Doesn't that bowl of chili just look delicious? ...No no, I'm not bragging. I'm just trying to point out the effectiveness of a few techniques derived from a method the professionals call "food styling." Yep, food styling is an actual profession in which a person is paid to make food look good. So basically, a food stylist is a makeup artist for food.
Have you ever been to a restaurant that serves beautiful plates of food and tried to take a picture of said plate of food that came out looking like mush? Or maybe you went to that hole-in-the-wall Chinese place that displayed photos of some questionably-looking (albeit, delicious) food next to the menu items. Ever wondered why your fast-food cheeseburger looks like a week-old, smashed-down version of the ones you see in commercials? That's right! It all has to do with food styling (or in some cases the lack thereof).