South Indian Food Photo Studio

South Indian meals on banana leaf and steel, kept authentic

South Indian food has its own visual rules: the banana-leaf meal with rice at the center and dishes around it, the dosa beside its chutneys, filter coffee in a steel tumbler and dabara. Photograph the meal as you serve it; a leaf or steel set under the food is usually kept with it.

For a banana-leaf meal, shoot from directly above with the whole leaf in frame. For tiffin items such as dosa, idli and vada, shoot at an angle with the chutneys in a row. Describe the table, like "dark granite counter, morning window light", or use Rustic table as a start.

Check the small items on a leaf meal: each poriyal, the pickle, the papad and the payasam should match your photo, and no bowl should be added or lost. The green of the leaf is strong, so make sure food colors stay true beside it. The steel shine of a tumbler can still reflect your kitchen. Tiffin items have their own pages for dosa and idli, and the thali page covers steel-plate meals.