Menu Photography in Montevideo: One Shoot, Every Menu

Decide the output sizes before you shoot

Every crop you will need later should be decided before the camera comes out. A printed menu usually runs horizontal images at roughly 3:2 or 4:3. Delivery app tiles are square, so plan a 1:1 crop with the dish centered and clear space at the edges. A QR menu page often works best with a wider 16:9 or 3:2 image that sits beside the dish name and price. Instagram needs both 1:1 and 4:5, and Google Business Profile photos are viewed small, so the plate has to read at thumbnail size.

Shoot each dish slightly wider than the tightest crop you need. If the final square crop cuts the rim of the plate, you have room to reframe in editing. For delivery apps, check the upload screen for that platform's current requirements before exporting: this site publishes a spec page for Rappi in Uruguay at /delivery-photo-specs/rappi/uruguay/, and where a platform does not publish pixel specs, the upload screen itself is the authority.

• Print: 3:2 or 4:3 horizontal, dish centered
• Delivery tiles: 1:1 square, generous margins
• QR menu: 16:9 or 3:2 beside the text
• Instagram: 1:1 and 4:5
• Google Business Profile: check how small it reads

Build a shot list from the actual menu

Work from the current printed menu, not from memory. List every item that will appear with a photo, group them by category (starters, mains, sandwiches, pasta, desserts, drinks), and note which items share a plate, a garnish or a background so they can be shot back to back. This is what makes a batch shoot fast and consistent.

Photograph in the order the kitchen can produce food, not the order of the menu. Hot dishes lose their look quickly, so shoot each one within a couple of minutes of plating and keep a runner bringing the next plate while you shoot the current one. Cold items, drinks and desserts can fill gaps while the kitchen resets.

Decide the frame count per dish up front: one hero angle plus one tighter version for square crops is usually enough. More angles slow the batch and create confusion later about which file is the master.

Plan the shoot around Montevideo's daylight

Montevideo's daylight changes a lot between the solstices. Around the December solstice the city gets about 14 h 21 min of daylight and the noon sun reaches about 79 degrees above the horizon, so the sun is almost overhead at midday. Around the June solstice it gets about 9 h 39 min and the noon sun reaches about 32 degrees, meaning the sun stays much lower through the middle of the day.

Those angles decide when window light is usable. In December, the high noon sun means the useful window-light hours sit earlier in the morning and later in the afternoon, when the sun is lower. In June, the low noon sun means midday light comes in at a shallow angle and the window stays usable closer to noon, but the shorter day gives you less total shooting time, so start earlier.

Build a simple seasonal schedule: in December, book shoots for the morning and late afternoon and keep the middle of the day for prep and plating tests. In June, use the middle of the day for window-light work and finish before the early sunset. Either way, test one dish at your chosen hour and check the result on a phone screen before committing the whole menu to that slot.

Keep a batch consistent from first plate to last

Consistency comes from repeating the same setup, not from editing harder. Lock the camera position, the distance to the plate and the background, and change only the food. Use the same surface and the same props for every dish in a category, and remove anything that dates the photo, such as seasonal decorations or handwritten notes.

Name files as you shoot, not afterward. A pattern like dish-name_category_version keeps a 40-item menu searchable and lets the kitchen or the person updating the delivery apps find the right file without opening images. Keep the original wide file as the master and export crops from it, so a menu change never means reshooting a dish that has not changed.

When a dish changes, reshoot only that dish on the same setup. If the plate, portion or garnish changes, the old photo is wrong even if it is technically good, and a mismatched delivery photo leads to complaints when the order arrives.

Keep photos in sync with menu changes

Menus change more often than most restaurants plan for: a seasonal item leaves, a price changes, a portion is adjusted. Set a monthly review where someone compares the live menu against the photo library and flags any dish with a missing or outdated image. Do the same check before any seasonal menu launch, since new items usually arrive without photos.

Store the master files in one shared folder with the naming pattern above, and keep a simple list mapping each dish to its file name. That list is what makes a QR menu update or a delivery app refresh a 20-minute job instead of a reshoot.

For your own channels, the website menu, Instagram, Google Business Profile, QR menu and print, one improved real photo of your own dish can be exported in every size you need. 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, and every photo comes as a kit of sizes. It cannot guarantee approval by any platform, so always check each app's upload screen before publishing.

What to check before the shoot day

A short pre-shoot check saves a second session. Confirm the menu is final, the kitchen knows the shooting order and the person who will update the delivery apps is available to name and file the images the same day.

• Final menu printed and marked with items that need photos
• Shot list grouped by category and kitchen order
• Square, wide and vertical crops tested on one dish
• File naming pattern agreed and written down
• Shared folder created for masters and exports
• Platform upload screens checked for current requirements