Elmer’s Glue, Shoe Polish, and Other Crimes Against Cuisine

Ever looked at a burger ad and thought, “Why doesn’t my lunch look like that?” Welcome to the deliciously deceptive world known as the secrets of product photography.

Food photography is a charming liar. It smiles at you with golden buns, steamy sides, and cheese that stretches like a yoga instructor. But behind the scenes, it’s a Frankenstein operation involving glue, hair dryers, dental tools, and sometimes… shoe polish. Yes, really.

Behind the Curtain: A World of Glorious Product Photography Lies

  • Let’s start with milk. That cereal commercial with the overflowing bowl of perfect flakes in pristine white liquid? Not milk. It’s Elmer’s glue. Real milk makes cereal soggy in about seven seconds. Glue keeps your frosted oats crunchy and camera-ready for hours. It doesn’t separate or glisten weirdly under studio lights. That’s one of the stickier secrets of product photography.
  • Now poultry. That perfect holiday turkey? Probably raw. Fully cooked birds collapse like a deflated beach ball. To keep a turkey looking like it just got promoted to regional manager, photographers stuff it with paper towels or balloons. Yes, inflated balloons inside the bird. Gobble gobble.
  • As for that golden-brown skin? Not butter. Not oil. Shoe polish. The kind that would make your grandfather’s loafers sparkle. It’s dark, glossy, flammable, and totally not edible. Welcome to the glam squad of Thanksgiving dinners.
  • Ice Cream Made of Lard and Soda Made of Dish Soap
  • Want to photograph ice cream? Good luck. Under lights, the real stuff melts faster than your dignity after three margaritas. So we use lard mixed with powdered sugar. It’s scoopable, moldable, and won’t drip all over the set. Top it with sprinkles, and boom—faux rocky road.
  • Those bubbly soda ads? That’s not real fizz. It’s often created with antacid tablets. Pop one in a fake soda and you get that perfect effervescence. Or we use dish soap. It foams nicely. No one’s drinking it, so who cares?

Burgers Held Together by Physics and Prayer

Burger ads are basically modern art. Every layer is separated with cardboard. Condiments are applied with tweezers. The cheese is microwaved for four seconds and then sculpted by hand. The bun? Held in place with pins and tilted just so. A hidden sponge under the patty adds that “juicy” look. Water spray gives the illusion of freshness. None of it is remotely edible. But it’s a feast for the eyes.

And all this magic? It takes time. We’ve spent twenty minutes adjusting a single sesame seed. That’s just how dedicated you have to be when mastering the secrets of product photography.

Secrets of Product Photography: The Tools and the Trickery

This isn’t just culinary stagecraft. It’s a full production. Macro lenses capture every detail. Softboxes and reflectors mimic natural light. And post-production adds the final sparkle.

Why go to these lengths? Because consumers don’t just buy with logic. They buy with emotion. You’re not just selling a product. You’re selling craving. Trust. Status. Nostalgia. That’s what good product photography delivers.

Even if it smells like shoe polish.

Why This Matters (Even If It Ruins Your Lunch)

Understanding the secrets of product photography gives you insight into how deeply we’re influenced by images. We know it’s glue, Crisco, cardboard, and smoke—but our brains still say, “That burger looks amazing.”

This kind of styling isn’t deception. It’s theater. It’s crafting a visual story that hits you in the gut—sometimes literally—with the urge to buy. It shows how little things, done right, can elevate a brand, a product, or a humble turkey leg into something iconic.

So next time you wonder why your sandwich doesn’t look like the commercial, just remember: behind every glossy ad is a can of shoe polish and a glue bottle living its best life.

And you’re still going to crave it.

Citations

American Society of Media Photographers. “Tricks of the Trade: Food Styling Techniques.”
Business Insider (2020). “Why Your Burger Never Looks Like the Commercial.”
Petapixel. “Secrets of Food Photography Revealed.”
Adweek (2021). “How Brands Use Visual Illusion to Drive Appetite.”
National Geographic. “Behind the Scenes with Professional Food Photographers.”