How long does a food shoot take?

A standard food shoot typically takes half a day to cover 8 to 12 dishes properly. If we are also shooting interiors, staff portraits, and drinks, a full day is recommended. I work at the pace of your kitchen, ensuring each dish is photographed while it still looks fresh and appetising under the lights.

Do you bring your own props?

I bring technical equipment, lighting, and backgrounds. For styling props like specific cutlery, napkins, or ingredients, I prefer to use what you have in the restaurant. This ensures the photos are an authentic representation of what the customer will actually experience when they visit your venue for a meal.

Can we shoot while the restaurant is open?

It is possible, but not ideal. Shooting before service or on a closing day allows us to move furniture and set up lights without disturbing your customers. If we must shoot during service, we will need a quiet corner or a private dining room to ensure safety and consistency in the images.

Do you photograph drinks and cocktails too?

Yes. Drinks require a different lighting setup to manage reflections and transparency, but they are a vital part of a restaurant's profit margin. I often spend the last hour of a session focusing on the bar menu, capturing the movement of a pour or the detail of a garnish.

Who owns the copyright to the images?

I retain the copyright as the creator, but you are granted a comprehensive license to use the images for any marketing purpose. This includes your website, social media, print advertising, and PR. There are no hidden costs or expiring licenses to worry about after the gallery is delivered.

Why does a restaurant need professional food photography?

Professional food photography from Ross Nixon Photography builds immediate trust and increases table bookings. High-quality imagery replaces guesswork for customers, ensuring your dishes look as good on screen as they do in the kitchen.

The simple answer is that people eat with their eyes long before they step through your door. In a crowded digital market, your menu needs to communicate quality and consistency instantly. Most potential customers will check your Instagram or website before making a reservation; if they see poorly lit mobile phone shots with yellow hues or harsh shadows, they question the quality of the kitchen. Professional food photography provides the technical precision needed to capture texture, colour, and steam, making your menu a functional sales tool rather than just a list of ingredients. It is about creating a visual standard that matches the service you provide at the table.

From £795 half-day

What's included

When I shoot a restaurant menu, you are getting more than just a gallery of plates. My focus is on creating a library of assets that serve several purposes at once. We cover the hero shots for your website headers, detailed close-ups for deliveroo or UberEats apps, and lifestyle images that show the atmosphere of the dining room. I bring professional lighting that mimics natural day-to-day conditions, even if we are shooting in a basement bar or during a dark Scottish winter afternoon. You receive high-resolution files for print menus and compressed versions ready for immediate social media use. There is no limit on the number of dishes we can cover within the session time, provided your kitchen team can keep the pace. I also include a licensing agreement that allows you to use the images across all your marketing channels without recurring fees. We focus on the details that matter: the sear on a steak, the condensation on a glass, and the specific interior textures that define your brand.

How it works

We start with a shot list. I need to know your priority dishes and any specific dietary requirements or best-sellers you want to highlight. On the day, I work closely with your chefs. Performance in the kitchen is about timing, and food photography is no different. We set up a dedicated space where I can control the light without getting in the way of front-of-house staff. I shoot tethered to a laptop so you can see the results in real-time. This helps us adjust garnishes or plate positioning on the fly. Once the shoot is finished, I handle the post-production to ensure colours are accurate and distracting crumbs or reflections are removed. You get a private online gallery to download your images within a week. It is a straightforward, no-nonsense process designed to get you the assets you need with minimal disruption to your daily service.

Local detail

Based in Edinburgh, I am positioned to reach the city's main food hubs like Leith, Stockbridge, and the West End within twenty minutes. If you are running a spot on Broughton Street (EH1) or a seafood restaurant down at The Shore (EH6), travel is included in my standard rates. I also cover the surrounding areas often. A drive out to North Berwick or Gullane takes about forty-five minutes, while the restaurants in St Andrews or the East Neuk of Fife are roughly an hour and twenty minutes away. I am familiar with the lighting challenges of Edinburgh’s historic buildings, particularly those narrow tenement-style kitchens and dark-panelled bars in the Old Town. Whether you are a small startup pop-up in a shipping container or an established fine-dining room near George Street, I understand the local competition and what it takes to make your food stand out against the thousands of other options available to residents and tourists alike.

Questions people ask

How long does a food shoot take?: A standard food shoot typically takes half a day to cover 8 to 12 dishes properly. If we are also shooting interiors, staff portraits, and drinks, a full day is recommended. I work at the pace of your kitchen, ensuring each dish is photographed while it still looks fresh and appetising under the lights.
Do you bring your own props?: I bring technical equipment, lighting, and backgrounds. For styling props like specific cutlery, napkins, or ingredients, I prefer to use what you have in the restaurant. This ensures the photos are an authentic representation of what the customer will actually experience when they visit your venue for a meal.
Can we shoot while the restaurant is open?: It is possible, but not ideal. Shooting before service or on a closing day allows us to move furniture and set up lights without disturbing your customers. If we must shoot during service, we will need a quiet corner or a private dining room to ensure safety and consistency in the images.
Do you photograph drinks and cocktails too?: Yes. Drinks require a different lighting setup to manage reflections and transparency, but they are a vital part of a restaurant's profit margin. I often spend the last hour of a session focusing on the bar menu, capturing the movement of a pour or the detail of a garnish.
Who owns the copyright to the images?: I retain the copyright as the creator, but you are granted a comprehensive license to use the images for any marketing purpose. This includes your website, social media, print advertising, and PR. There are no hidden costs or expiring licenses to worry about after the gallery is delivered.

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