With so many online food photography courses, it’s hard to know which are worth the price tag and investment. Keep reading for my honest review of the most popular and best food photography courses to help you decide which is best for your business and investment.
If you have any questions about the courses below, don’t hesitate to comment below or DM me on Instagram. I’m an open book, and I want you to know 100% what you’ll be getting before purchasing a course!
*NOTE* I’m not an affiliate for any of the courses so these reviews are completely honest.
Why To Invest in Food Photography Courses
Regardless of how long you’ve been a food photographer: a couple months, or decades, you can always learn more. Our work adapts to changing technology and social media demands so we can remain relevant to our viewers.
I understand how stressful it is to spend hundreds (or thousands) on a course without a guarantee, but trust me when I say that investing in your education will never be a waste of time and money.
Review of Food Photography Courses
1. Foodtography School by Sarah Crawford of Broma Bakery
The day I decided to learn food photography, was also the day Sarah of Broma Bakery hosted a free webinar. With no other knowledge of other food photography courses, i signed up for the beginner course and paid $600 USD (the price is now slightly higher). I didn’t even create my blog or IG account yet.
Now *takes deep breath* what I’m about to say is a VERY unpopular opinion. Just Google Foodtography School review, and you’ll see dozens of positive reviews raving about the course with affiliate links, but I want to be COMPLETELY honest and transparent, especially if you’ve been on the fence about investing in this course.
I found the course to be disappointing in the amount and quality of content considering the expensive price tag. Please note that the course has now been expanded to include more modules on business, social media and marketing. The price tag has also jumped to a whopping $1,167 USD (and this is only when paid in full).
What I found lacking in Foodtography Beginner Course:
- Too basic – Can something be too basic? Yes! As someone who has a background in art & design (i was a fashion designer prior), I found the modules on lighting, composition and color too rudimentary. It was knowledge I already had or could have easily found on the internet for free.
- Lack of styling diversity – Broma Bakery is known for it’s bright, modern and airy aesthetic. If that’s your aesthetic as well – that’s great! Throughout the course, I felt like i wasn’t given the tools to explore other styles.
- No direct access to the teacher – Foodtography school only had the Facebook group for learning support. You get access to hundred of students via a Facebook group, but the Foodtography team will rarely comment and answer student questions. For the price point, I was expecting greater feedback and support.
Canon Rebel t2i – 24-55mm zoom kit lens
FINAL THOUGHTS – Ultimately, the expensive price tag just isn’t worth it to me, as there are now so many other courses that offer similar material, AND MORE, but for half the price. Looking back, I should have taken the advanced course right from the get go. HOWEVER; I do credit Foodtography School to being the first all-in-one comprehensive course of its kind. Without Sarah I never would have been exposed to food photography as a career.
Who I recommend this course for – If your goal is to be a food blogger, with 1) beautiful consistent photos; 2) a branded instagram account with a similar image style throughout; 3) working with brands via sponsored blog & social media content; and 4) you only want to take 1 course to learn it all, then this might be for you.
2. First We Eat – Creative Process Workshop by Eva Kosmas Flores & Beata Lubas
This may seem like a grandiose statement, but this course single handled propelled my photography skills from bleh to making me feel excited and motivated again. I purchased this course in November of 2020, just 7 months after Foodtography school, and it was worth every cent. In fact, I couldn’t believe my eyes when it was priced at $247 USD.
This course was suppose to be an in-person workshop hosted by Eva and Beata, but, due to the pandemic, they moved the course online. I’m so glad they did because I never would have been able to join otherwise.
Canon 80D – 24-70mm f2.8 zoom lens
What sets this course apart:
- You get to see behind-the–scenes – I find that I learn best by watching a pro do what they do best, and this course is exactly that! I got to watch and learn how Bea & Eva set-up, photograph, and edit images from start to finish. Not only that, but it was incredible to see the different styles and creative approaches they have to food photography.
- Learn how to problem solve & trouble shoot – My favorite part of the course was the modules dedicated to tackling common photoshoot hurdles and issues. face. For example, how to capture steam and sifting movements; to styling cold foods, and even their mental approach when a shoot doesn’t go as planned.
- Five (5) In-person Q&A Sessions – These live zoom sessions made it beyond worthwhile. Each session had a different topic or theme ranging from photography equipment to the business side of the industry. This alone made the price worth it, as normally a one-on-one session with them is easily double the course price.
FINAL THOUGHTS – While this workshop isn’t available at the moment, having experienced Eva & Bea’s teaching style, I highly recommend any of their courses. They put so much thought, value and attention into creating the material, and they really do care about being a part of every student’s journey. I’ve rewatch this course so many times, and each time I find something new again I haven’t implemented.
3. Artificial Light Academy by Jonie Simon of The Bite Shot
Jonie’s Artificial Light Academy teaches food photographers how to use artificial light so they can have more flexibility over their shooting hours (imagine being able to shoot past 4pm in the winter!!), and have greater control in crafting light.
