Photo credit: @f.o.v_
We live in an era that believes in “more”. The world is now bursting with e-mails, WhatsApp messages and social media posts, and our brains and minds are getting busier than ever trying to catch up with everything going on around us. Consequently, the time to take care of oneself and wind down has become a rare commodity.
Maybe that’s why we love grabbing coffee and brunch in beautiful cafés at the weekend and taking, sharing and liking aesthetic #coffee and #brunch Instagram posts when we’re not there ourselves. With almost two billion #coffee images on Instagram, we need to step up our Instagram game if we want our coffee and brunch images to stand out from everyone else’s.
To help you to put together an impressive minimalist feed of NOC coffee and brunch photos that will get you more likes and followers, or simply to have a more curated record of your experiences, here we present NOC’s Coffee & Brunch Photography 101 class:
1) Natural light is your best friend
The cardinal rule of taking good shots of your food and drink is to use natural light as it doesn’t create unwanted and awkward shadows in your photos. The NOC Roastery, Mercury and Whampoa shops are fitted with large windows and glass doors, making them perfect locations for you to enjoy and Instagram your coffees and brunches. The best time frames to visit and shoot are the early morning or late afternoon, with midday sunlight often being too harsh.
Photo credit: @f.o.v_
2) Keep your background and palette simple
A good lifestyle image that resonates with your followers tells a story or describes a moment in time. You want to make sure to structure your image in a way that doesn’t distract viewers from the main subject you are trying to feature, so pay special attention to the background and colour palette of your image. To achieve a neat, consistent feed, work with a rustic colour scheme, include only a few bright colours as pops of colour and remember to remove any elements in the frame that do not help you to tell the story.
Photo credit: @thatmrlam
3) Props, props, props
Props are wonderful tools to add interest to an image and to help you to bring your theme to life. Have a look around the space for pieces of tableware or small plants that you can feature in your image (some of our customers’ most popular choices include the Bomshbee salt and pepper shakers and sugar bowl at our Whampoa branch). You can also add a personal touch to an image by including what you would usually bring with you to a coffee shop – your digital gadgets, books and a friend who is happy to double as a hand model! Don’t forget to add the props sparingly and to style them to perfection.
Photo credit: @foodtravelbabe
4) Try different angles
It’s easy to get stuck shooting only in one angle. The best strategy to getting a good image is working around the brunch spread you have ordered and to move around and try different angles so that you know which one works best. Two of the tested and proven angles that usually work are 45 degrees and the overhead shot. Nonetheless – experiment!
Photo credit: @f.o.v_
5) Edit in moderation
If you want to create a consistent tone and overall vibe for your feed, editing is probably the most important skill you need to master. If you’re not too familiar with software from the Adobe family, there are a bunch of mobile apps like VSCO, Snapseed and Nebi that can help you to start your photo-editing journey.
Photo credit: @themagicalbunnies
