Food is the subject of some of Instagram’s greatest triumphs, as well as its most horrendous fails. Recently, we chatted up SPIN photo editor Jolie Ruben to get some tips on how to improve your Instagram game and avoid pitfalls like the ubiquitous shiny-meat syndrome. But which users should you follow if you’re looking to find inspiration for your grub-snapping exploits, or you just want to fill your feed with some seriously top-shelf food porn?

For a professional take on who’s really killing the Instagram food game, we hollered at Daniel Krieger, an NYC-based photographer who shoots regularly for the New York Times dining section and has contributed to the likes of GQ, Time Out New York, Esquire, and Rolling Stone.

“Food photography on Instagram usually looks awful, [usually because of] sloppy plating to using dim lighting in a restaurant at night,” says Krieger. “Shooting food with a phone is really hard, but these users not only make it look easy—they also turn food into art.”

He also notes that there are some basic guidelines that you can take away from studying these pros: “Shoot from a bird’s-eye view and use natural light when possible. You will see both of these elements in most of the shots I picked, because that’s how food looks the best with your phone.”

Click through to ogle the best shots from Krieger’s favorite food-themed Instragram feeds.

Daniel Krieger is @smoothdude on Instagram. His food photography can be seen at www.nycfoodphotographer.com and his wedding work can be seen at www.danielkrieger.com.

Cindy Loughridge

Instagram handle: @cindyloughridge
Followers: 19,337

Krieger says: “Cindy is a San Francisco-based lifesytle-and-food shooter, and almost all the food and coffee photos she posts make you want to be there to share in the smells, tastes, and light that she’s surrounded by. She has a great eye for lighting and mixes up the food shots with photos of her two lovely daughters; occasional cats (who doesn’t love a good cat photo—come on!); soft-focus, low-light scenes; and the mustachioed hunk of a man @doublecap, who is also quite the talent.”

Alice Gao

Instagram handle: @alice_gao
Followers: 282,188

Krieger says: “Alice Gao is like the Michael Jackson of Instagram, except she’s a much better photographer, thankfully alive, and better looking. She’s a superstar with something like 10 billion followers (okay, more like 270K+, but you get the point). She is a pro shooter out of NYC and drives her followers crazy with her gorgeous looking breakfasts, lunches, and tableaux from her photo shoots. If you don’t already follow her, you must hate Instagram.”

Sonya Yu

Instagram handle: @sonyayu
Followers: 16,532

Krieger says: “Sonya is a professional food photographer based in San Francisco and does these colossal spreads that look so damn good. She’s a big fan of breakfast, which is one of my favorite meals, so I really dig those egg/toast/pancake spreads. Not to be outdone by her food photography, her dressed-up dog @trotterpup has gained some real fame, and you can also see images of Trotter pop up in her stream. I believe the dog has already been on television through Instagram.”

Rick Poon

Instagram handle: @rick_poon
Followers: 23,352

Krieger says: “Rick’s clever compositions range from well-lit, smartly composed food scenes, to simple twists like an empty banana peel filling out the space and balancing the frame. I call him the ‘Poon King’ but he doesn’t know that. I wish my last name was Poon.”

Nedahe

Instagram handle: @nedahe
Followers: 430

Krieger says: “Neda has a simple style to her food shots, mostly taken from bird’s-eye (which most Instagram food photographers will tell you is the best way to make phone photos look good). From exploding pomegranates to shots with a more minimal style, I really dig her photostream.”

Hannah Queen

Instagram handle: @hannahqueen
Followers: 8,234

Krieger says: “Hannah seems to live in a beautiful forest and bake pies all day long…sounds fucking awesome.”

Marika Collins

Instagram handle: @madcapcupcake 
Followers: 278

Krieger says: “This food-photographing chica doesn’t have a lot of content or followers in comparison to some of the heavy hitters on the rest of this list, but she has some gorgeous-looking food shots, and precious dishes and silverware—that’s one key to making this Instagram food stuff look banging.”

Mrschhoun

Instagram handle: @mrschhoun 
Followers: 1,277

Krieger says: “These beautiful shots of stylized food are impressive considering this Instagram user isn’t a professional photographer. She blends gorgeous food shots with scenic images that make you feel jealous and mad that you’re in your dirty apartment staring at a computer screen.”

Aran Goyoaga

Instagram handle: @cannellevanille
Followers: 33,341

Krieger says: “Aran is a professional photographer and maintains a popular food blog with lots of awards and accolades. She just recently had a book come out that looks beautiful. Her Instagram includes a lot of stuff from her shoots, so it’s very pretty, perfectly plated, and lovely to look at. She’s gotta chill a bit with the blur tool, but I know how it is—you want that nice creamy blurred background (aka bokeh), but on a phone the blur comes out looking a little blecchh.”

Tim Robison

Instagram handle: @timrobisonjr
Followers: 7,180

Krieger says: “Great use of negative space, symmetry, and shadows in his work. Some of these food shots look like oil paintings (which happens because of the way he’s using light and shadows). Along with the images that make you want to lick the screen, his non-food photography is quite compelling as well.”

Wildcard pick: April Bloomfield

Instagram handle: @aprilbloomfield
Followers: 23,156

Krieger says: “Part of interesting food photography is accessibility to expertly prepared, beautiful food and kitchens filled with famous chefs. If you’re a food photographer, that’s what you do for a living, but chefs also have this access. April isn’t a photographer, but she’s a kick ass chef in NYC, running several highly acclaimed restaurants including the Breslin, the Spotted Pig, and the John Dory Oyster Bar. Unfortunately, a lot of chefs post terrible looking food shots on Instagram (I guess that’s why they’re chefs and not photographers), but she seems to buck the trend and makes her food and whatever she’s doing look really nice. She’s also a sweetheart!”