In the world of AI generation, creating a picture of a burger is easy. Creating a burger that makes the viewer smell the charcoal and taste the melting cheese is an art form. The difference between a plastic-looking "stock photo" and a Michelin-star masterpiece lies entirely in how you prompt for texture, moisture, and heat.
Food photography is not about documenting a meal; it is about seduction. You are selling the fantasy of taste. If your AI-generated food looks waxy or dry, you are failing the first rule of the culinary arts: Eat with your eyes first. This masterclass will teach you how to garnish your prompts with the sensory details needed to trigger a physical hunger response.
Part I: The Physics of Appetite - Texture and Moisture
The human brain determines if food is "tasty" by analyzing surface textures. Is it crispy? Is it juicy? Is it cold? To achieve realism, you must stop prompting for nouns (e.g., "a steak") and start prompting for tactile adjectives.
The Holy Trinity of Tasty Textures
To banish the "plastic food" look, you must explicitly prompt for these three physical states:
- The Heat (Steam & Smoke): Hot food releases visible particles. Without them, the food looks cold and stale.
Keywords:rising steam,wisps of smoke,heat haze,freshly cooked. - The Moisture (Glisten & Drip): Dry food looks unappetizing. You want to capture the reflection of light on liquids.
Keywords:glistening sauce,condensation on glass,melting butter,juicy texture,oil sheen. - The Crunch (Detail & Imperfection): Perfectly smooth food looks fake. Real food has crumbs, char marks, and uneven surfaces.
Keywords:flaky crust,seared edges,charred grill marks,scattered crumbs,cracked pepper.
Technical Booster: For translucent foods like grapes, drinks, or gummy candies, you must use the tag subsurface scattering. This mimics how light penetrates the surface of the object, making it glow from within rather than looking like solid stone.
Part II: The Table Setting - Composition Styles
The way you frame the dish tells the story. Are you in a chaotic Italian grandmother's kitchen, or a sterile high-end molecular gastronomy lab? Your camera angle and arrangement define the mood.
Selecting Your Culinary Narrative
- The "Knolling" Flat Lay: Perfect for recipe blogs or ingredient showcases. The camera looks straight down (90 degrees).
Prompt:Overhead flat lay shot, symmetrical arrangement, ingredients organized neatly, soft shadowless lighting. - The "Hero" Shot: The standard burger or drink ad. Camera is at eye-level or slightly low, making the food look massive and imposing.
Prompt:Low angle macro shot, imposing scale, shallow depth of field, focus on the filling. - The "Rustic Mess": Implies a family feast. The table is cluttered, messy, and warm.
Prompt:Chaotic dinner table, scattered flour, used cutlery, linen napkins, warm inviting atmosphere, motion blur on hands.
Advanced Camera Lenses for Food
Don't let the AI pick a random lens. Control the focus:
- Macro Lens (100mm): For extreme close-ups of droplets, textures, or single ingredients. Creates a very blurry background (bokeh).
- Standard Lens (50mm): For table spreads and lifestyle shots where you want to see the restaurant environment.
Part III: Lighting the Feast - Color Theory
Food looks completely different depending on the light source. A romantic dinner steak looks terrible in "office fluorescent lighting," and a fresh salad looks unappealing in "dark moody lighting." You must match the light to the dish.
Matching Light to Flavor
| Food Type | Lighting Setup | Why it Works |
|---|---|---|
| Fresh/Healthy (Salads, Fruits) | Natural window light, Morning sun, High-key lighting. |
Bright, white light emphasizes freshness, vibrant greens, and crisp textures. |
| Comfort/Savoury (Burgers, BBQ) | Warm tungsten light, Fireplace glow, Golden hour. |
Yellow/Orange hues trigger feelings of warmth, comfort, and cooked fats. |
| Luxury/Elegant (Desserts, Wine) | Dark moody lighting, Chiaroscuro, Rim lighting. |
Deep shadows create mystery and elegance, highlighting only the silhouette and gloss of the subject. |
| Commercial/Pop (Soda, Candy) | Hard studio flash, Pop art colors, Neon rim light. |
Creates high contrast and intense saturation for a "sugar rush" visual effect. |
Part IV: Action! - Adding Dynamic Motion
Static food is boring. The best food photography captures a split second of action. This creates a subconscious desire in the viewer to "catch" the food. Adding motion prompts is the easiest way to elevate your image from "Snapshot" to "Commercial Advertisement."
Dynamic Elements to Prompt For
- The Pour: "Pouring thick honey," "splashing milk," "drizzling chocolate sauce." (Tip: Use
high shutter speedto freeze the liquid in mid-air). - The Dusting: "Sifting powdered sugar," "sprinkling spices," "falling flour dust." This adds atmospheric particles similar to volumetric lighting.
- The Sizzle: "Exploding grease droplets," "bubbling cheese," "fizzing carbonation."
Part V: The Recipe (Prompt Structure)
Just like a recipe, the order of ingredients matters. Here is your blueprint for the perfect culinary prompt.
The Culinary Prompt Layering
- The Dish (Main Subject): "A gourmet double smash burger with melted cheddar..."
- The State (Texture/Physics): "...glistening grease, rising steam, charred edges, juicy..."
- The Plating (Environment): "...served on a rustic wooden board, scattered sea salt, dark restaurant background..."
- The Photography (Tech Specs): "...Macro photography, f/1.8 aperture, bokeh, subsurface scattering, 8k resolution."
The "Health Inspector" Negative Prompt
AI often misunderstands food anatomy. Use these negative prompts to ensure your meal remains edible:
- Gross Factors:
mold, rot, flies, insects, dirty plate, unappetizing colors, grey meat. - Structural Failures:
floating food, defying gravity (unless requested), plastic texture, wax model, playdough. - Utensil Errors:
deformed fork, extra fingers holding food, twisted knife, merging cup.
You are now ready to run the kitchen. Open the Photorealistic Generator, set your lighting to "Window Light," and start plating.