Checklist for the Perfect Shot.

The first important point that you need to analyze seems easy, but sometimes it is not: your product. 
What are you selling? What sensation do you want to convey? In which environment does your product fit best? Nowadays, just showing something without depth is no longer enough. You need to sell an experience.

Prefer color photos rather than black and white ones. This will make your photos look more inviting! But beware: the colors must be in your product. We will talk more about this soon.

Natural light is your ally! It can be very tricky to deal with artificial flash, so use and abuse natural light. Prefer the morning hours, until about 11 o'clock, or late afternoon. This is because too strong light can get in the way, casting shadows that are too dark and devaluing your product. Soft light will create shadows and textures that are pleasing to the eye.

Remember we talked about the colors in the image? Well, a color photo helps a lot to have a more inviting image of your product, however, color can get in the way if you use backgrounds that are too strong or too informative. Use neutral backgrounds, without many objects and especially without strong colors, because this can distract attention and we don't want that, right? All the attention should be on your product being photographed, not on the red checkered table cloth, or the neon green wall behind.

Stay at a suitable distance from the object being photographed. Not too far away, so that you can't see or understand it properly, but also not too close so that it is uncomfortable or confusing. Only shoot details if those details are relevant and important for your customer to complete the purchase. 

After composing the scene, positioning your product, and checking the lighting, you need to think about the format. These photos will be used in which platform, digital, physical, or both? With this information you will know if your photo needs to be vertical or horizontal. Or even both formats, for example. Don't just rely on the "if I need to, I'll crop it later". Shoot in the ideal format. The most common is the horizontal format.

With these tips I am sure your content will improve a lot, and thus leverage your sales. To inspire you, check out our instagram for some great examples of restaurant photos and dishes that undeniably make viewers want to book a table and try the restaurant. 

Search for @piktiz on instagram.