Today’s cookbooks are a feast for the eyes. It’s no wonder many of us like to just peruse these works of art. It’s called “vicarious cooking!”

But eventually you dive in and actually make one of those inviting dishes. After all the careful measuring, mixing and cooking, however, it can be a little disappointing: You wonder,

“Why doesn’t my dish look like the one in the photo?”

Upsides and Downsides Unquestionably, gorgeous cookbook photos are a wonderful source of cooking inspiration–especially since it can be hard to envision a dish by just scanning a list of ingredients and instructions.

But gorgeous photos can also lead to unrealistic expectations and then dashed hopes when your dish doesn’t look as pretty and inviting as the recipe photo. Maybe you’ll even swear to never try any new recipes, ever again! : )

Here’s encouragement to avoid such a drastic step: There’s a reason our dishes don’t usually look like the gorgeous photos in a recipe.

Those photos are the product of an intricate and elaborate photo shoot, as I learned from a recent podcast featuring a professional cookbook photographer.

What Goes Into a Professional Food Photograph?

• A specialized studio is used to take the photos.
• An entire team is employed for the shoot: a food stylist, prop stylist, professional photographer and often the publisher’s creative direction team, along with the author.
• A “mood board” is created and guides the prop stylist to procure all the surfaces, backgrounds and table top props, ranging from forks and spoons, to dishes, vases and platters.
• The food stylist buys all the food, carefully makes each recipe and then styles and “prettifies” it
• The photographer, with years of experience, knows how to adjust the lighting, colors and camera angles to maximize the dish’s appeal
• As each photo is taken, it is projected onto a wall where the “book map” is displayed so the team can ensure its appropriateness.

As you can imagine, the preparation for a shoot requires a month of advance discussions–and in the end, a shoot can cost upwards of $50,000!

Even internet recipes are now the product of “extreme” photography since even amateur food bloggers are taking classes in food photography and acquiring basic photo-enhancing tools and equipment.

The Bottom Line Hopefully, you can see why the dish you rush to the table might not look like the dish in a recipe photo! You don’t exactly have the time, energy or wherewith all to “prettify” it by plating just right, arranging the garnishes, serving it under the perfect lighting and angle, etc., etc.

Don’t Even Try to Compete! And certainly don’t judge the quality of your meals by how well they compare to elaborately staged food photos! Your limited time and energy is far better spent on making a wholesome, flavorful dish. Because the only truly important factors to gauge cooking success are Taste + Healthfulness. Does the dish taste good and align with your health goals? If so, count it as a success, regardless of appearance.

One Last Trick—Minimal Cooking  You should also know that many dishes require long cooking times to meld all the ingredients together into a yummy whole. However, long-cooked dishes often lose color and vibrancy. So often a dish will be photographed after only a little cooking. That’s a big reason why your finished dish may look a little drab and not quite as vibrant as the recipe photo. But it will taste great!

My Photos FYI, my photos are always the real thing, snapped just before I eat them, with just my iPhone, under only the light of the range hood. While I try to photograph a dish from “it’s best side,” and maybe add a little garnish, a professional photo they are not!

Want to Learn More about How to Cook Healthy + Tasty Meals?

Check out some of my cooking videos where you’ll see easy and healthy dishes prepared in real time–no fancy photographic enhancements–just real, cooked food! Two options:

My YouTube Channel There is a whole playlist with 10 FREE, full length healthy cooking classes, many of them cook-alongs with recipes and shopping lists. There are also many quick-cooking demos.

How to Cook Healthy Meals  . . . Without Really Cooking! An action-packed series of five, 35-minute classes. Learn the simple but surefire method for finding healthy convenience foods so it’s easy to make tasty, vegetable-rich dishes with barely any cooking.