Restaurant Photography Shot List Template

What belongs on a restaurant shot list

A working shot list has one row per photo, not one row per dish. A single burger might need three rows: a 45-degree hero for the menu, a tight crop on the patty edge and melted cheese for the category tile, and a straight-on shot showing height for a social post. Writing them as separate rows forces you to decide the angle and crop before plating, which is when those decisions are cheap.

Each row should carry the dish name, the exact angle, the crop ratio, the garnish or sauce state, the surface or prop, the channel it is for, and a short note on what must be visible. If a row cannot be described in those terms, it is not ready to shoot.

• Dish name and menu section
• Camera angle in degrees (0 straight-on, 45 three-quarter, 90 top-down)
• Crop ratio (1:1 for grid tiles, 4:5 for feed posts, 16:9 for website banners)
• Garnish and sauce state (fresh, dressed, poured, cut)
• Surface, plate and prop
• Target channel and file destination
• What must be visible (rim, portion, layers, char, crumb)

The core shot list: one hero per dish

Start with one hero image per menu item and nothing else. The default angle for most plated dishes is 45 degrees, which shows both the top and the side so the portion reads honestly. Use 90 degrees top-down for bowls, pizzas, sushi platters and anything where the arrangement is the point, and reserve 0 degrees straight-on for tall builds like burgers, layered cakes and stacked sandwiches where height is the sell.

Shoot the hero on a clean surface with the plate rim fully inside the frame. Leave a margin of about 10 percent on each side so the image can be cropped to 1:1 without clipping the rim. If the dish is served in a branded bowl or box, include one frame with the container fully visible, because delivery listings often show the container as proof of portion.

• 45-degree hero for most plates, with the rim fully visible
• 90-degree top-down for bowls, pizza, sushi and share platters
• 0-degree straight-on for burgers, stacks and layered desserts
• One container-visible frame for any dish sold in packaging

Adding crops, texture and category shots

Once the heroes are done, add a small number of supporting rows. Category tiles on a menu or ordering page are usually square, so a 1:1 crop of the best-selling dish from each section gives the page a consistent grid. Texture shots (a close crop on crust, char, crumb, sauce or steam) work well as section dividers and as secondary images on a dish page.

Keep supporting shots tied to best sellers and to dishes whose buying decision depends on detail. A pizza needs a cheese-pull or underside shot because crispness is the question. A ramen needs a top-down with the toppings arranged and a close crop on the egg or chashu. A salad needs a top-down that shows the mix rather than a pile. Do not add variants for every item; add them where the photo changes what someone orders.

Shoot in the state the guest receives

The most common failure on a photo day is food that looks better than what leaves the kitchen. Note the garnish state on the shot list and hold the kitchen to it: herbs fresh and dry, sauce poured but not pooling, cheese at the pull point, ice not yet melting. Build in a realistic window per row, usually a few minutes, and shoot the least stable dishes first.

For delivery, the photo should match what survives the trip. If fries go soft in a box, do not photograph them on a slate in a way that implies crispness at the door. A container-visible frame shot quickly after packing is more honest and more useful than a styled shot the customer will never receive.

Matching each row to its channel

Different channels crop differently, so plan the ratios before the shoot. Website menus and QR menus usually want landscape or square images that sit next to text, so 4:3 or 1:1 is a safe default. Instagram feed posts work at 4:5, stories and reels covers at 9:16. Google Business Profile photos appear in several crops, so keep the subject centered with space around it.

For delivery apps, check the upload screen in the merchant portal for the current image requirements and safe area. Some platforms do not publish pixel specs publicly, so the upload screen is the only reliable source. Where a platform bans AI-generated images, shoot and upload your own real photo there and do not use any generated or altered version. Keep the original files organized by dish and channel so a re-crop never requires a re-shoot.

• Website and QR menu: 4:3 or 1:1, subject centered
• Instagram feed: 4:5; stories and reels covers: 9:16
• Google Business Profile: centered subject with generous margin
• Delivery apps: confirm specs on the upload screen before shooting

A simple workflow from list to finished files

Fill in the list the day before the shoot, grouped by station so the kitchen can prep in batches. Print two copies: one for the photographer and one taped near the pass. Number each row and rename files to match the row number as you shoot, which removes the sorting work later. Review on a laptop the same day, mark each row as keep, reshoot or drop, and only then break down the set.

After the shoot, produce the crops each channel needs from the kept originals. FoodPhoto can take a real photo of the restaurant's own dish and improve light, background and crop for menus, delivery apps and social while keeping the food as it is, and every photo comes as a kit of sizes. Use it for your own channels and keep the original files as the source of truth.