We know the feeling: your food arrives and you want a good photo of it for social media. A nice-looking shot pulls your friends into the comments — and it works exactly the same way with your customers. When they see beautiful food photos across your channels, their attention follows. That is why photographing your food to promote your outlet matters so much when you run a restaurant today.
Of course, if it is only going on social media, you can pick up a camera, press the shutter and you have a photo. But if you want a shot that genuinely captures people, it takes a little more. Before we get to how to take a good one, you might be wondering why we make such a fuss about food photography for promoting an outlet. Here are the reasons.
- Beautiful food photos, beautiful sales figures
This barely needs proving. Picture two new restaurants opening, both selling the same food. One promotes itself with gorgeous, mouth-watering pictures; the other posts perfectly ordinary shots that do nothing for anyone. Which one do you think has the longer queue?
Research also shows that, comparing a text-only menu with one that includes photos of the dishes, the menu with photos lifts orders by as much as 25%. The reason is simple: a photo tells your customer what the dish they are about to order actually looks like, and what they are going to get.
- They help customers remember your outlet
Images help people retain information. When we take something in, the brain holds on to only about 10% of it after three days — but when the information comes with an image, the brain still remembers as much as 65% three days later.
So if the food photos you take to promote your outlet come out beautifully and leave an impression, they do not just get your restaurant noticed — they give people a chance to remember it too.
- They reach more people
As well as good restaurant management, eye-catching images help draw more people in. Photo or video content always attracts more attention than content with no images at all. And when a photo of one of your dishes strikes a chord with customers, they share it — which is a chance to get your outlet known more widely and to win more customers along with it.
Right then — let's look at how to photograph your food so that it comes out beautifully and wins people over.
Tips for better food photography to promote your outlet
- Use what you already have
Taking a good food photo does not call for fancy equipment. There is no need to rush out and buy a new set of crockery or a new camera and blow the budget. Start by picking out the best-looking cutlery and plates you already have in the shop, then use the camera you already own. The backdrop is your outlet itself.
Most important of all: use as much natural light as you possibly can so the picture looks natural. You do not need a flash or a lighting set-up — that alone will make your food look good.
- Keep a theme and a concept in mind
One way to make your promotional food photography stand out is to settle on a clear theme or concept before you start shooting. Think about how you want the picture to come out: do you want a clean, sharp shot of the dish itself, or something with a controlled colour palette?
It also depends on the image or atmosphere you want your outlet to project. If your outlet trades on brightness and cheer, the pictures need plenty of colour. If you serve Japanese food, shooting with a Japanese theme is a good way to make the outlet stand out. And if you come up with an idea that is genuinely fresh and distinctive, do not forget to bring it into your photography.
That said, once you have chosen a theme and a concept that works, stick with it. What matters most is showing it to customers consistently, so that they — and everyone else — remember your restaurant.
Image by Freepik
- Don't forget — the food is the star
Avoid clutter, because the most important thing in the frame is the dish itself.
Sometimes, when photographing food to promote an outlet, you add element after element to the frame because you think it will look better. But once there are too many elements, the real star gets upstaged, or the whole thing becomes so busy you cannot tell one thing from another. If you have already fallen into that trap, simplify everything so the dish can shine.
You can always add props to make the picture more interesting, as long as they are balanced in size and colour. Props in a matching colour palette will make the dish stand out all the more.
- Or else… leave it bare!
If finding props is a struggle, you can simply choose not to use any, and let the food itself be the main element.
You can build a striking, interesting picture out of the dish alone by playing with the food — pouring cream over a dessert, or slicing meat so you can see how juicy it is. Shots like these take creativity, and patience too, but trust us: the result will be worth it.
Or you can shoot close in on one particular spot you want to emphasise, showing the detail or the best feature of the dish.
- Play with angles
Another way to make your promotional food photography more interesting is to play with the angle of the shot.
Do not be afraid to shoot from a fresh point of view! From directly above, from the side, tilting the camera up or pointing it down — move your dish around and keep hunting for new angles. You may well end up with the beautiful shot that brings customers through your door.
We hope this article gets you started on photographing the food at your outlet. Once you have the shots, you can post them on your social media — Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or TikTok. Just pick the platform that suits your outlet and post to it regularly.
And once you have good food photos, remember to put them to work in your store management POS to make your own job easier. Qashier POS, our management system for restaurants and shops, lets you load images into the terminal so that selecting items is quicker and simpler. It also comes with plenty of other tools to make running your restaurant easier:
- QR code ordering
- Table management
- Staff management
- Promotions and membership
- Sales data analytics
- QR code payments
Best of all, you can try Qashier POS for free. Start by downloading our Qashier POS app, or use it on one of our POS terminals — good-looking, easy to use, and built to keep your outlet running without a hitch.
If you would like Qashier to be the assistant your business needs, get in touch for more information. We are ready to support your outlet, particularly with POS terminals for food and beverage and an efficient POS system, plus support from our team seven days a week.
For more information, reach us on Line Official: @qashier.th or call 02 544 0267