Commission restaurant website menu photos for the dishes guests are most likely to see and need help choosing: prominent items, popular ordering options and dishes whose appearance is hard to describe. Before paying for new shots, check what you already have permission to use. A smaller set of clear, accurate images is more useful than a full menu of inconsistent or misleading ones.
Work from the menu guests actually see, including the ordering page if it differs from the main website. Your goal is to cover important choices within your budget, not to photograph every ingredient or produce a new picture every time a price changes.
Audit the online menu before booking a shoot
Open your menu on a phone and follow the paths a guest would take. Note which dishes appear near the top, on the home page, in featured sections and in online ordering. Then compare those items with your current photo library.
For each item, record whether a usable image exists, whether you have permission to use it on the website and ordering pages, and whether it still represents the dish. An image is not useful simply because it is attractive. It may show an old garnish, a larger portion, a side that is no longer included or packaging that has changed.
Sort gaps into three groups:
- Commission first: prominent dishes with no usable image, especially when a picture helps a guest understand what arrives.
- Use or update existing files: accurate images with suitable permission that need a better crop or a current file from the original photographer.
- Leave for later: items clearly understood from their names and descriptions, low-visibility options and dishes likely to leave the menu soon.
Use your own sales reports or staff knowledge to identify popular items, but do not let sales alone set the list. A familiar bottled drink might sell well without needing a commissioned photo. A less familiar house platter may deserve one because guests need to see its components and portion.
Also check whether one image would genuinely represent several choices. A single photo may work for a dish offered with a choice of sauce if the difference is described clearly. It should not stand in for a meat version and a substantially different vegetarian version when the picture would cause confusion.
Build a shot list around coverage and rights
Give each planned photo a job. Identify the menu item, where the image will appear, the exact version to be prepared and any important detail the picture must show. Include the intended crop: an image used in a small menu card may need more room around the plate than a wide home-page banner.
The following worksheet shows one hypothetical restaurant's priorities. Its featured bowl and platter need separate images; the sauce variants do not automatically need separate shots. The drink can remain text-only while the higher-priority gaps are addressed.
| Menu item | Current coverage | Decision | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| Featured rice bowl | Old image shows a discontinued side | Commission first | Prominent placement; current presentation matters |
| Vegetable platter | No usable image | Commission first | Guests benefit from seeing the components |
| Chicken wrap with two sauce choices | Accurate image with website permission | Reuse; describe sauces in text | One image represents the wrap without implying a particular sauce is included |
| Bottled sparkling water | No image | Defer | Name and size explain the choice |
For each selected dish, specify what is included in the price shown. If a topping costs extra, either photograph the standard version or make the pictured extra clear in the menu. Do not depend on a photo alone to communicate ingredients, options or portion details.
Ask the photographer or image supplier for written permission covering the places you plan to use each file, such as the restaurant website and ordering pages. Discuss the length of use, cropping and other edits, and whether the restaurant can continue using the images if it changes website providers. Ask about any additional charge for broader use. For supplier-provided images, confirm that the image represents the product you actually serve and that your intended use is permitted.
Save the permission terms alongside the original files. If ownership or usage language is unclear, ask a qualified adviser to explain the agreement before relying on the images.
Fit the list to the photo budget
Get a written quote that separates the session charge from the price per final image. Ask what preparation, selection, editing, file delivery and usage are included. Also ask how reshoots, extra dishes and extended usage would be priced. The cheapest session is not necessarily the lowest-cost way to obtain the files you need.
Consider this separate hypothetical quote for a restaurant that needs four priority images. The fixed session charge is $300, and four edited images cost $60 each. An agreed $40 food-preparation allowance brings the included total to $580: $300 + $240 + $40. That covers the session, four final images and the stated preparation allowance. It excludes extra images, reshoots, expanded usage rights and any other charges not listed in the quote.
If the restaurant can spend $580 and already has permission to reuse several accurate files, four new images are a reasonable starting point under those assumptions. Choose the four highest-priority gaps rather than adding lower-value dishes. Ask the photographer to quote exception costs before booking, and leave a dish out if its preparation or usage terms would push the actual quote beyond the available budget.
Plan the order of work with the kitchen. Group dishes that share preparation steps, and decide who will check each plate against the current menu before it is photographed. If a seasonal item may disappear next month, consider whether a more durable menu item should take its place on the list.
For broader website decisions, the restaurant website creation guide can help you plan the surrounding pages. For this purchase, keep the photo quote separate from the cost of building or maintaining the site.
Check the images on the actual mobile menu
Before treating the job as complete, place the delivered files in a preview or other non-public version of the page if your website setup allows it. Check the actual menu layout on a phone, not just the photographer's full-size files. A strong image can become unhelpful when a card crops out the main ingredient or reduces the dish to a tiny detail.
Check each priority image against these questions:
- Can a guest recognize the dish at the size it appears on the page?
- Does the crop retain the important components without cutting off the food?
- Does the image match the item name, description and included options?
- Are the item name and price easy to read beside or below the image?
- Does the page load reasonably on a mobile connection, including when several photos appear together?
If the crop fails, ask whether you can adjust the crop or use another supplied version. If loading is slow, ask your website provider how it handles image sizing and what file dimensions and formats it recommends. Keep the original file, but use a suitable web version rather than assuming the largest delivery file belongs on the page.
Check the ordering path as well as the main menu. A photo can look right on the website and appear differently in an ordering card. Make corrections in a preview where possible, then check the published page after changes are approved. No test order, card payment, guest message or courier dispatch is needed to inspect the images and page layout.
Assign ownership before the next menu change
A good shot list is also a maintenance list. Store the original and web-ready files in a shared location the restaurant controls. Use clear names that connect each file to its dish and version. Record the photographer or supplier, the permission terms, the date and the pages where the image is used.
Name one person to flag menu changes and another, if necessary, to update the site. The kitchen might report that a platter has changed; the manager can decide whether the existing photo remains accurate; the person responsible for the website can replace or remove it. Set a review date for seasonal dishes so an expired special does not stay featured by accident.
If a replacement image is not ready, use an accurate text description until it is. Removing a misleading photo is better than showing a dish the guest cannot order. When working with an outside website provider, ask who can download the originals, who can change menu images and what happens to those files if the relationship ends. The domain ownership guide covers a related question: keeping control of an important website asset.
To take the next step, select your four or five highest-priority image gaps and review Fleksa's restaurant website page. If it looks relevant, ask for a demonstration and show how you want those images to appear on the menu and ordering path.
Frequently asked questions
Does every menu item need a photo?
No. Start with prominent dishes and choices where an image helps guests understand what they will receive. Clear names and descriptions can serve straightforward items until there is a reason to photograph them.
Can one photo represent several dish variants?
Yes, if it accurately represents each choice. Use separate images when a variant changes the dish's appearance substantially, and describe options and extra charges in the menu text.
What should a restaurant keep after a photo shoot?
Keep the original and web-ready files, the written usage terms, supplier contact details and a record of where each image appears. Assign someone to replace or remove images when dishes change.
