20 Thanksgiving photo ideas (table, family and food)

Thanksgiving gives you three photo opportunities in one day: the food, the table and the people. Most families only get a blurry group shot after dinner. Plan instead: photograph the table before anyone sits down, take candids in the kitchen while the cooking is happening, and do the group photo before the meal while the light is still good.

Here are 20 Thanksgiving photo ideas, in the order the day happens.

In the kitchen

1. The cook at work. Shoot over the shoulder of whoever is cooking, with the pan or the turkey in focus.

2. Hands in the dough. Close-up at 3x of hands rolling pie crust.

3. Grandma's recipe card. The handwritten card next to the bowl. It is the photo you will treasure in twenty years.

4. Kids helping. A child stirring, standing on a chair. Get down to their level.

5. The turkey out of the oven. The moment of reveal, with steam, and a proud face behind it.

The table

6. The whole table, before anyone sits. Shoot from the end of the table at standing height. The table edges become lines that lead to the centrepiece. The Vanishing Point guide was made for this.

7. The place setting. One plate, napkin, name card and glass, top-down.

8. The centrepiece. Candles, gourds and flowers at 2x so the rest of the table blurs.

9. The food spread from above. Stand on a chair and shoot straight down over the dishes. Arrange the three biggest dishes in a triangle; the Aerial Triangle guide places them.

10. One hero dish. The pie or the turkey alone, top-down, on the bottom third. Use the One-Point Aerial guide.

The people

11. The group photo before dinner. Everyone in front of a window or outside on the porch, while there is daylight. Tallest at the back, kids in front.

12. Passing dishes. Hands crossing the table, a bowl mid-pass.

13. The toast. Glasses raised. Shoot a burst from the end of the table.

14. Laughing at the table. Wait for the story that makes everyone laugh, then shoot.

15. The grandparents. A quiet portrait by the window, at 2x.

16. The kids' table. Kids are the best subjects of the day. Shoot from their eye level.

After dinner

17. The pie close-up. A slice on a plate, a fork, a cup of coffee.

18. The football game. Backyard football in the last of the light.

19. The nap. Someone asleep on the couch. Every family has one.

20. The empty table. Crumpled napkins, half-empty glasses and candles burnt low. It tells the story of a good night.

Lighting and settings

• Turn off the big overhead light. It makes food look flat and yellow. Use window light during the day and candles and lamps at night.
• Shoot food near a window. Side light gives dishes shape and texture.
• Use 2x for people at the table. It avoids distorting faces at the edges.
• Keep the camera straight for top-down shots. Tilted flat lays look accidental.
• Take the group photo first. After dinner, light is gone and so is everyone's patience.

Warm film stocks suit Thanksgiving: they soften harsh kitchen light and make golden food look golden. In slay you can swipe through film looks live before you shoot.

Frame the table and the people

slay overlays composition guides on your live iPhone camera, from top-down food shots to group portraits.

Get slay on the App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/id6807513456?utm_source=slaycamera&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=thanksgiving-photo-ideas