Tips on how to take killer cookie pics with your phone!
How to Take Better Sugar Cookie Photos with Your iPhone
Simple tips to help your decorated cookies look a million bucks on camera
You just spent hours mixing, rolling, baking, and decorating the perfect sugar cookie set. The colours are vibrant, the fondant detailing is SLAY, and the designs are just how you imagined them. But when you snap a photo to share them… they look flat, dull, or just not right.
If you’ve been there, you’re not alone—and the good news is, you don’t need a fancy camera to fix it. Your iPhone has everything you need to capture stunning, scroll-stopping sugar cookie shots.
Here’s my top tips to make it happen:
1. Always, Always Use Natural Light
Sugar cookies, especially decorated ones, need soft, even lighting to show off their detail and colour. Natural light helps prevent that harsh glare you get from kitchen lights.
Set your cookies near a bright window—morning or late afternoon light is best.
Avoid direct sunlight—if it's too harsh, diffuse it with a sheer curtain or parchment paper.
Turn off other lights in the room to keep your colours accurate.
2. Choose a Clean, Neutral Background
Your cookie designs are the main event, so don’t let a busy background steal the show.
Use a white or light-coloured background to make colours pop.
Try a piece of poster board, a wooden cutting board, or a marble slab. - Or get really creative and use tile samples, soft fabrics or pieces of acrylic (go scouting one weekend at Bunnings- its amazing what you can find there!!).
Want a seasonal vibe? Add a textured napkin, a few sprinkles in the corner or something cute from kmart that ties into the theme—but keep it subtle.
3. Shoot from the Right Angle
Different styles of sugar cookies look best from different angles:
Top-down (flat lay) is perfect for showing off your full set—especially if you’ve decorated a theme or used coordinating colours.
45-degree angle gives a bit of dimension and is great for adding props.
Close-ups work well for intricate fondant details, especially if you’ve added embellishments, lettering, or textures.
Don’t be afraid to move around your cookies and try multiple angles—you’ll be surprised how different each one can look.
4. Tap to Focus + Brighten the Image
This would be one of my favourite tips, and with good reason! Did you know you with a few taps of your camera screen you can change the brightness?
Tap your iPhone screen to focus right on your cookie, then slide your finger up to brighten the image slightly. A tiny boost in exposure helps highlight those details and gives your fondant that soft, professional glow.
5. Edit Lightly to Make the Colours Pop
Even if the lighting is perfect, a little editing goes a long way:
Use your iPhone’s Photos app or a free app like Snapseed or LightRoom.
Increase brightness slightly and add contrast to define the shapes.
Adjust saturation to make colours like pink, blue, and green fondant stand out.
Use the sharpen tool gently to highlight fine lines and textures.
Avoid heavy filters—you want your cookies to look as good in real life as they do on screen.
6. Keep It Crisp + Clean
Smudges on the lens, crumbs on the tray, or dust on your surface can make even the prettiest sugar cookie look messy.
Wipe your lens before shooting.
Brush off crumbs or stray sprinkles from your surface. - Use a soft thick pastry brush to dust off any extras.
Take your time placing each cookie—spacing matters, especially in flat lays.
7. Add Personality with Props (But Don’t Overdo It)
Sugar cookies are often themed—think baby showers, birthdays, or holidays—so feel free to add little touches that tell the story.
An ornament, a cookie cutter, or matching sprinkle jar can add context.
Coordinate with the season: a cute little bunny for Easter cookies, or a few florals for spring designs.
Just remember: less is more. Your cookies are the star.
8. Take More Photos Than You Think You Need
Try multiple setups—change the angle, move the cookies around, zoom in on details, or take a wider shot of the full set. This gives you options when you go to post.
Pro tip: if you're posting to Instagram, take a few portrait (vertical) shots too—they fill the screen better and tend to perform well. And always take a short 20-30 second video of your full set- this allows you to create a reel with it for later use!
Final take:
Decorating sugar cookies takes creativity, passion and love—and your photos should reflect all of that. With a little natural light, thoughtful styling, and a few editing tweaks, your iPhone can capture every detail of your hard work. If you’re like me, your phone will soon have over 30,000 photos in the albums, don’t be afraid to delete the oldies.
Keep practicing, keep snapping, and most importantly—have fun with it! In an upcoming blog post, ill give you a step by step tutorial on how to use Lightroom to help make your cookie photos POP!
Let me know in the comments below if any of these tips might help you in your journey to taking killer shots!
