Restaurant Photography Contract Template: What to Put in Writing Before the Shoot

Start with the shoot scope, not the price

Describe the shoot in physical terms a kitchen manager can verify. Name the location or locations, the date and hours the kitchen is available, and one named contact who can approve dishes as they come out. Note whether shooting happens during service, before opening or on a closed day, because that single detail changes prep timing, plate availability and how long each dish can sit under lights.

List the dishes individually rather than writing "the menu." A contract that says 25 dishes should specify whether that means 25 final selects or 25 dishes photographed, since a photographer may shoot three setups per dish to get one usable frame. Add a short buffer for dishes that look wrong on the day, such as a sauce that breaks or a garnish that wilts.

• Location(s), date, start and finish times
• Named on-site contact and their approval authority
• Number of dishes, listed by name, plus a small buffer
• Who supplies plates, linens, props and styling support
• Whether a kitchen helper is on hand to plate and refresh

Deliverables: count, crops and file formats

Specify the final file count and the formats. Menus and delivery apps generally want square or 4:5 crops, websites and hero banners want wide 16:9, and social needs vertical 4:5 and 9:16. If the contract only promises "edited images," you will end up cropping in a phone app and losing the composition. Ask for each selected image in at least a square and a wide crop, plus a high-resolution file for print.

Also state resolution and color space: sRGB JPEGs for web and app uploads, and a larger file for print menus. If you plan to print, ask for the raw or layered file policy in writing, because many photographers retain raw files and deliver only edited JPEGs. Check the upload screen of each delivery platform before you promise a size, since platforms publish their own requirements and change them without notice.

Usage rights: name every channel

"Online use" is too vague to protect either side. List the channels explicitly: your own website, Instagram, Google Business Profile, printed menus, in-store screens, QR menus, email, and paid social ads. Paid advertising is usually licensed separately from organic posting, so decide now whether ads are included and for how long.

Delivery apps deserve their own line. Say whether the images may be uploaded to DoorDash, Uber Eats and similar platforms, and note that the restaurant, not the photographer, is responsible for meeting each platform's image rules. If a platform restricts AI-generated images, the restaurant must shoot and upload its own real photos there, so the contract should confirm the photographer is delivering real photographs of your dishes, not composites or generated versions.

Set a license term and territory. Perpetual worldwide use costs more than a two-year license for your own market, and a photographer may charge again if you expand. Decide which you need before you compare quotes.

• Organic social, website, Google Business Profile, print, QR menu
• Paid ads: included or licensed separately, with a stated duration
• Delivery app upload rights, with platform rules on the restaurant
• License length, territory and whether renewal is automatic
• Credit requirement, if the photographer wants a byline

Approvals, revisions and reshoots

Set an approval window, for example ten business days after delivery, and say what happens if you stay silent. Define a revision limit, such as one round of color and crop adjustments per image, and separate that from reshoots. A reshoot is a new session, not an edit, and should have its own trigger: a dish that was plated wrong, a file that is out of focus, or a dish that changed recipe after the shoot.

Agree who owns the selection. The photographer may pick the strongest frame, but you know which dishes sell and which need a hero shot for the top of the menu. A simple rule works: the photographer delivers a set number of selects per dish, and you choose the final image used on each channel.

Payment, cancellation and file handover

Write down the deposit, the balance due date and what counts as delivery. Tie the final payment to receipt of the finished files rather than to the shoot date, and state late-payment terms plainly. For cancellations, distinguish between a postponement caused by the restaurant, such as a kitchen closure, and one caused by the photographer, and say how much notice each side needs.

File handover should have a deadline and a method: a shared folder, a download link, or a drive. Ask how long the files stay available, because links expire. If you plan to work with the same photographer again, note whether they keep the setup notes and dish list so the next shoot matches the first.

Adapting the template to your city and menu

The clauses that matter shift with your situation. A restaurant in a city where delivery is a large share of orders needs explicit app usage rights and square crops for every dish. A seasonal tasting menu needs a reshoot clause that covers menu changes every few months, and a clause letting you re-license the same setup. A bakery or cafe with high-volume counter sales needs wide shots of the room and display case, not just plates.

Also check local employment and tax rules for freelance photographers in your jurisdiction, and whether your insurance covers a photographer working in the kitchen. Those points vary by country and are worth a local professional's review before you sign.

Once the contract is signed and the shoot is done, the files still need to fit every channel. 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. That makes it useful for your own website, Instagram, Google Business Profile, QR menu and print, while the original real photographs remain what you upload wherever a platform requires them.