Before taking this course, I already respected Jonie as a photographer, educator and loved her teaching style through her many in-depth tutorials on Youtube, so I knew investing in the course would be worth it. I was still so scared though, because not only would I have to buy the course (currently priced at $299 USD), but switching over to artificial light also meant investing in hundreds of dollars of new lighting gear.
If you’re curious about whether natural light or artificial if right for you, Read my comparison of the two here! Or maybe you’re already learning artificial light, and you’re curious about flash verses continuous light, check out which one I prefer here.
Canon 80D – 24-70mm f2.8 zoom lens – Godox TT600 with Godox X2T trigger – 120cm Octogon Softbox
What I love about Artificial Light Academy
- You can being implementing what you learn right away – When I say this course is comprehensive, I really mean it. The minute I finished the course, I could begin using my flash unit right away. Jonie has a way of making light physics and technical talk easy to understand.
- Gear Guides – Not only does Jonie give gear recommendations for a variety of camera and light brands, but she also has videos teaching you how to connect your new equipment. It truly allows for flexibility regardless of your budget and you won’t have to switch camera brands to learn the course material.
- The course is continually updated – This is the course that keeps on giving! Jonie is continually updating the course with new material and modules, and once you’re in you won’t have to pay to access the new updates.
- Open Office hours – Yup you read that right! Not only is there an open thread where students can share, post work, and ask for help directly from Jonie and her experienced team, but she also has office hours on Zoom. I’ve never had another course offer this, and it’s a testament to how much she cares about her students.
FINAL THOUGHTS – If you want to learn artificial light, this is THE ONLY course I recommend. I’m so happy I made the switch to artificial, and it’s now the primary way I create. It’s opened up what I thought was possible with food photography, and even has created more job opportunities now that I don’t rely on the sun to create.
4. Art of Light (e-book) by Rachel Korinek of Two Loves Studio
So this technically isn’t a course – it’s an e-book, but I found this e-book about manipulating and understanding light by Rachel so in-depth it’s basically it’s own course.
Any good photographer knows that what takes an image from flat to dynamic and engaging is the light. If a photographer understands how to manipulate light, the better their images will be.
Priced at $30 USD, I consider this an essential guide and reference so you can create stunning imagery regardless of low-light situations or where you are, and the equipment you have.
5. Capture One Pro by Rachel Korinek of Two Loves Studio
REVIEW TO COME – I just purchased this course on November 22nd, 2021, and the modules are scheduled to be released starting in January 2022, so check back in for the review. I’ll also be sending a reminder via my newsletter, so sign-up to be notified when this has been updated!
Courses on My Bucket List
1. Retouching Food Photography by Rachel Korinek of Two Loves Studio
It’s no surprise that every course by Rachel is a winner, and this is course on retouching food photography has been on my wish list for a while now.
Sometimes a food photography shoot doesn’t go to plan. Maybe your cheesecake split or maybe the icing doesn’t drip just how you envisioned. Here’s where the power of photoshop magic comes in. Not only can you fix any baking imperfections, you can also collage and composite multiple images together to create the perfect image, create stop motions/gifs, and remove any reflections in your props.
These are all essential skills a photographer needs to work at an editorial and commercial level or even to make people actually stop mid-scroll on Instagram and take notice.
1. Profitable Pricing by Jonie Simon of The Bite Shot
I’m including this course because while it isn’t about the technical aspects of food photography, learning about how to price your work is a crucial part to being a successful photographer.
No longer will just talent take you far, but you need to know what your work is worth, and how to negotiate and communicate that worth to prospective clients. With so many great food photographers bidding for clients, I think it’s important to be up-to-date on industry pricing standards to remain competitive but also fair.
Recap and Main Takeaways
I know I’ve barely scratched the surface of online food photography courses, but the courses above are the ones I took.
With a wealth of free information available on the web, my FIRST recommendation is to NOT BUY, but to explore as much free information as possible until you have a better understanding on what you want paid teaching on, and the type of photography and style you want to learn.
Looking back, I wish i had done this first instead of just buying the first course I saw. I’ve found that the best information I’ve learnt has actually been from books, Youtube, and even from asking a food photographer who’s style I admire!
I want to hear from you!
If you feel like I’ve left something out or have other questions, please leave a reply in the comments section below. You can also contact me via e-mail or DM me on Instagram.
As always if you have a food photography topic you want me to tackle, just let me know!
Happy creating, Sharon
Hi Sharon! Thank you for pulling all of this info into one post, it is really helpful to hear the pros and cons of the different food photography courses by someone who has experience in this field. I was wondering what YouTube videos you might recommend to get started before purchasing a course.
Hi Kelly,
I’m so happy to hear that you found this post helpful! I actually shared a newsletter in the past with a list of my favourite food photography channels, you can find it HERE.
Let me know if you need any other resources, or help on a specific food photography topic!
