, cheese-dribbling handmade look. More

This link may be old hat to longtime foodweb foragers*, but the internet has a short memory and a recent Talk thread churned up Ranjit Bhatnagar's visually arresting set of Greenmarket Produce Scans. More

Last week we asked: Do You Take Photos of Your Food Before Eating? The majority, with 35%, went to "Sometimes," but "Just When It's Photogenic" was not far behind with 33%. Only 11% said "Always." Many commenters admitted to being part of the "I blog, therefore I shoot what I eat" camp. Thank you to everyone who participated. Now you can go back to taking a photo of that cereal. More

Before you pick up the fork, you pull out the camera. It's reached a point for some of us where we can't fight that "must take photo" urge before digging into a meal. And once we start snapping, we need the perfect light and just about every angle. "Oh wait, cut it in half for the innards shot!" (The innards shot is especially important for sandwiches, burgers, and other foods with beautiful cross sections). Some cameras even have food settings now for enhanced sharpness. So, are you part of the food paparazzi? Take the poll! » More

Last week for our Weekend Cook and Tell we asked you to share some of your favorite food photographs and and tips for better food photography, a challenge we called "foodtography." Let's take a look at some of our most picturesque responses in this slideshow. More

[Photograph: Tara Kocourek on Pictory] This photograph, titled "Thai Delight" from Tara Kocourek, appears in the Local Flavor gallery on Pictory. What is Pictory, you ask? Pictory is a showcase for people around the world to document their lives and cultures. Anyone can submit one large, captioned image to each of Pictory's editorial themes.... Why just one photo? I want you to pick your best image--and, it's really interesting to compare work from different contributors on the same topic. Other sites offer photo essays and bodies of work from one photographer, but I want to help a diverse group of people put together collaborative photo essays. Pictory is like a crowd-sourced version of the Boston Globe's Big Picture. The... More

Or just stare at and admire. Remember that kid in grade school who was secretly eating Play-Doh in the corner? Well, he would freak if arts and crafts time involved these crayons from food and fashion site Luxirare. Each color was made from a medley of food bits including nuts, seeds, dried veggies, and fruits. For the yellow: freeze-dried corn, peanuts, bee pollen, and dried bananas. And the green: peas, green beans, dried kiwi, and green Fruity Pebbles. So if you happen to have a crayon mold lying around, clearly you should make these. Related: Potato Crisps from Luxirare... More