It's obvious that some of the frequently posted on social media images are of food. Yet amongst this daily deluge of dinner plates, delicious drinks, and other endless edibles, how can you make your photos stand out?

Food photographer and writer Dennis Prescott offered some suggestions on how to do so, with a few ideas that may seem to go against conventional thought.

The self-taught cook from Moncton, New Brunswick, came to Vancouver from food and travel event, hosted by Travel Corporation Canada and the Tourism Authority of Thailand, on August 9 at the Alberni Street location of Pink Elephant Thai to talk about food photography.

Prescott, who had previously spent a decade performing and touring as a member of the New Brunswick band the Silent, released a cookbook earlier this year. Eat Delicious features 125 recipes of comfort food from around the world.

Drawing upon his experiences, Prescott talking about how food bloggers and Instagrammers can create compelling food photographs.

To start off, Prescott emphasized it's important to do more than simply take a picture. What you want to do, he said, is to tell a story with a photo.

Without a story, he opined, a photo is just a beautiful image that passes by and is forgotten whereas a story is what helps the photo linger in the viewer's memory.

With that in mind, the next thing to focus on, he said, is to figure out what story you are trying to tell. In other words, it's important to decide upon what and who to focus on.

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That's where the superhero comes in. And no, that doesn't mean bringing Superman or Wonder Woman into the picture.

A superhero, he explained, is the main person or item in a photo. In other words, what attracts attention the most?

"The superhero in an image is where you want the viewer's eye to go," he said.

He pointed out that sometimes photos need to provide context, in which case it can help to show more than just the main focus but to also provide more of the scene or background to offer some information about setting.

Something to keep in mind while styling or composing an image is that the eye usually travels across an image from top-left corner to bottom-right corner. Accordingly, he recommended factoring this phenomenon into considerations when figuring out the angles and approach of a shot.

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What can also help food photos become more dynamic is to include movement.

Prescott said he considers movement essential in food photography. That's because he finds movement provides a three-dimensional sense of being there, and that it gives the impression the photographer is capturing something happening, rather than an object just sitting there.

He said it also helps to invoke associations with memories and experiences.

For example, capturing steam rising from tea being poured or wafting up from hot plates of food can trigger sensory associations with heat, sound, or aromas.

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While many beginning photographer may think that they need to make their photos look professional by ensuring everything looks perfect, clean, and flawless.

However, that's not always the casee, according to Prescott. For instance, if ice cream is dripping, Prescott encouraged photographers not to stop the drip but to include it because it can help to stimulate nostalgic memories of what is a common experience.

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Another reason to keep the drip in the photo, he argued, is related to another point: the beauty of imperfections.

If an image is too perfect, it may appear too staged.

"If it looks too perfect, it's not real," he said. It's a point which speaks to media-savvy generations who are all too well aware of Photoshopping and visual manipulation, and tend to view overly polished images with cynicism.

What you want to provide, he explained, is the sense that the photo is a peek-a-boo view into a moment in time, which includes capturing things in their natural occurring states.

That can be encouraged by including such as things as food falling off plates or other small mishaps that may be initially thought be flaws, but can serve to enhance the sense of authenticity.

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Finally, Prescott urged attendees to ensure that they engage with their online community.

He advised against using a hands-off approach, and instead recommended encouraging an active conversation with your social-media followers.

Of course, all of these things might be hard to remember when you're looking at a mouthwatering plate of food on an empty stomach, but they're just things to keep in mind to capture not only the image before you but also the viewer's attention.