Wix food photography EN

SCHEDULING

DELIVERY

NAMING

PHOTOSHOOT OVERVIEW

EQUIPMENT

LIGHTING

Single dish

Hero shot

Food Photography Guidelines

V 1.6 - 2022.11.02

Here you will find all the information you need for your upcoming photoshoot. The guidelines include instructions regarding the composition of your photos, lighting, equipment, and more. Please read the guidelines carefully to ensure that your photoshoot runs smoothly.

Keep in mind
• The photoshoot is paid by the restaurant owner.
Therefore, we encourage you to show some flexibility during the photoshoot:
=> Use these guidelines as a reference and guide the on-site contact to get the most aesthetic photos.

• What to do if the on-site contact has suggestions and needs outside of these guidelines?
=> Accept: any request that implies changing an angle, a setting, a background, props, etc.
=> Partially accept: ask them to order an additional photoshoot if they want more photos.
=> Decline: anything that would require additional equipment or additional time to spend on the spot.

• Always give us the context:
=> Accept or decline the request and always add a comment when uploading the photos.
It will allow our team to validate the photoshoot accordingly.

SCHEDULING

How to schedule a photoshoot

If you are scheduling for the first time and are not sure of the correct process, please follow the instructions here to ensure that you follow the correct protocol with the business owner.

By accepting this assignment, you will be representing OCUS in the eyes of our client. We count on you to demonstrate a high level of professionalism in your coming interactions. If a photoshoot already has an appointment scheduled, please respect this appointment and only assign yourself to the photoshoot if you are available at this time.

Assignments are not all the same. Please check on OCUS platform the number of images you need to take and confirm to the business the number of dishes they have to prepare.

DELIVERY

When and how to upload my images

Your priority is to take excellent photos. To ensure consistency across our entire community, OCUS is handling the post-production internally. Please respect the following requirements to make sure that we can deliver the best results to our client.

Don’t edit any of your photos (no crop, no edit).
Don’t remove the metadata from the files.
Select your best shots and don't send more files than required.
Follow the naming convention below (take some notes during the photoshoot to keep all the needed information).

If something does not allow you to strictly follow these guidelines during the photoshoot, you must let us know with a comment on your dashboard after your upload.

NAMING

To facilitate an accurate file naming, you should ask the on-site contact for the exact names of the dishes during the shoot. The items you photograph must be the exact same ones that will be available on the app, otherwise, your assignment won't be validated.

Kindly rename your files following this structure:

For single menu items: Dish_Name.jpg
For Hero shots: Hero.jpg or Hero_1.jpg, Hero_2.jpg, Hero_3.jpg

Examples:

Cheeseburger_with_fries.jpg
Hero.jpg

Please make sure you upload your files to the correct category and then confirm when you've finished the uploading process by clicking on "Send all media" to send the files to OCUS.

⚠️ Send your pictures before midnight on the day of the photoshoot. ⚠️ Keep your RAW files until your assignment is validated.

PHOTOSHOOT OVERVIEW

Your goal is to take enticing photos that make people eager to order food from Wix restaurant partners' app. The on-site contact will be able to select a package of his preference from a menu that we created. There might be some flexibility on the on-site contact's preferences.

Packages:

15 + 1: 15 single dish photos + 1 Hero photo

20 + 2: 20 single dish photos + 2 Hero photos

30 + 3: 30 single dish photos + 3 Hero photos

⚠️ Remember to always shoot your photos in RAW format, but only upload JPG files to the OCUS platform. If you need to ask us any questions, you can use the link at the bottom of this page to visit our Help Center, and we'll be happy to help you.

EQUIPMENT

Full frame or APS-C

General settings:

ISO 400
WB: Manual, try to get natural tones

35-90mm (full frame)

General settings:

Aperture: f/8 - f/11

Accessories

Mandatory accessories:

Tripod
Reflector
Grey card

LIGHTING

Natural (indirect) sunlight is preferred, if you don't have access to a window, we encourage you to use a 5-in-1 reflector to soften the light from the ceiling on the items, or add brightness in shadows.
Try to have your light come from the sides of the table, not behind it, in front of it, or above it.
The use of flash is optional (only under poor lighting conditions)
The shadows should be soft
Please avoid any distracting reflections on your table

Single dish

Single dish pictures are used for individual menu items.

It can be a main dish or a drink or both (if they are sold together), sometimes they can include side dishes or a bigger portion for more than one person, please remember to always put the main element in the center of the frame.

Set a 45° angle by default for most items
20° for vertical items like burgers and sandwiches, this way ingredients are visible at a glance.
90° for flat-shaped items like soups, bowls, pizzas, etc

Quantity

Refer to your OCUS Dashboard for the quantity.

Do

Place the main dish in the center of the frame, it has to be entirely visible after OCUS applies the 1:1 crop ratio for single dishes.
Always use your camera in a horizontal format, even with objects like bottles.
The ingredients should be visible and sharp, to understand the content of the dish

Don't

Don’t include cutlery or chopsticks in the composition unless the business manager requests it, if so, please leave a comment about this in the assignment page.
Don’t photograph alcohol bottles unless the business manager requests it.
Don't shoot food directly on the table. In case you have no plate, you can use a board or a paper napkin.
A dish should occupy 50 - 70% of the frame after the OCUS crop

Camera settings

Shutter Speed - 1/150
35-90mm (full frame)
Aperture > f/8 - f/11
ISO 100 - 400 max.
WB: Manual, try to get natural tones
Tripod, Reflector.
Horizontal/20° - 90°

Ratio to anticipate (1:1):

Good examples

Hero shot

A hero shot is the first photo of the restaurant that customers will see on a menu, website, or app.

It's composed of a main dish surrounded by other dishes and decorative props in a small quantity and related to the theme of the restaurant. A minimum of 3 dishes is required for this type of photo.

Quantity

Depending on the pack: x1; x2; x3

Do

Place a dish in the center, then others around it (check the visual examples below).
Use a 90° angle for all business types, 45° remains an exception for drinks composition and burgers.
Leave little space between the dishes, so the composition looks plentiful.
Remember to compose your photo with enough room, so OCUS can apply a 4:3 crop ratio and keep the other dishes visible.
The background needs to be clean of dust, and crumbs.

Don't

Don’t include cutlery or chopsticks in the composition unless the business manager requests it, if so, please leave a comment about this in the assignment page.
Do not show any hands in the frame.
Don't shoot plastic containers or food directly on the table. In case you have no plate, you can use a board or a paper napkin.