Restaurant photos: which ones you need and what they cost
The photos a restaurant needs for its website, Google profile, Instagram and delivery apps, with the prices seen on the market.
For a restaurant, a food photographer usually charges €400 to €700 excluding VAT for a half day and €700 to €1,200 excluding VAT for a full day, with restaurant packages starting around €500 excluding VAT for four or five dishes. You need photos of the dishes, the dining room, the team and the front of the restaurant, then fresh ones whenever the menu changes.
In short
- Useful photos: signature dishes, dining room and atmosphere, team, front and terrace.
- Google profile: Google recommends at least three photos per category, including food and drinks, interior, exterior and team.
- Delivery apps: one photo per dish, centred, with no text or logo.
- Market prices: €400 to €700 excluding VAT for a half day, €700 to €1,200 excluding VAT for a full day.
- With Layve: 15 photos for €110, 20 photos for €140, a reel for €400, all excluding VAT.
Which photos does a restaurant need?
Customers often choose a restaurant before walking in, based on what they see online. Photos should therefore show three things: what you serve, what the place looks like and who welcomes them.
Dishes
These are the most viewed images. Start with the signature dishes, the ones customers order most, then a few starters, desserts and drinks. Each dish deserves a sharp, well lit image that is faithful to what actually arrives at the table.
Dining room and atmosphere
The dining room tells guests what kind of experience to expect: a quick meal, dinner with friends, fine dining. Plan wide shots of the room with tables set and a few details that set the tone, such as the bar, the tableware or the evening light.
Team
The chef in the kitchen, the floor staff, the whole team together: these photos give the place a human face and also serve for recruitment and social media.
Front and terrace
A photo of the front helps customers recognise the restaurant from the street. A terrace is best photographed set up and open, in the right season.
Menu and seasons
A new menu, a seasonal dish or a summer menu are good reasons for new images. Up to date photos avoid a gap between what customers see online and what they find on site.
Where are restaurant photos used?
On your website
The website is often the first visit after a search. Photos of dishes and the dining room sit alongside the menu, opening hours and booking.
On your Google Business Profile
In its tips for business specific photos, Google recommends adding at least three photos of the food or drinks you serve, three interior photos, three exterior photos and three photos of your team. In its help page on adding photos, Google recommends JPG or PNG images of 720 by 720 pixels that are in focus, well lit and true to reality.
On Instagram
Instagram highlights dishes, behind the scenes moments and service. Photos feed your posts, and a short vertical video in 9:16 is a good way to announce a new menu or an event.
On delivery apps
Platforms have their own rules. The Uber Eats guidelines, for example, ask that each photo accurately represent a single menu item, framed in the centre, with no text, no logo and no people other than hands. The restaurant must also own or have the right to use its images.
How many photos do you need?
The minimum recommended by Google already adds up to about a dozen images: three for food, three for the interior, three for the exterior and three for the team. A first series of 15 to 20 photos therefore covers the Google profile, the website and your first Instagram posts.
If you are listed on a delivery app, add one photo per dish on offer. A menu of twenty or thirty items then calls for a longer session, with 30 to 50 photos.
When should you renew restaurant photos?
There is no fixed rule, but a few moments stand out:
- With every new menu or when a new signature dish arrives.
- Every season if your menu follows seasonal produce, and in spring for the terrace.
- After renovation work or a change of decor.
- When the team changes, especially in the kitchen.
Old photos that no longer match the place or the dishes lead to disappointment on arrival, while Google asks for images that are true to reality.
What do restaurant photos cost on the market?
Rates vary with the photographer, the region, the number of dishes and the planned uses. Here are a few benchmarks published by food photographers.
- Per hour: €100 to €300 excluding VAT according to Studio Bigoût, a range also given by Julien Mazille.
- Half day: €400 to €700 excluding VAT for four hours according to Studio Bigoût.
- Full day: €700 to €1,200 excluding VAT according to Studio Bigoût, and €700 to €1,200 including VAT for seven to eight hours according to Julien Mazille.
- Restaurant package: from €500 excluding VAT for four to five dishes at Studio Bigoût.
- Usage rights: €30 to €80 per photo for web and social media use over one year according to Studio Bigoût.
Julien Mazille also explains that retouching about twenty dish photos takes him around two hours, that props are billed as expenses and that travel is often charged per kilometre beyond a certain radius.
What about Layve?
Layve is a content production and management platform for companies. You describe your goal in three lines, Layve reads public information about your restaurant to understand its visual and editorial identity, then sends you a plan: photos, videos, formats, a fixed price and a delivery window that narrows once the professional confirms the shoot date. Nothing is ordered before you approve.
A professional photographer or videographer from the Layve network receives a complete brief and comes on site. Photos are sorted and retouched, videos edited, delivered in your space, and the approved pieces are published on your channels. A few examples from the corporate grid, excluding VAT:
- 15 photos for €110, about 1h30 on site: enough to cover the Google profile with dishes, dining room, front and team.
- 20 photos for €140, about 2h: the same base with more dishes for the website and Instagram.
- 30 photos for €195, about 2h30: useful if you need to illustrate a larger menu for delivery.
- A reel for €400, about 1 minute in 9:16: to announce a new menu, with a micro interview, for example with the chef, illustration shots and dynamic editing.
How do you prepare the session?
- Choose the dishes to photograph in advance and plan to plate them as you would in service.
- Book a slot outside service hours for the empty room, and a moment during service for the atmosphere.
- Let the staff who will appear in the photos know ahead of time.
- List the target channels: website, Google profile, Instagram, delivery apps.
What next?
If your restaurant needs new photos or a video for its next menu, describe your goal in three lines on Layve. You will receive a plan with the photos, the formats and a fixed price, which you are free to approve or not.