How to Photograph Burgers for Delivery Menus

Start with the bun and the stack

Choose the freshest bun you have and check the toast mark. A pale, unmarked bun looks raw in a small square; a deep even toast reads as texture. If the bun is glossy from butter, wipe the top edge with a dry cloth before shooting so the highlight does not blow out.

Rebuild the stack so the fillings support the patty instead of burying it. Put lettuce and tomato under or beside the patty, not on top of it, and pull the front edge of the patty forward so a strip of seared meat is visible from the camera position. Cheese should drape over the patty edge, not sit flat in the middle of the bun.

Use a matte plate or a clean wrapper as the base. A shiny plate reflects your light source and creates a second highlight that competes with the cheese. Keep the background simple: a dark wood board, a paper wrapper, or a plain wall a meter behind the burger.

• Toast the cut face of the bun, not just the top, so the interior reads as texture.
• Keep lettuce and sauce behind the patty edge, not in front of it.
• Wipe sauce smears off the plate rim before the first frame.
• Use a skewer only if it will be hidden or removed before upload.

The angle: low three-quarter

A low three-quarter angle, roughly 20 to 30 degrees above the plate and slightly off-center, shows height, filling, bun texture, and patty color in one frame. For a tall burger, drop closer to 15 degrees so the stack does not look squat; for a smash burger with a thin patty, lift to about 35 degrees so the crust and cheese are visible.

Avoid overhead-only shots for tall burgers. From directly above, the patty and filling disappear and the bun becomes a circle. If you need an overhead frame for a combo or a flat-lay, shoot it as a second image, not the menu hero.

Cut the burger in half only when the menu item sells the filling, such as a double patty or a stuffed burger. A cut face shows layers, but it also dries out fast, so shoot it within a minute of cutting and keep the cut side facing the camera.

Lighting for shine and texture

Use side-front light: a window to the side and slightly in front of the burger, with a white card or a sheet of parchment on the opposite side to bounce light back into the shadow. This shows the bun's surface and the melted cheese without a flat, even wash.

Control sauce shine. A thin layer of sauce catches a hard highlight that turns white in the photo. Move the light source further to the side or diffuse it with a sheer curtain or a sheet of baking paper. If the cheese looks greasy, blot the surface with a paper towel before the shot and re-melt for a few seconds.

Turn off the phone flash. It flattens the stack and puts a hot spot on the bun. If your kitchen is dark, shoot near a window or use a single lamp with a diffuser placed to the side, and tap the brightest part of the bun on the screen to set exposure.

Framing for app crops

Delivery apps crop menu images to their own aspect ratios, and the crop is often square or close to it. Leave clean space around the burger so the top of the bun and the front edge of the patty survive a tight crop. A burger that fills the frame edge to edge will lose its top and bottom in a square thumbnail.

Shoot one low three-quarter hero with the full stack in frame and space above and below, one overhead combo frame if the item includes fries or a drink, and one tight close-up of the patty edge and cheese for your own social posts. Keep fries and drinks secondary unless the menu item is sold as a combo.

Check the shot as a small square on your phone before you break down the set. If the patty edge disappears at thumbnail size, reshoot closer or rebuild the stack with the patty pulled forward.

Menu-ready checks and platform rules

Review the photo at small size and remove crumbs, wilted greens, and sauce smears that distract from the stack. A clean frame reads faster in a list of menu items.

Before you upload, check the current image requirements on each platform's upload screen. Some platforms do not publish pixel specs, so the upload screen is the only reliable source. Follow the merchant guidelines for that platform, and if a platform bans AI-generated images, shoot and upload your own real photo there.

FoodPhoto takes a real photo of your own burger and improves light, background, and crop for menus, delivery apps, and social, keeping the food as it is. Every photo comes as a kit of sizes, including a hero image, delivery-app sizes, Instagram formats, and Google Business Profile.