Woman laughing while pouring "Outside The Box" cereal into a bowl, orange backdrop

This is probably the number one reason why I take funny food photos. I was recently asked for my very best life advice by a 12 year old. I mean, can you imagine the jeopardy of answering such a question?

I tried to muster memories of advice given to me as a child; sit still, don’t touch, look with your eyes not your hands (there’s a theme here huh?), don’t walk on the grass, don’t play with your food… Even as an adult these make me feel a bit disheartened, why so serious?

The advice I most remember is the very stuff I ignored and led me into this strange world of food photography. I literally get paid for playing with food, for looking with my hands and my eyes, for essentially being silly. Funny how life turns out.

Anyway, my best advice to a 12 year old? Nothing good ever happens after 11pm. And don’t eat yellow snow.

old man with birthday cake in humorous and stylised photograph by London food photographer Scott Choucino

Why funny food photos work

Everyone has an opinion about food. We all eat it, we all have a favourite, and we’ve all watched a sandwich fall apart at the worst possible moment. That’s why funny food photos land so well. Add a little humour to the frame and a picture of lunch turns into something people remember, share and send to a friend with three laughing emojis.

a toffee apple field creating a fun food photo
funny comedian making a facial expression whilst eating a crisp taken by London photographer Scott Choucino

Playing with food is the job

People assume the funny ones are happy accidents. They really aren’t. A funny food photo takes just as much planning as a serious one: the lighting, the angle, the timing, the prop that’s slightly, deliberately wrong. The only difference is that I get to giggle while I’m doing it.

Some days that means persuading a chip to stand upright. Other days it’s giving a bread roll an attitude problem. It’s not a bad way to spend a Tuesday.

Over the top baguette with eggs looking funny
funny food photos of a banana stripping in a seductive way

What makes a food photo funny

After a few years of doing this, I reckon it comes down to three things.

Surprise. The viewer expects one thing and gets another, like a burger with a very smug expression.

Scale. Shrink the people or enlarge the food and the brain does the rest. A pea on a tiny sofa is automatically funny. It’s science.

A straight face. This is the big one. The funniest food photos are lit and shot with total commitment, as if it were a luxury perfume campaign. The sillier the idea, the more seriously it needs to be photographed.

How to take your own funny food photos

You don’t need fancy kit. Find a window and use the daylight. Get down to eye level with your food, because it’s much easier to give a mushroom a personality when you’re looking it in the face. Keep the background simple so the joke has room to breathe. Then take far more shots than you think you need, because the best one is usually number forty-three.

Funny food photography for brands

Humour isn’t just for fun, it works. In a feed full of perfectly styled plates, the picture that makes someone smile is the one they stop scrolling for. If you’re a creative, a brand or an agency looking for food photography with a sense of humour, that’s exactly what I do, and I’d love to hear what you’re working on.

Over to you

So that’s my best advice, and a slightly embarrassing confession about why I never learned to sit still. Have you got a favourite funny food photo, or a bit of advice you ignored and are glad you did? Tell me in the comments or drop me a line.

You can see my full websites portfolio at www.scottchoucino.com or head over to my food portfolio on my agents website here https://www.agentatlarge.co.uk/portfolio/london-food-photographer-scott-choucino. I hope you enjoyed my funny food photos.