I do two things constantly: Make food & Take pictures. I even take pictures of food. It's a great way to practice my photography skills.
I got my DSLR camera March 2010. I left the dial on automatic, and didn't play around with the settings. It's only been in the last 6 months or so that I've ventured beyond "Program". Taking pictures of the food I've made gives me a subject that'll stay put & let me fiddle around with settings.
Now, I was going to get out my Point & Shoot camera, and show how it doesn't take a "fancy" camera to take great pictures; but, my old P & S is broken :(
But I think that I can still give some tips :)
Have you been to her site??? I've been following the last year, and not only does she make good food, but she takes great pictures as well. I still don't know how she takes pictures and cooks at the same time. I always have to stop, clean my hands, and then move on.
Pictures look so much better when the flash is turned off. Go look for light, whether it be outside or going to the lightest room in the house. Trust me.
I take my pictures in my kitchen. Not the brightest place but I make due. I hike up the blinds to get as much light as possible. I also turn on the light, but the combination of natural light & "fake" light works for me.
Wanna know what I use??? I bought a white foam core board & that is my backdrop for my food. Not only does it give me a base to edit my pictures {by getting the coloring right}, but it also gives me a crisp, clean picture.
Keep it simple. White, I think, is the best.
Yes, I'll take pictures of the entire dish, but it won't be my focal point. I like taking pictures & showing off a serving size. Dishing out something seems to show off more of the food.
Don't just take one picture, take several. Mix it up with different angles as well. Get up close, take one from above, change the depth of field. It's nice to have different photos, because everything looks different when transferred to the computer.
Nothing worse than an out of focused picture. Having a focused picture will help convince someone to try your dish.
You don't need photoshop; I don't have it {not yet at least}. My two editing tools are Picasa & Picnik. Both are free & easy to maneuver.
I think of food pictures this way: Taking a picture of what I've made will be the first thing that someone sees when they look at my blog. I try to capture what makes the food good & yummy. When I see a great food picture, I want to try it because it looks so good.
