How to Photograph and Style Cupcakes (Without Fancy Decorations)

As food photographers and food stylists, we often have big dreams for our creations. But what happens when you aren’t good at cake decorating and you need to photograph cupcakes?

Well, you’re in luck - I am going to share my top tips for photographing and styling cupcakes without fancy decorations! No piping bags and no headaches.

1. Add Height

What I mean by “add height” is to frost the cupcakes in a way that leads the eye up. You don’t need to pipe frosting, you can simply add extra frosting and shape with an offset spatula. When it comes to cupcakes in photographs, most do not find it appealing to see a sparsely frosted cupcake. So add more than you think you’ll need.

Also to the showcase height, shoot the cupcakes straight-on. Overhead shots are great, but straight-on shots will make cupcakes stand out.

2. Play with Texture

If something is on the boring side, incorporating textural elements will greatly improve the subject(s). With these cupcakes, I swirled the frosting and tossed sprinkles on top and around the backdrop to create interest. Additionally, the paper and detailed backdrop add intrigue.

3. Layering

This is similar to texture. Have you ever been told that your pictures just look flat or that something is missing? Layering is when you build up subjects by placing props underneath. For example, I demonstrated this by putting crinkled paper and a small plate underneath the center cupcake.

4. Create a human element or lived-in feel

In the old days of food photography, the goal seemed to be to make the food look as perfect as possible. Now, consumers want a drool factor and they want to see interaction with the food. A simple way to achieve this is to take a bite out of the cupcake. You could also have your hand in the frame frosting the cupcakes. Long story short, it’s okay to be messy.

5. Toppings

Plain cupcakes just aren’t as appetizing as cupcakes with sprinkles, flowers, or chocolate sauce. Since this post is all about not using fancy decorations, I think we can ditch the buttercream roses and caramel swirls.

Sprinkles are affordable and they make for cutesy cupcakes. Another option is faux flowers. You can find these at any craft store and you can use them on top or around your scene for a soft ethereal look.

Let’s talk camera settings and photographing the Cupcakes

For most cupcake shots, I like to have a shallow depth of field. I do this because it brings all your attention to the cupcake itself - showcasing the frosting, sprinkles, and cake texture. Shutter speed and ISO will depend on your light situation and if you are using a tripod. For the flat lays, I opened up the aperture (to f/5.0 and f/5.6) in order to have more in focus. This tip goes for all photo shoots - make sure to check your subject is in focus. Sometimes we get so caught up that we don’t go back to the photo after to check that it’s in focus.

The color scheme and exposure of the scene are completely up to you. I don’t think cupcakes have to be bright and airy or dark and moody. Something that I do frequently is slightly underexposing an image. so that when in post-processing I can apply a variety of edits changing the images’ “mood”. This gives me more creative control and also ensures that certain areas aren’t blown out.

Want more food photography articles? Check out this one - My Top Food Photography Props

Thank you for reading! I hope this helped you with planning your next cupcake photo shoots.