3 reasons to avoid the colour blocking trend in your food photography
Bold, block colours have become one of the top food photography trends of 2022. A quick scroll on Instagram will reveal all kinds of brands jumping on the trend and creating imagery with coloured card and bright backgrounds.
But it’s not for everyone. Just because something is trending doesn’t mean you have to follow suit and also doesn’t mean your own brand imagery can’t stand out as it is.
Because the truth is, it’s not about the style, or the colours, or the particular light or composition. It’s about ensuring your food photography aligns with your brand message and tells the same story as every other aspect of your business.
But before we dig into the reasons why this new trend might be one to avoid, let’s quickly clarify what colour blocking actually means.
What is colour blocking in food and drink photography?
Colour blocking is the use of solid colours, with little to no texture, gradient or pattern. The colours used are typically very bright and are often used in conjunction with another, high contrast colour to create really bold and striking imagery. You can see some examples I’ve shot with some of my clients below.
So here are 3 reasons why you perhaps shouldn’t be using block colours in your food photography:
1. It creates an inconsistent visual presence
Colour blocking is a very bold and striking choice. Unless bright, block colour imagery is your preferred style for all of your imagery, as was the case with my client Jess Cooks, then the addition of colour blocking images in an otherwise simple feed of imagery is only going to create inconsistency in your visual branding and style. In the same way that consistent fonts, colours and icons build familiarity with your audience to create a recognisable brand, images also serve to reinforce that familiarity. Jumping from one style to another can confuse your audience, and we all know what they say about confused customers… they don’t buy.
2. It doesn’t align with your brand message
If you use words like ‘bold’, ‘daring’ and ‘loud’ to describe your brand, then colour blocking might be the way to go with your food photography. But if your brand is centred on the concept of rustic, home-cooked food, or indulgent, seductive styles, then this high contrast trend isn’t going to align with the rest of your messaging.
One of my clients, Eat Real, is a brilliant example of this. Their packaging is bright and colourful with an indication of the natural ingredients used in their chips, but their brand message is focused around ‘relishing’ food. Storytelling and intentional mess were a vital part of their brief, so suggesting we create packaging heavy, colour blocking shots simply doesn’t align with the message they’re aiming to communicate with the rest of their marketing. Instead we opted for a more homely, ‘messy’ feel, injecting colour with the food and ingredients.
3. It doesn’t connect with your target audience
You’re not creating these images for yourself, you’re creating them for your target audience. Sure, colour blocking is trending and is a popular style across many social media channels, but what if your audience responds best to simple, calming imagery? What if they love relatable, UGC style imagery because that’s what feels achievable to them at home? Highly stylised colour blocking food photography isn’t going to connect with them or evoke any kind of emotion in them that’s going to move them to buy from you. If you’re jumping on the trend for the sake of the trend alone then perhaps it worth reconsidering if that’s the right move for your audience.
So where can you use colour blocking?
There’s no denying that tapping into trends can be a good way to prove your relevancy and increase your likelihood of creating viral content, so if it’s something you simply have to get involved with, then there are safe places to give it a try without diluting your brand message. Reels, TikTok videos and other short form content, like Instagram stories, are safe spaces to experiment, while your website, press features or a new ad campaign are not!
But remember, while trends are powerful, nothing is as powerful as a consistent visual style that embeds itself into the subconscious mind of your audience and moves them to buy from you time and time again. Trends, by definition, are styles that come and go, so building a brand voice around a trend is a dangerous game.
And who knows, the food photography trend of 2023 might suit your brand to a tee! Don’t be afraid to stick to what you know and enjoy colour blocking styles from afar.
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