ezCater Photo Specs: What Restaurants Should Shoot and Upload

What ezCater Actually Publishes About Photo Specs

ezCater does not publish pixel dimensions, aspect ratios, or file size limits for menu photos. There is no official spec sheet to download, and no official rule list covering image format or resolution. Any exact number you see quoted for ezCater image size, including older versions of this page, is not sourced from ezCater itself.

That does not mean you upload blind. It means the upload screen is your source of truth. When you add or edit a menu item in your ezCater account, the image uploader shows what it accepts: file types, any size limit, and how the preview crops your file. Take a screenshot of that uploader the first time you use it and keep it with your shoot notes, because it is the only requirement that applies to your account.

• No published pixel dimensions or aspect ratios
• No published file size limit
• No published rule list on photo content
• Check the upload screen for accepted file types and crop preview
• Re-check after any account or menu update

Because ezCater does not publish a crop, assume your photo will be shown at more than one shape: a small square or near-square thumbnail in a menu list, and a wider crop in a header or featured placement. A single file has to survive both.

Frame the dish so the food sits inside the central square of the frame, with a margin of empty surface on all four sides. If the platter is wider than it is tall, that margin is what saves you when the square crop comes in. Shoot the dish from directly above at 90 degrees for buffets, platters and shared items, and from about 30 to 45 degrees for plated individual meals where height matters.

Keep the widest part of the dish within roughly 70 percent of the frame width. That leaves room for a 1:1 crop and a 16:9 crop from the same original. If you only ever shoot tight, every crop decision is made for you by the platform.

Catering photos get viewed on phones in offices and on laptops during planning meetings, often in bright rooms. Contrast matters more than mood. Light the dish from one side at roughly 45 degrees with a large diffused source, and place a white card or foam board on the opposite side to lift the shadow side. That keeps texture in sauces and glazes without crushing the dark areas.

Color accuracy is the bigger risk with catering. A tray of sandwiches or a salad platter that reads slightly yellow or gray looks tired. Set white balance manually against a gray card rather than relying on auto, and check the file on a phone screen before you shoot the rest of the menu. If your venue has warm overhead lighting, turn it off or flag it away from the set.

For group portions, include a size reference that does not look staged: a serving spoon in the tray, a stack of plates at the edge of the frame, or a single portion plated next to the full platter. Buyers ordering for a meeting need to judge whether a tray feeds eight people or twenty, and a reference does that faster than any description.

Since ezCater does not publish a file size limit, export conservatively. A JPEG at quality 80 to 85 with the long edge around 2000 pixels is sharp on any screen and stays well under typical uploader limits. Avoid PNG for photographs; it inflates file size for no visible gain on food images.

Keep the original file. If the uploader rejects your export or crops badly, you want the full-resolution frame to re-export from, not a screenshot of the rejected version. Name files by menu item and version so a re-shoot does not overwrite the photo that is currently live.

Watch for two review problems that get catering photos sent back: a dish that does not match the current menu description, and a photo showing a quantity or garnish the kitchen no longer serves. Update the photo the same week you change the item, not after a customer complains.

Catering orders are usually placed by an assistant, an office manager, or an event planner who has never tasted your food. They are buying certainty. A photo of a single beautiful plate does not answer their question; a photo of the platter as delivered does.

Shoot the item in its actual catering vessel: the half pan, the tray, the box. If you also offer individual boxed lunches, shoot one open box so the buyer sees what each guest receives. Keep backgrounds plain and neutral (a light wood surface, a matte gray board, a white tablecloth) so the food is the only color in the frame.

For multi-item orders, one wide shot of a full spread helps the buyer picture the whole order, but keep it as a secondary image. The primary photo for each menu item should be that item alone, clearly lit, with nothing else competing for attention.

FoodPhoto takes a real photo of your own dish and improves the light, background and crop for menus, delivery apps and social, keeping the food as it is. Every photo comes as a kit of sizes, so you have a square and a wide version of the same shot ready for whichever crop the ezCater uploader shows you. It cannot guarantee approval by ezCater, and it never generates a different dish.