Cheers,
Sharon
Hi Sharon!! This post saved me some serious $$$! I have a very new food blog that screams help. My photos sucks. Im so confused on which course to take. Since you posted this back in 2021, do you have an updated recommendation please?
Hi Rose,
So so sorry for this late reply! If you haven’t purchased a photography course yet, would you be willing to share more what you’re hoping to get out of a course? Are you looking to learn photography skills from scratch? Maybe just need some updated lighting tutorials or something else?
I’d be happy to share my updated recommendations.
Cheers,
Sharon
Thank you so much for writing this review. You’ve saved me some serious money because I was serious considering the Foodtography course. I can’t imagine paying that much (from savings) for basics. I’ll definitely check out those you recommended. Thanks again, wish you continued success.
Hi! thank you so much for reading the blog post. It means so much to me that you value my opinion. Did you end up investing in a course? Which one did you go with?
Thank you for saying it about Sarah Broma Bakery I thought I was the only one as so many were promoting her… I WAS LITERALLY MAD at the poor quality of that course for the price… I mean MAD! I was saving for that course for a few months! I wanted to scream and plaster negative comments all over her profile but I simply let that go….. thank you for the content on this blog!I am a new fan! I am going to binge-read all your posts as I am a newbie and have no clue about artificial lighting etc struggling with composition, props etc
Hi Hanna,
Oh no! I hope you were able to get a refund or at least a partial one. I know the feeling all too well. When i first started out, I only had $1000 to invest in learning photography, so completely understand the disappointment when something that is sold as a “problem” solver completely under delivers. However, I’m so glad that you made it here onto Whiskfully So. Don’t ever hesitate to send me a dm on IG if you have any more questions about lighting, food photography, etc. it can be overwhelming in the beginning.
Sending you all the positive vibes!
Sharon
I also took foodtography school (Before that I really didn’t know any other food photographer that’s offering any food photography course) I love Sarah’s style and saw a lot of bloggers take her course. Therefore I took her course too. But I totally agreed with your review. I went in not even knowing what ISO or shutter speed is. I learn basic stuff from her and it was a good presentation but other than that the rest of the course is just PowerPoint presentations and lacks real-life demonstration. I am pretty disappointed as well. I felt like I just paid over a thousand dollars for the presentation. I don’t really care about marketing or Instagram part. I can learn those from some real social media gurus. I came to Sarah for photography and I feel like I didn’t get enough of that at all. I was contemplating on taking her advance foodtography class but now I know about Jonie and Rachel I doubt I would take Sarah’s advance class. That’s the problem of any online course, there are so many and you never know which one is good until you spend thousands of dollars to find out. Thank you for this amazing post and me too my next course is definitely with Jonie. She is amazing and I also learn about her on YouTube as well.
Hi Janice,
I’m so sorry to hear that you had a negative experience on your first photography course. Luckily, in the past 2-3 years there has been an influx of new courses and learning materials. Great, because there is now a wealth of information out there, but also risky (like you said) to know which ones are worth the investment. I haven’t taken Advanced Foodtography, but from speaking to those who have, the general feedback is that the advanced course materials can be found in other courses or free sources online. I personally think the course price tag is excessive for the material covered. There are also so many amazing food photography books that were released in the last year, and I whole heartedly recommend those first before investing in another class.
If you have any more questions about courses, just drop a comment here!
Happy Friday,
Sharon
I agree with you about Foodotography School! I was dissatisfied and I lacked the motivation to continue. I feel silly and got the bundle with the advanced school…
I found Roberta’s Course (healthy little cravings) Outstanding Food Photography Course the one that really pushed me to success. The small group with weekly mentorship was worth it!
I am looking into The Bite Shot course and I am glad you enjoyed it, so maybe I will make that investment to start learning artificial light!
Hi Zainab,
Firstly, I’m SO sorry about replying so late. Secondly, don’t feel silly that you got the bundle, I’ve also purchased more than my fair share of courses and templates that promised more than they delivered. It sucks, but it’s all part of the process of learning a completely new skill and starting a business. If anything, I hope you were able to write it off as a business expense! Thank you for sharing your feedback on Roberta’s course. I love her work, so I’ll have to check out her course too.
If you’re seriously considering learning artificial light, there is no course I recommend more than Joanie’s! If you have any questions about learning artificial light or about her course specifically, don’t hesitate to ask!
Happy Friday!
Sharon
Hi, what did you think of the Capture One course?
Hi Jess,
I still haven’t completed the course yet, but so far, the videos have been really informative. The platform is so different from LR, so it’s been a little overwhelming, but Rachel really goes into detail.
Best,
Sharon
This is great! Thank you so much for taking the time to pull this together!
of course! I’m so glad you found it helpful
Love love love this roundup! Agree with your re Foodtography and it feels too over saturated in only one style making it hard for you to find a non light and bright style. Thanks for the time and effort made to go into this.
Thank you! There’s so many amazing courses out there that people have been sharing with me since i did this review. I’ll have to do a part 2, but i’m so glad to hear that you echo my thoughts!