How To: Restaurant Food Photos

One of the keys of effective restaurant marketing is to understand that restaurant patrons eat with their eyes first. In fact, 89% of restaurant customers are said to check out a restaurant online before deciding whether or not to dine there (AIS Media). When it comes to marketing the food in your restaurant, whether it be on your restaurant's website or for your fans on your social media pages (Facebook and Twitter), you don't have to pay big bucks for professional looking food photos. As far as engaging your restaurant's fans online, photos are one of the highest-ranking kinds of engagement and "are still the best overall strategy" when it comes to catching the attention on your online fans (edgerankchecker, 2012).
You don't even need expensive equipment. All you need is a decent camera, good lighting and scrumptious looking food. Here are four tips on how to get professional looking food photos without having to pay big bucks. Using an iPhone 4 and above as well as any higher end Android phone released within the last year will give you a good enough phone to use as well as carry with you.

Use Your Menu As Inspiration

Not sure where to start? Start with the most popular dishes on your menu. Think about which entrees are best to showcase. Are you known for your pizza or a particular cocktail or appetizer? Which entrees are your restaurant patrons most passionate or curious about? Start with the philosophy of your restaurant. Do you use any fresh farm ingredients that you'd love to show off to entice your customers to try? Choose dishes that best represent the philosophy of your restaurant and start by taking pictures of those.

It's All About The Lighting

The most important aspect when taking pictures of your restaurant's food is to make sure you have plenty of light. Taking pictures of your photos in a dimly lit restaurant will only make your dishes look shadowy and less appetizing. Take photos in the daytime by a window so that the food is in natural light. Try taking a photo in the bright light of a kitchen where food often looks its most fresh and appetizing. Be sure to frame each dish properly so that you only see the plate of food, not the operations of the kitchen. Otherwise, try bringing in a small lamp that you can hover over a tabletop to make your food show up better. Again, just watch out for any shadows.

Lighting Tip: Try to refrain from using a flash on your camera if you can. Try to use light from another source. A camera flash often looks too harsh on food creating unappetizing pictures.

Easy Does It

A common mistake made with self-photography is burry pictures. While the new iPhone (4s & 5) has a decent camera, it's also very sensitive and requires a very steady hand to keep pictures from being burry. Keep these tips in mind: If you have a shaky hand, try resting your elbow on a table. Also, make sure that you aren't trying to focus too closely on the food. You may have to move farther away to get a more detailed shot.

Showcase the Rest

Don't forget that besides your restaurant's dishes, there is much more you can photograph and share on your restaurant's website and social feeds. If you are proud of your tabletop décor, take a picture of a table where a patron would be enjoying their meal. If you decorate for the holidays, take a picture of the outside of the restaurant dressed up for the holidays. Take pictures of your head chef or staff working behind the scenes. Think of creative shots that you can take of your restaurant that would make you want to visit your establishment in person.

Once you've perfected your food photo taking skills, start sharing them everywhere. Post them on your restaurant's Facebook, Twitter and Google+ accounts. TwitPic is a great way to share your photos on Twitter. You might also want to think about setting up an Instagram account especially devoted to your restaurant's photos, where you can build your own following just by posting pictures.