The food photography industry may be quite confusing to some, especially when they first hear it described as a specific type of commercial photography. It is true that this genre is made up of several smaller individual fields, and one of these is menu photography. Much of the mainstream publicity surrounding food photography tends to refer to the work of other professionals within the food industry and food photography is in fact a very specialized field, and the skills needed for menu photography specifically, are completely different from the ones you need when you’re shooting a recipe video. However, the main element in the broad category of food photography, is that it is usually specifically focused on food that is served in a commercial setting, with the emphasis on consumer impressions.
It is important to remember that whatever industry you work in, if you’re selling a physical good of some sort you will almost always be required to use visual media to attract customers. In the food and hospitality industries, menu photography is our version of that.
For a lot of professional photographers, a really good example of menu photography is a piece of cake or cake. Here the photographer's concentration is on the light representation, showing the details in the frosting, how everything looks when the light hits it, how appearances are manipulated and changed by a shifting light source, and the nuances in using your equipment, props and location to their full potential in an aesthetically pleasing display.
Selecting the right photos for the specific food type can be incredibly important here. For the more technically minded, it could be about picking out the right equipment to get the job done well. Shortlists of equipment that is regularly used for menu photography can be found on photography websites, and as the equipment used in the industry continues to evolve and there are more advancements in technology, these lists will continue to change - so those interested in this field really need to stay up to speed with developments. That said, you will probably be able to find many valuable online resources, as well as commercial design magazines where you can find out more about the field.
The idea of pursuing menu photography as a career is something that occurs to a lot of people. They may enjoy the field for its unique qualities, or for its versatility, or for its creativity - each food photographer has their own personal reasons for getting involved. The menu photography field can be challenging, but there are many advantages - it’s an industry that is growing more and more, and one which offers prospects for photography students too. With the prevalence of social media, Instagram is now an essential way for restaurants, patisseries and other food retailers to promote their businesses. Therefore, there’s plenty of work in food and menu photography! Getting your first project might be the most difficult, but as you build your reputation, you’ll have more and more clients who want to work with you.
How to Make Money From Menu Photography
Step one: What is the product?
If you already have a good idea of what you are going to photograph you will already know what kind of skills and equipment you need for your project. Fortunately for clients, nowadays there are many photographers who specialize in menu photography, offering the highest quality shots that can help promote a food business on social media, in print, basically wherever you want your menu to be.
Step two: Pairing clients and photographers
Before your photography session, clients should therefore search for a good photographer online. Instagram is as good place to start, searching #photographer plus your local area, or simply by Googling ‘menu photography’ plus your local area. The whole session should last an hour and a half. If you haven’t found any possible partners in that time then try different platforms or tags.
Step three: The shoot
Once the session begins, the photographer will take lots of shots of the same object(s), from many different angles. They might also change the lens and try taking the same shot with different lenses, to achieve the most aesthetic result for the media where the photograph will appear. You may be surprised by the amount of snaps the photographer takes, but it’s all part of the process!
There are no hard and fast rules, except that you must be product focused. Think like a salesperson: what is that you are selling? You are not selling cameras or frames, you are selling food, via an image that people will associate with your business. In other words, you are promoting your business and the culinary talent on offer there using images.
As a menu photography enthusiast, it can be really rewarding if you put in the time and effort to master the various techniques to get the best shot. It’s also a really promising sub-industry to break into, with the rise of restaurants, bars and other food retailers promoting their work on social media. These businesses all want the best quality images going onto their Instagram and Facebook feeds, to promote and grow their businesses. By the same token, the more your images help restaurants or patisseries to win customers and grow, the more clients you will also take on as your work is noticed.