Madrid Restaurant Photography: A Practical Guide for Local Kitchens
Madrid light swings hard between summer and winter, and that changes how you shoot your dishes. This guide covers a seasonal window-light schedule, what to shoot for each channel, and how to keep allergen information clear on delivery listings.
Plan your shoots around Madrid daylight
Madrid gets roughly 14 h 53 min of daylight at the June solstice, with the noon sun about 73 degrees above the horizon. At the December solstice you get about 9 h 07 min and a noon sun of about 26 degrees. That means summer light is high and hard, while winter light comes in low and raking through windows.
Use the high summer sun as a bounce source rather than a direct light. Shoot near a north-facing window between 10:00 and 12:00, or after 17:00, when the sun is lower and the shadows are softer. Avoid placing plates in direct midday sun; the highlights on glazed sauces and oil will blow out.
- June to August: shoot 10:00 to 12:00 or after 17:00, with a white card opposite the window to fill shadows
- September and October: mid-morning light is stable, good for full menu re-shoots
- November to February: the low winter sun can rake deep into the room; use it for texture shots of bread, cured meats and stews, but flag it off glossy surfaces
- March to May: changeable skies give soft, even light; keep a shoot day flexible and check the forecast the morning of
What to shoot for each channel
Delivery listings, Google Business Profile, your own website and social each need a different frame. A delivery thumbnail is small and read on a phone, so the dish should fill most of the frame with a clean background. Google Business Profile photos are seen alongside your storefront and interior shots, so include a few wider table shots. Your own website and printed menu can carry tighter detail shots.
For delivery apps, shoot at roughly 45 degrees above the plate for a natural view, and a straight overhead shot for bowls, salads and sharing platters. Keep the camera close enough that the food fills the frame; you can crop later. Shoot both a 1:1 square and a 16:9 landscape of each hero dish so you have options wherever the image is placed.
- Delivery: one overhead and one 45-degree shot per bestseller, plain background
- Google Business Profile: include a dish close-up plus a table setting and the room
- Website and QR menu: tighter detail shots that hold up at large sizes
- Social: a vertical frame for stories and a square for feed posts
Check each platform's specs before you upload
Pixel requirements differ by platform and change without notice. This site publishes spec pages for Uber Eats, Just Eat and Glovo in Spain, at /delivery-photo-specs/uber-eats/spain/, /delivery-photo-specs/just-eat/spain/ and /delivery-photo-specs/glovo/spain/. Read the page for the app you use before you export.
Where a platform does not publish pixel specs, the upload screen is the source of truth. Check the crop preview and any minimum size warning shown during upload, and keep a high-resolution original of every dish so you can re-export at a new size later.
Keep allergen information separate from the photo
Under EU Regulation 1169/2011, information on the 14 regulated allergens must be available for food sold without packaging, and for distance selling, including delivery apps, mandatory information must be available before the purchase is concluded. A photo does not carry that duty. Keep allergen details in the item description or a linked allergen page, and make sure they are visible before checkout.
Photos should also not suggest ingredients the dish does not contain. If a dish is photographed with a garnish that is not served, or a sauce that contains an allergen but is not listed, the image misleads the customer. Shoot the dish as it is served, and update the photo when the recipe changes.
Menus, languages and print
Menus in Spain are commonly written in Spanish, Catalan, Basque and Galician. If you print a multilingual menu, keep the dish photo consistent across language versions so a guest can match the picture to the plate. For a QR menu, export a small file size that loads quickly on mobile data and a larger version for print.
For print, ask your printer for the required resolution and color profile before you export. A photo that looks right on a phone can print muddy if it is upscaled; keep the original file.
Building a repeatable photo routine
Set a fixed spot by a window, a plain background and a list of the dishes you need. Shoot new specials the week they launch rather than in one annual batch, so the menu stays current. Keep a folder per dish with the original file and the exported sizes.
FoodPhoto takes a real photo of the restaurant's own dish 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 for your website menu, Instagram, Google Business Profile, QR menu and print. It cannot guarantee approval by any platform, so always check the upload screen.
Checklist before you publish
- Pick a window with indirect light and set a plain background before the first dish arrives
- Shoot one overhead and one 45-degree frame of each bestseller
- Capture a 1:1 and a 16:9 version of every hero dish
- Check the spec page or upload screen for the app you use before exporting
- Keep allergen information in the item description, not in the photo
- Photograph each dish exactly as it is served, including garnishes
- Store the original file for every dish so you can re-export later
- Re-shoot seasonal specials the week they launch
Questions
What time of day is best for food photography in Madrid?
In summer, shoot between 10:00 and 12:00 or after 17:00 to avoid the hard midday sun. In winter, the low sun can rake through windows and works well for texture, but flag it off glossy surfaces. Overcast spring days give the most even light.
Do delivery apps need different photo sizes?
Yes. Each app sets its own requirements, and they change. Check the spec page or the upload screen for the app you use, and keep a high-resolution original so you can export a new size later.
Can a photo replace allergen information on a delivery listing?
No. Under EU Regulation 1169/2011, allergen information for the 14 regulated allergens must be available before the purchase is concluded for distance selling. Keep it in the item description or a linked allergen page.
Should I photograph dishes with garnishes that are not served?
No. A photo should not suggest ingredients the dish does not contain, especially where an allergen is involved. Shoot the plate as the customer receives it.