Editorial food photography is about creating appetizing, well composed photographs. These photos are often found in cookbooks and food blogs. While this photo has nice ambient light from the window and good composition, it also makes me want to eat a pomegranate, and for that it is editorial.
Fine art food photography is about creating aesthetically pleasing photographs. Although these photographs can be appetizing, that is not the objective. The photograph above has beautiful lighting, tones, and composition. While the egg surrounded by flour looks good, it is not particularly appetizing. Also, this photo is not meant to show a step or final product of a recipe. But the photograph itself is captivating, and for that it is fine art.
Most food photography has either a dark or light theme. In the photo above, the black background against the green elements is quite effective.
