Even so, food stylists and photographers cannot legally use just anything when photographing food. Current law mandates that food advertised in the photo must be of the real product. Accompanying garnishes, props and side dishes, however, can be fake or real.

For example, if the photograph advertises a cherry pie, the pastry used must be exactly like all the other cherry pies the company sells; it cannot be larger or more filled or made from fake products or even a different recipe. However, if one of the cherries doesn’t look so good, the stylist can substitute that individual cherry with another one. If the pie is photographed with ice cream, the ice cream can be fake, since it’s not the product being advertised. Conversely, if the ice cream is the product on sale, then the pie can be artificial. For the resulting photograph to successfully show off the product being peddled, substitution and hand-selection are key.