A couple years ago I started writing a food blog called Pinch of Yum as a hobby for my evenings and weekends. As an amateur cook and photographer, I had a lot to learn. I was using a DSLR camera, but I had no idea how to use it. My blog readers consisted of my mom and a handful of co-workers. I still remember how thrilled I was the first time I had 50 visitors on my site in one day.

As time went on, I started to get more comfortable with the using the manual settings on our DSLR. I started using more complex photo editing software such as Photoshop and Lightroom. My photos were starting to improve which fueled my desire to keep learning. I eventually had my first photo accepted to Tastespotting.com, and I was beside myself with excitement about being published and about the number of visitors that it brought to my blog.

As my photos continued to get better, I saw an immense increase in my blog readership. My average number of unique visitors went from 50 a day to 5,000 a day, which lead to lots of opportunities for monetizing and growing my blog. In the last 6 months, I’ve had the honor of being pursued by web magazines, e-newsletters, and book publishers. There’s no doubt in my mind that these opportunities were presented to me because of my improved food photography.

Photography is an incredible tool that can have a profound impact on the life of your blog or website. I’ve learned a lot of things – both big and small – in the last few years, and this book is my way of sharing all that with you. My hope is that these tips and tricks will be practical, easy to read, and ultimately help you take food photos that make people say, “I am dying to eat that right now!”