9 Essential Reasons Why Restaurant Websites Need Food Photography

Photography speaks when words fail. So, if you want to sell a product, entice customers into a restaurant, convince them to try a recipe, improve your brand, increase sales or attract new customers, food photography is vital. Also, it helps them make food-related decisions.

With the help of professional food photography on your restaurant website, you will be able to convey a meaningful message and engage with customers. The brand identity of your restaurant is the key to its success.

So, let’s discover what makes a great shot and why food photography for a restaurant website is important.

People do NOT remember 10% of what they read or hear. When combined with a relevant image, the percentage rises to 65%. In addition, visual marketing is on the rise. As early as 2018, an estimated 84% of communication was visual. You can expect 94% more views if you use images in your piece of content.

82% of people would buy a dish solely based on how it appears in the picture, regardless of whether they wanted it. If you're still not sure why food photography is vital, consider this: Restaurants that switched from text-based menus to photo-based menus in online ordering raised their conversion rates by 25%.

A memorable dinner involves all of your senses from the outset. With food photography on your restaurant website, you can capture the visual appeal of your products and convince people that your food is delicious before they even taste it. Images that showcase the quality of your cuisine will draw attention, pique people's interest, and make them want to try what they're seeing for themselves.

Being open about your products and what consumers can expect from them makes your restaurant's website look and feel professional. People might be picky when it comes to food. By providing excellent photos of your menu items, you're giving customers a sense of what they'll experience when they dine with you and letting them make a more accurate judgment about your business. This    increases trust in your restaurant and promotes long-term credibility.

When we think about the importance of food photography in modern times, the phrase “what you see is what you get" comes to mind. Customers prefer to know what they're going to get. Surprises are fun, but they rarely happen with food. Professional food photography on your restaurant website and the menu shows professionalism and builds trust.

However, be careful not to oversell and overpromise, only to disappoint when the customer gets the real food. A food photographer may use tricks to make the photo look excellent, but it shouldn't be that different from the real meal. Some food styling tricks may be a little excessive.

As a restaurant owner, you can shape how the world perceives your restaurant. You have power over what you show and the picture you put in front of the world. Professional food photos on your restaurant website can help you build a brand that stands out and sets your restaurant's identity.

When you invest in professional food photography for your restaurant website, you will be able to boost your sales. Customers are more likely to order popular menu items when you utilize high-quality photographs to showcase them. This is essential for online menus nowadays. According to studies, many restaurants that switched from standard text menus to photo-based menus on online ordering platforms saw a boost in sales.

According to studies, most people remember 10% of the information they read on blogs or websites through the content. However, when they view an image or a photo, they normally recall around 60% of it, which also causes them to remember the co-related content. Allow the photo to speak for itself, and let people know your brand through the photographs they see.

An ideal strategy, when done right, can make you stand out from the rest. A snapshot of a delicious-looking dish can entice customers to visit your restaurant. 

How can your website visitors know    they've found the right place to have their next meal if they can read your menu but can't see any of the dishes? While we do not always suggest putting photographs next to each menu item, excellent photography makes a difference throughout the website experience. However, if the photographs whet their appetites and everything looks delicious, they will not only desire to visit your restaurant, but their order size may be larger than it would be otherwise.

There are several reasons why photography is great for SEO. People are more likely to read an article or blog post that includes a photograph. People are more likely to remember what they read, heard, or saw if you incorporate visuals into your content. The use of photographs also increases traffic, but again, this assumes that you have attractive photography, to begin with.

How to Get Outstanding Photos for your Restaurant's Website

Guests give your website about fifteen seconds to capture their attention. If you don't make a strong impression on them, they'll move on to the next website—and the next restaurant—rather than yours.

Here are our top ideas for making the most out of every image on your website.

The photographs on your restaurant website are one of the most vital materials for your restaurant's marketing strategy. Hiring a professional photographer to capture high-quality food images is the best way to ensure the best angles, compositions, and lighting for your space.

An image that is grainy, blurry, or dark is a sign of low-quality work, whereas a beautiful, balanced, and clear image is an indicator of high-quality work. Use a professional photographer for the photos on your restaurant website.

Amazing, high-quality shots of your food, food prep, ingredients, or happy customers will grab visitors and take your restaurant website far.

Photographs of composed dishes are nice but don't forget to include some shots of food being prepared and various ingredients, especially if your menu changes frequently. Food should look appetizing.

When you hire a photographer, you can tell them these photos are for a restaurant website. To prevent awkward cropping and zooming in of images, ask them to shoot horizontally. Using horizontal, center-focused photos ensures that your images will look good on all devices, including smartphones, tablets, laptops, and desktops.

Just as your website shouldn't be stuffed with text, it shouldn't be stuffed with photos. Whether you use a picture to show off food, the exterior of the restaurant for guests to know what to look for, or the interior with people in it to make your space look lively and inviting, every picture on your website should serve a purpose. Consider blurring the faces in the photos or taking them during a service to respect privacy concerns.

In conclusion, food photography promotes healthy eating, sustainability, and the joy of eating. A food photographer can generate gorgeous photographs that not only look good but also tell a story about the restaurant.