My Favorite Affordable Napkins for Food Photography

This post is the first of a new series on the blog called, Tips and Topics:  Working in Food. I often find myself in conversations with fellow bloggers and colleagues that span from pitching articles to props for photography. After telling each other countless times – you should write about this! – I’ve finally decided to do just that. So every few weeks there will be a new post on the blog that I hope you will find helpful whether food is a hobby or a new profession. In this post, I thought I would share my favorite, affordable napkins for food photography. 

I call them all linens, whether they are made of actual linen or not. They are the napkins, pieces of material, cloth, scarves and just about anything else that looks good next to a bowl and used in my food photography. I have an overflowing stack in my studio and I’m happy to report that none broke the bank. 

First I should say that I love handcrafted, one-of-a-kind pieces and I believe that they are worth every penny. I have a few. But in reality, I am always, and I mean ALWAYS, looking for a deal. It would be impossible for me to build my prop room without working in many affordable pieces.

By affordable I mean my palms start sweating a bit when something costs $10. Who am I kidding, I will spend a half hour weighing the pros and cons of a piece at a vintage store that costs more than $3. 

I know. I’m tight, cheap, frugal – whatever term you want to use. But now that I see the prop section in my studio, I know why. Deal searching is worth it. 

That goes for linens, too. When I look at my growing stack I often wonder, if I could only keep a couple, which would they be?

Well, here they are. The linens I use over and over and over again. And they are affordable. And one is from a shop on Etsy. So whatever your priorities with prop shopping, at least one of these will fit your budget. 

Linen Napkins – Neutrals and Earth Tones

First, linen. Real linen. That grayish-tan beautifully textured material that I’d use in every single photo if I could. Linen is more expensive than a standard cloth napkin, but for good reason and worth every penny. All you need is one beautiful napkin and you can use it for a variety of things – pair it with other linens, use it as a surface, wrap the handles of a pot. 

That being said, I discovered Lakeshore Linen out of Minneapolis a few years ago on Etsy. I was surprised how affordable a beautiful napkin could be. I started with a table napkin ($7) and then I went for the large 20 x 20 napkin ($11), by absolute favorite. Recently I went back and ordered the kitchen towel ($15). These are by far my most prized prop possessions when it comes to napkins for shots. 

Patterns, Prints and Color 

I’ve been trying to step out of my neutral comfort zone the past few months by adding color and patterns to my images. To be honest, most of my clients don’t want prints for fear they will distract from the food. Personally, I now love prints which is why you are finding them more and more in the images I use here on the blog. 

On the other hand, quite a few of my clients want color. Incorporating color outside of the food is not always the easiest task for me, but I have found some very affordable napkins that help. 

About six months ago, I stumbled on the handkerchief section of my local Hobby Lobby. I expect that other craft stores have a similar section. I was amazed at the prints and colors available. And the best part, they all cost less than $1.30 each.

If you haven’t noticed, I love wrinkles. I feel like my work should reflect me and what I envision in my head. On a personal level I am anti-iron. I cannot stand ironing anything. So unless directed otherwise by a client’s needs, you will always find gentle wrinkles and imperfections in the napkins in my photos. It’s very real to me and very me. The lightweight material of handkerchiefs are perfect for this kind of styling. I simply washed and dried them and they were perfect. And they can always be ironed if you prefer a smoother look. 

So there you have it. If you combine these sources you can have several new napkins in linen and print for well under $20. 

Do you have some sources for affordable linens? If so, I hesitate to have you tell me because I have a bit of a napkin problem. Just kidding. Well, not about the problem, but I most certainly want you to share!