Restaurant Menu Photo SOP: The 90-Minute Shoot → Enhance → Publish Workflow

If you run a restaurant, you don’t need “creative inspiration.” You need a repeatable system that produces menu-ready photos on demand—without turning your kitchen into a studio. This SOP is designed for real constraints: You’re busy. Staff rotate. Food changes weekly. Delivery apps crop your images. You need photos that look accurate and consistent. Use this as a checklist you can run every month (or every week for specials).

TL;DR

Build a small photo station you can keep set up. Shoot a predictable set of angles for every item. Enhance consistently, then export platform crops. Publish the top items first so you see impact immediately.

What “good” looks like (for restaurants)

Your menu photo has one job: make choosing easy.

Good menu photos are: Clear (you instantly know what it is). Accurate (the delivered dish matches the photo). Consistent (the menu looks like one brand). Crop-safe (important details don’t get cut off).

The 90-minute SOP (print this)

0) Prep (5 minutes)

Pick the list of items you’re shooting today (10–20 is a realistic batch). Assign 2 roles. Shooter: takes photos and checks framing. Runner/Plater: plates dishes, wipes edges, refreshes garnish. Clear the station: no towels, receipts, extra plates, hands, utensils you’re not using.

1) Set up the photo station (10 minutes)

You only need three things: A window (soft light). A neutral surface (background). A white foam board (reflector).

Setup: Put the table 2–3 feet from the window. Window light should come from the side (not behind the dish). Hold the foam board opposite the window to soften shadows. Turn off mixed overhead lights if they add yellow/green color. Background rule: pick ONE background for the whole batch. If your menu is already inconsistent, consistency is the #1 upgrade.

2) Shoot a test plate (5 minutes)

Before you start cooking through the list, shoot one dish and confirm: It reads well as a small thumbnail. The food is centered with breathing room (crops happen later). Color looks like real food (not yellow, not blue).

If it looks wrong, fix the light now—not later.

3) Run the shot list (45–55 minutes)

For each menu item, take 8–12 photos and choose 1 winner.

Default shot list: 45° angle: your “menu default” (works for most items). Overhead: bowls, salads, pizzas, platters. Close texture: crisp edges, sauce, steam, layers. Framing rules: Keep the plate fully inside the frame. Keep the hero ingredient centered. Leave space around the dish so delivery-app crops don’t cut it off. Plating rules: Wipe plate edges every time. Garnish last so it looks fresh. Keep portions accurate (avoid “photo mismatch” complaints). Avoid melted/deflated items (shoot quickly after plating).

4) Pick the winners (10 minutes)

Don’t “over-edit” bad photos. Pick better frames.

Winner checklist: Sharp focus on the hero ingredient. Clean background. No weird glare or blown highlights. Looks appetizing AND accurate.

5) Enhance + export (10–15 minutes)

This is where you save time: Fix lighting and color. Clean backgrounds and remove distractions. Export platform crops so you don’t manually crop for every channel.

Use the image requirements tool to export correct sizes: /tools/image-requirements

6) Publish (10 minutes)

Publish in this order: Top sellers. High-margin items. New items and specials. Everything else.

Reason: your top sellers get the most eyeballs. Improving those first makes the biggest difference.

The quality-control checklist (use before uploading)

If any of these fail, reshoot or pick a different frame: The dish is obvious at thumbnail size. Food color looks accurate (no yellow cast). Background is clean and consistent. No hands, text, logos, or watermarks. Plate edges are clean. Hero ingredient is centered with breathing room.

File naming and storage (so your team can find things later)

Pick one shared folder for the restaurant.

Simple naming scheme: YYYY-MM-DD_item-name_platform. Examples: 2025-12-22_chicken-alfredo_doordash. 2025-12-22_chicken-alfredo_ubereats. 2025-12-22_chicken-alfredo_square. This makes future updates easy: you can see what’s outdated at a glance.

The monthly cadence (keep photos fresh without chaos)

Weekly: specials and limited-time items. Monthly: refresh your top sellers (10 items). Quarterly: a full menu pass (batch shoot).

If you only do one thing: keep a station set up so you can shoot anytime.

Ready to upgrade your menu photos?

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