Savoury Food

Sometimes, including the chef in a food image can be a distraction from the food, but here, by placing the paella pan in the foreground and taking up around half of the frame, the food is given equal status. I am not sure whether the background has had some additional blur added in post-processing or whether all as captured, but whatever, it serves to make the subject stand out, but also gives some context to the shot. Well done on your top ten placing.

I love this capture of what looks to be a fresh and healthy meal. Lighting is great, avoiding any off-putting areas of dark shadow, and the use of a wide aperture has created a shallow depth of field, bringing focus to a small area of the meal in the foreground, with the rest falling pleasingly out of focus. Colours are great too, with the orangy-browns contrasting well with the fresh greens, set off against on a bright white plate. Congratulations on your third place finish. Angela

A stylish set-up of some colourful vegetables, being carefully selected to have the deep red of the onions matching the stems of the beetroot. Composition is lovely, and I especially like the way the leaves of the beetroot gently curve down, linking the subjects both on and below the vintage scales. Lighting is great, picking out the details and allowing other areas to fall into deeper shadow. Congratulations on your second place finish.

This very tempting photo looking down onto a pizza is my worthy winner in this contest. Key to successful food photography is making sure the food looks delicious and natural, and you have certainly succeeded here. Lighting is good, as we see little glistening highlights, and the colour balance looks spot-on as everything looks fresh and natural. I love the composition too, with the pizza filling most of the frame, but just a corner of the background visible. Congratulations on your winning image.