A photographed dish explains itself before the server reaches the table. It shortens the decision, moves guests toward the dishes you want to sell and raises the average check. I shoot the menu in your own dining room and hand back files ready for print, the website and delivery apps.
Guests scan a menu, and a photograph is the first thing the eye lands on. Used well, it changes what guests order.
A guest who cannot picture what will arrive either asks the server, which costs service time, or orders the safe dish they already know.
Photographed dishes get chosen more often, so they should be the ones with the margin you want and ones your kitchen can plate quickly on a busy night.
A dish that looks carefully prepared makes the price beside it feel fair, and that is where the average check moves.
Working with Alex Slyadnev on the menu photography for my restaurants, Nash and Chaika, has been a game-changer. The professional photos Alex created not only elevated the visual appeal of our menus but also significantly boosted our sales. At Nash, we saw a 7% increase in orders, while Chaika experienced a 9% uplift. Alex’s attention to detail, creativity, and ability to capture the essence of our dishes have made our menus more enticing and our branding stronger. I highly recommend his services to any restaurant looking to enhance their menu and attract more customers
Working with Alex Slyadnev on creating menus for my restaurants has been an incredible experience. As a chef who has worked in seven different restaurants, I’ve invited Alex to collaborate on menu photography in four of them. His ability to capture the essence and beauty of each dish is unparalleled. The stunning images he produces not only elevate the visual appeal of our menus but also significantly boost customer interest and satisfaction. Alex’s expertise and attention to detail ensure that every menu we create together is a masterpiece. His work has played a crucial role in enhancing the branding and success of the restaurants I’ve been a part of. I highly recommend his services to any restaurant looking to make a lasting impression
The most expensive mistake I see is a restaurant shooting one set of images and using it everywhere. The pictures look acceptable on a phone and fall apart on the printed page.
A menu photograph is read at arm's length, in the light of your dining room, right beside a price. It has to be true to the portion, because a guest who feels misled by the picture writes a review about exactly that. The crop stays tight, the background stays quiet, and the dish looks like what your kitchen sends out on a busy Friday.
A feed photograph is read mid-scroll with no price and no context. It can be moodier and more staged, and its only job is appetite. Booking both in one visit is efficient and I do it often, but they are two different sets of frames.
A picture next to every item makes a menu hard to read, so the answer is usually a selection. We photograph the dishes you want to sell, which are normally the ones with the margin and the ones your kitchen is proud of. Fine dining menus often stay typographic, which the menu design page covers.
If the menu itself needs a new layout, print or an online version with ordering, the same team does it, and the details are on the menu design and printing page.
We go through the menu together, choose the dishes and agree on the feel of the menu, which follows from your room and your guests.
Your chef cooks to a schedule I build backwards from the light, and I set up each shot with an empty plate, so the hot dish goes straight under the camera.
You see every frame on the screen while the dish is still on the table, and a plate that needs correcting is fixed there with your chef.
I select and retouch to print standard, and the files arrive within two weeks with versions for print, web and delivery apps.
Many restaurants shoot again when seasonal dishes come in, which keeps one style across the whole menu instead of layers from different photographers.
Send the menu you print today. I'll reply with the dishes worth photographing, the number of shoot days and a written estimate within 24 hours.