Do you own a restaurant or plan to have one? Either way, showing your restaurant’s style at its best is crucial. The most important thing here is to showcase what you serve your guests and how you do it. Below, we gathered up a few things you may want to consider while planning your food photography session and digital menu. Please take a look at them before starting.
Are You All Set? Plan Every Single Detail!
Before starting your photoshoot session, every detail must be checked carefully. From the shooting principles to the lighting, you should plan what needs to be done and be prepared in advance. If you like to work systematically, you can make a to-do list or checklist for your team so that you will follow the plan carefully. If you don’t devise a proper plan, things may not work as you’ve imagined; this healthier way will result in better quality food images.
Light Is Everything
Lights, camera, action! You know the drill already. Natural (natural daylight or sunlight) or artificial (all other types of light sources such as fluorescent, electric lights, flashes) lighting, it does not matter at all: if you set it up in the wrong way, it may cause your food to look not the way you’ve planned, indeed. Please keep in mind that using the light from different angles can work much better when trying to showcase different sides of your food. The true lighting choice can create an effect with the help of shadows and silhouettes. However, the wrong one can cause undesirable effects, glare, and reflections.
Remember that natural light is less controllable and can vary according to many different variables, such as what time of day you are, season, weather, and geographical location. Depending on the situation, you can use a diffuser or a reflector.
Respect The Principles
The main principles of photography are as follows: composition, focal point (known as focus), angle & lens, and active area. These rules may seem a bit boring, but they are the essentials of your work. To understand what does not work in your photography composition, learning the "rules" and continuing to apply them will be necessary. You've probably heard about some of these rules. Nevertheless, it's worth repeating and studying them. Also, remember that these are not rules, just guidelines to help you through. Even some simple techniques that you will use will help you run your photo shoot more smoothly. We recommend studying the principles of using the camera by heart for you and your team so that you can be fully prepared and know what to or how to shoot your food perfectly.
The Limit Is Your Imagination
This is your imagination, your world, and there is no limit. And yet, it is flexible. When you put your imagination into your work, you can develop many interesting and creative shooting ideas for decoration and background. If you are looking for some inspiration, we recommend gazing through some platforms like Pinterest or Unsplash - from which you can get some ideas for your shooting: on these platforms, you may come across many cool and inspiring works! If you are confused about how to gather things or the ideas you like, you can create a mood board before planning your photoshoot.
Feel The Vibe
Most of the people who try to get information about your food and your restaurant prefer visiting your website or your social media account - which means that you should show your best skills to give the vibe you wish. You know what they usually say: “You attract the energy that you give off.” So as your food and your restaurant! During shooting, do what you can to give the vibes that can attract your target audience. To accomplish this, you may want to try some hacks that may seem odd but trending, such as carving some symbols on the food.
We recommend checking some trending and popular food blogger accounts as well: they are the ones who know what kind of shooting style is hype at that moment, and you can get inspiration from their cool Instagram posts for sure.
Design Perfect-Looking Menus with FineDine
Photoshoot? Done! Editing? Done! Posting the images on the website and on your social media? Done! What’s next?
Let us introduce you to FineDine, known as an interactive tablet menu specially designed for restaurants and brands for the best guest experience. FineDine tablet menu offers your first-class menu on digital tablets. You can attract the attention of your audience with high-resolution and appealing images and videos, as well as classy descriptions. In addition, you can help your guests decide what to eat by putting some detailed info about the calories or the ingredients that may be allergic to them. Your menu photography can look quite elegant and fashionable with FineDine’s features.
What’s more, FineDine also allows the guests to order and pay with one single QR code in a fast and easy way.
No credit card is required! If they wish, they don’t need to pay with a credit card to order, and they can pay at the door.
FineDine also helps restaurant owners gather data about customer satisfaction along with important things like e-mail addresses, phone numbers, or birth dates of their customers. For instance, you can offer a special discount or a gift to your clients on their birthday thanks to this feature - which is a great gesture!
Try FineDine now - the easiest way for restaurants to create menus and get orders.
