<p class="MsoNormal"><em>Penny De Los Santos is an award-winning documentary photographer for whom food photography is a gateway to exploring and celebrating culture, history, and community. She is a senior contributing photographer to </em>Saveur<em> magazine and a contributing photographer to </em>National Geographic<em> magazine.</em></p><p class="MsoNormal"><strong>Ingredients</strong></p><p class="MsoNormal"><strong></strong>The options for photographing food are endless; it's an incredibly visual subject. One thing to remember when starting out is that food photography is just like any other photography—the same principles of light, color, and composition apply<em>.</em></p><p class="MsoNormal"><em></em>In the case of the image above, I was prepping for a photograph on a cookbook shoot when I noticed the colorful ingredients for the next shot on the counter where the food stylist was working. We both realized that this was a photograph. The prop stylist, food stylist, and I then brainstormed ideas to create this image. <em>—Penny De Los Santos</em></p><p class="MsoNormal"><em></em><strong>Photo Tip:</strong> When thinking about food photography, don’t just consider the finished product on the plate or the people eating it. Look at the ingredients—perhaps there’s a beautiful photograph waiting to be made.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://twitter.com/#!/pennydelosantos">Follow Penny on Twitter &gt;&gt;</a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.pennydelossantos.com/">See more of Penny’s work &gt;&gt;</a></p>