When you work in the food and beverage industry, you know how important photos are for your small restaurant business. Seeing as people eat with their eyes, it only makes sense to take fantastic pictures of your products and showcase them on your website and popular social media sites.
Now that we’re living in a digital world, social media and websites have dominated the marketing landscape, making food photography at the forefront of marketing moves to help reel in and impress potential customers.
Though you might think grabbing your dish, setting it on the table, and taking a pic is enough, you’d be surprised to know that there’s a lot that goes on in food photography. With that being said, it’s only right that you work with a professional photographer and web design company to ensure that you have the best photos of your creations and that they’re posted well on your website and social media pages.
Food Photography Tips and Tricks Your Small Business Needs
Tip #1: Take as Many Shots as You Can
When it comes to food photography, you should remember that the whole plate is a “show.” This means that every angle of your dish is different from the other, so it only makes sense to go crazy with the shutter button and take as many shots as you can.
Ideally, you want to take tight shots of your food to get the depth and richness of your dish, and you want a medium shot so customers can see the whole plate.
Tip #2: Understand Your Equipment
Taking food photography is no piece of cake, especially when dealing with a bunch of equipment. With that alone, working with a professional photographer is ideal because they’ll understand how to operate complicated equipment to get the best shot.
Using flash alone might not give your dishes justice, so make sure your photographer knows the different techniques and settings to use based on your dishes and setting.
Tip #3: Don’t Underestimate Lighting
Besides photography equipment, your space’s lighting plays a massive role in the outcome of your pictures. When you have the right lighting, your food will transform into a more delectable dish, which could boost the visual appeal of your plate.
In that regard, don’t be afraid to play around with natural, reflected, diffused, or even lightbox lighting and see what works for you!
Tip #4: Consider Your Plating and Setup
Unlike product photography, food photography requires meticulous planning when setting up the space and plating your dishes. At this point, it becomes a collaborative effort between you and the photographer as you combine your creativity to create an impressive food set.
However, if you don’t want to have an elaborate food setup, you can always go for the simplistic look, putting a spotlight on the intricacies of your dish.
A bonus tip for your small business is to hire a real estate photographer to take pictures of your restaurant. By doing this, you get to marry your food and setting, teasing potential customers on how your restaurant experience would be like!
Tip #5: Optimize Your Images
Finally, ensure that the pictures you’ll be uploading on your website and social media pages are post-processed and optimized to fit web standards.
At this point, your photographer and web design company will work together to properly display your images on your site. With colors, composition, and optimization in mind, they’ll work together to showcase your dishes the best way they can.
The Bottom Line: Working With Professionals Can Boost the Visual Appeal of Your Small Business’s Food Photography
Remember — customers eat with their cameras first. And with that being said, you want to help them choose the best dishes for them to take a picture as well as enjoy, right? With that, hiring professionals to take pictures of your dishes and by working with a reputable web design company, you’ll get to produce mouthwatering photos for your website and social media to impress and attract customers.
How Can We Help You?
Food photography and posting them on your website require a lot of meticulous planning and conceptualization. Although it could be tempting to do this on your own, it’s much better to have professionals handle the work.
Mendocino Drone offers superior photography, videography, and web design services from real estate photography down to food photography — we’ve got you covered.
If you’re looking for a professional photographer and web design company, reach out to us today!
