Brian Platt Loc: Poole/Verwood, Dorset, UK

It's the lens, lighting, and how you use what you have, you don't even need a slr as any good camera will do the trick. Food photography is not all about flat lighting and small f stops as many creative shots are taken at f/5.6 with lots of masks creating shadows and hot spots.

romanticf16 Loc: Commerce Twp, MI

There are books about styling food for photography-full of tricks like using mashed potatoes instead of ice cream under hot lights, spraying glycerine on meat to make it shine, using a soldering iron to create grill marks on meat. All render the product inedible but beautiful to the camera. That is why food stylists are a specialty profession. Food loses it's fresh look quickly so be prepared to make identical items one after another to switch out while shooting. Who is going to provide the plates, silver, etc to style each image?

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

Food photography, like all product photography is all about lighting. Look at uTubes about doing food photography.
Invest or make a light tent, and get a set of strobes/flashes and learn how to use them.
If you rally need a new camera, get a Canon, most photographers do.
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