Hiring a food photographer can make all the difference in your restaurant’s marketing. Here are four essential questions to ask before hiring a professional food photographer.

In the world of restaurant marketing, and it is all about having content that showcases your menu, whilst consistently telling your unique brand story. That's why hiring a skilled food photographer can be a game-changer for your business. I’ve written a guide to help you through this process in finding the right professional food photographer to capture your menu; make sure to ask these key questions to ensure you're getting the best possible results.

Can I See Your Portfolio?

Each food photographer will have their own unique portfolio, with their own style and creative workflow. Before hiring a professional food photographer, it's important to review their portfolio to get a sense of their style and expertise. Look for a variety of shots that showcase their ability to capture different types of food in various settings. This will give you a better idea of whether their aesthetic matches your brand and if they have experience shooting the types of dishes you serve.

Another great area to check before touching base with the food photographer is if they have any reviews of testimonials from previous happy clients.

A: You can view my food photography reviews on my Google My Business page from my happy clients.

What Is Your Process for Capturing Food Photography at Restaurants?

Each food photographer will have their own way of working and style when it comes to your restaurant photography. It's key to understand the photographer's process for capturing food photos before hiring them. Questions such as do they use natural light or artificial lighting? Do they have experience with food styling or do they work with a food stylist? Understanding their process will give you a better idea of what to expect and whether their style matches your brand.

A: For my food photography work - I take a streamlined approach to my creative process, to allow us to quickly apply our learnings to your brief treatment, to take with us to the shoot. This is started with a quick discovery call to run through your brief, before quoting and taking a 50% deposit to secure your booking. Once booked, I’ll refine your breif into a short treatment that takes on-board what types of content your guests aspire towards - looking ahead to each season to see where we can expand on this over time - building on your narrative and updated offering throughout the year.

On-site, I like to use mobile studio lighting, either flash or continuous for complete control of your aesthetic; on occasion, I may use natural light or a combination, but I’m a big user of studio lighting. Based on your brief, I’ll bring a consise selection of equipment to cover each part of your brief - whilst we shoot in a few locations around your venue; ranging from contextual images of dishes at the table, to reportage content of the kitchen team at work.

How Do You Handle Food Styling & Props?

When hiring a professional food photographer, it's important to ask about their approach to food styling and props. Do they have experience with food styling or do they work with a food stylist? What types of props do they typically use in their photos, and where are these sourced from? Understanding their process for styling and using props will give you a better idea of their style and whether it matches your brand. Additionally, this is a great time to discuss any specific styling or prop requests you may have for your photoshoot.

A: For my food photography at restaurants, I’ll cover your styling and your brief during our discovery call - to better understand your brand vision, and how we can best achieve that. Depending on if we want to make sure of the contextual props within your restaurant or more stylized thematic set dressing - I can additionally work with you to produce a treatment and source props via a rental house, to best achieve this.

To achieve your food styling, I’ll usually check in with your chef to brief them before we start the shoot - mainly on pacing throughout the day, and any notes on presentation. Most dishes are usually amazing when they arrive to me in the shooting space, with the occasional dish needing restyling.

Generally, for the majority of independent or one-off restaurants, I would always suggest we produce food photography content that works to contextualize your menu within your venue; as food heroes, reportage imagery of your kitchen team, and casual environmental portraits of the people in your business.

For chains or restaurant groups where across-the-board visual consistency is key, creating a uniform collection of food photography through the use of prop-hire and heavy art direction is highly advised - as the name of the game is visualising the brand identity, over the experience of any one venue.

What is your pricing and availability?

Before hiring a professional food photographer, it's worth asking about pricing and availability. Ask about their rates and what is included in their packages. Do they charge by the hour, by the project or as a day rate? Are there any additional fees for editing or retouching? Additionally, make sure to discuss their availability and schedule your photoshoot in advance to ensure they are available when you need them.

A: I am usually booked to 80% capacity from 4-6 weeks in advance for food photography, so I’d suggest giving as much notice as possible to allow me to fit you into my shoot schedule. This also gives us plenty of time to prepare for your shoot and get our concepts signed off, ahead of your shoot date.

For restaurant photography, I keep one additional day of availability open in my shoot schedule per week - as less preperation time is needed before restaurant shoots.

As a senior food photographer, my rates vary dependant on the scope and scale of each project; bearing in mind the type of shoot, and if the client requires creative direction, talent, location hire, and extended usage rights.