iFoodtography School by Sarah Crawford (formerly Fennel) from the popular blog Broma Bakery is an online course teaching you fundamentals of smartphone food photography. Read my full review, get a discount, have a sneak peek into the course & grab my free bonus!
Tip: This is a review of Foodtography School’s smartphone photography course. I've also reviewed their signature Foodtography School course.
Intro
Let’s start with some helpful facts about the course!
- There’s about 90-minutes of content
- You get lifetime access so you can always go back and rewatch
- Suitable for iPhone & Android users
- Teaches you basic composition, food styling & editing
- You get access to a private Facebook group for all students
Units
- Fundamentals of smartphone photography
This is a very quick 7-minute introduction to the course. It guides you through the basics of shooting with a smartphone.
Learn the difference between smartphone lenses & other camera lenses, and the do’s and don’t-s when shooting with a phone. Master the art of focusing and learn how to use grid lines and settings like the HDR feature and self-timer.
- Lighting & composition
What is lighting and why is it so important?
What makes food photography so different from other types of photography?
You’ll learn all that and more in this quick unit.
- Live styling sessions
*Screengrabs used with permission from Foodtography Schol.
This was my favourite part of the course!
Two professionally-filmed styling sessions: styling a coffee flatlay and styling a smoothie bowl.
Learn about visual storytelling, understand basic compositional elements and concepts such as texture, layering, placement, human element.
Simple but effective tips that you can use yourself when setting up your next shoot.
- Editing
Start to finish editing for the coffee flatlay & smoothie bowl shoots using FREE photo editing apps - Snapseed & VSCO.
How to choose the right app and what is the difference between them?
Focusing on perfecting highlights, shadows, exposure, sharpness, etc. If you want to add that special oomph to your photos and hide the fact that they were taken with your smartphone, this is for you!
- In the wild (shooting in restaurants)
Two live styling sessions in two different restaurants.
What things to keep in mind when doing a restaurant shoot, tips on how to prepare for the shoot, how to add variety & balance to your images.
How to place the cutlery and fill in spaces on the table with simple restaurant props.
Why I Loved This Course
- So accessible. Perfect for beginners!
- Brilliant if you’re a blogger or influencer wanting to stand out with your images
- An amazing gift for casual lovers of photography. Seriously can’t go wrong with it
- Manages to cover both composition, editing & restaurant styling all in one
- Great for social media managers who want to improve their photography without spending the big bucks
- Gives you access to a FAB private group of Foodtography Students
Who I think this course is NOT for:
- Anyone who wants to make food photography their full-time career: you will need something more in-depth such as their signature Foodtography School course
- Anyone that thinks simply just watching the course videos will instantly improve their images - you really need to put the work in and practice yourself.
- Anyone who has a little bit more money to spend - remember, this is very much an intro/beginners course. If you do have have a bigger budget, opt for something a little bit more detailed.
FAQ
iFoodtography School currently costs $117.
You can grab 15% off with my code MYVEGANMINIMALIST.
Yes! As someone that has taken lots of online courses, I think iFoodtography School is packed with tons of helpful tips and tricks all for a bargain price of just over $100.
I love how it joins composition, styling & editing all in 1 course.
These two courses are considerably different.
My advice? If you have the money to spare and really want to dig into food photography the main course is what I would recommend.
It’s a LOT more in-depth, packed with roughly 20 hours of video content. This makes it vastly more detailed than the smartphone course.
Want to know more? Read my review of Foodtography School!
TIP - My discount code MYVEGANMINIMALIST is valid for ALL courses & products by Foodtography School, including their Lightroom presets, brand guides, and all their other courses.
Private group
When joining iFoodtography School you’ll gain access to a brilliant private Facebook group called Foodtography Insiders where you can chat and exchange feedback with fellow students.
This is the place to ask any questions and get immediate feedback on your composition, styling & editing.
Moreover, you can learn from the work of other students and reach out to find other local foodtography lovers in your area. I met some of my best friends through this group so it's definitely THE place to be!
Best of all? This is the SAME group that students of the main Foodtography School course are in! This means you’ll be able to see all their work and get feedback from students who have taken the thorough 20-hour course.
Teaching style
Just like other courses by Foodtography School, this one is professionally filmed but still remains super relaxed, approachable & easy to understand.
And if something does remain a struggle, you can always watch it again and again, or simply ask your fellow students in the private FB group.
Bonus perks
This photo was taken in really low light using an iPhone 8! Knowing composition & editing tricks can help massively when you need to shoot in bad conditions.
If you sign up to iFoodtography School using my discount code MYVEGANMINIMALIST, you’ll get 1 photo critique for FREE.
If you want your critique, just email me (via the Contact page) or DM me on Instagram.
Send me one photo you want some feedback on and I’ll get back to you with an honest, no-holding-back critique and practical advice on how to improve.
In addition to this, you’ll also get these bonus perks when you sign up:
- Social Media Walkthrough: a fun 15-minute video by the curator of @foodtographyschool on Instagram. She shows us how she plans and edits their gorgeous feed. Includes tips and advice on scheduling apps, curating the perfect IG feed, arranging different images for maximum cohesion etc.
- Glossary of Terms: a free .pdf download including a simple explanation of every major photography term you always wanted to know about. Including direct/indirect light, perspective, implied movement, visual weight, micro adjustments, rule of thirds, dynamic, etc.
I hope my review provided a good insight into iFoodtography School.
If I missed anything or if you have any questions just let me know in the comments below!
PS - If you’re looking to improve your food photography for free, sign up for my 5-day email course!
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