For many restaurants, Deliveroo is one of the first places customers see their menu.
Before reading the description or choosing what to order, they often look at the photograph. A good food image can show the portion, ingredients, presentation and overall style of a dish much more clearly than words alone.
This is where professional Deliveroo food photography can make a difference.
Whether it is a small takeaway, an established restaurant or a delivery-focused kitchen, photographing a menu properly requires more than simply taking a picture of each dish.
Why food photography matters on Deliveroo
A delivery menu needs to work quickly.
Customers may scroll through dozens of dishes before deciding what to order. The photograph therefore needs to make the food easy to understand and represent the dish as accurately as possible.
A professional photograph should show:
what the dish actually looks like
the main ingredients
the portion and presentation
the texture and detail of the food
the restaurant's style
The aim is not to make the food look completely different from what will arrive at the customer's door.
The photograph should show the food at its best while remaining a realistic representation of the dish.
Deliveroo food photography should be consistent
When photographing a complete menu, consistency is just as important as individual photographs.
If one dish is photographed from above, another from the side and another with a completely different background, the menu can quickly start to look inconsistent.
Using a consistent approach to lighting, composition, background and colour helps create a more professional-looking menu.
This becomes particularly important when a restaurant has a large number of dishes to photograph.
Item photographs and hero images
Not every photograph on a delivery menu needs to serve the same purpose.
Item photographs are generally designed to show individual dishes clearly. They should be clean, straightforward and easy to understand when viewed on a phone.
Hero images have a different role. They can be used to create a stronger visual impression of the food and communicate the style of the restaurant.
A photoshoot can therefore include both straightforward menu images and more carefully composed hero photographs, depending on how the restaurant plans to use the images.
Photographing food for delivery
Food for delivery has some particular challenges.
A dish photographed in a restaurant can look very different after it has been packed into a takeaway container. Sauces move, toppings can settle and some foods lose their structure during transport.
The photographer needs to understand how the food is actually prepared and presented for delivery.
This is one reason why photographing the real dishes is important.
The objective is not simply to create an attractive food photograph. It is to create an image that makes sense alongside the actual product being delivered.
What should a restaurant prepare before a Deliveroo photoshoot?
Preparation can make a large difference to the efficiency of a menu shoot.
Before the photographer arrives, the restaurant should ideally have:
a final list of dishes to photograph
recipes and ingredients confirmed
the correct serving portions
packaging available where relevant
plates, bowls and serving containers ready
any important garnishes or toppings prepared
a clear order for the dishes
It is also useful to identify any dishes that are particularly important commercially.
If there are new dishes, bestsellers or signature items, these can receive additional attention during the shoot.
How many dishes can be photographed in one day?
There is no fixed number because every menu is different.
A simple menu with straightforward dishes can be photographed relatively quickly. A larger menu with complicated preparation, multiple components or food styling requirements will take longer.
The number of dishes should therefore be discussed before the shoot rather than estimated purely from the number of menu items.
Preparation in the kitchen is also important. If the photographer has to wait for every dish to be prepared individually, the shooting time can increase considerably.
A clear shooting schedule helps keep the process organised.
Real food photography for Deliveroo
AI-generated food images can produce attractive results, but they cannot physically photograph the dish a customer will receive.
For a restaurant, this distinction matters.
Real food photography for Deliveroo allows the menu to show the restaurant's actual food, presentation and ingredients.
It also gives the restaurant a consistent library of images that can be used beyond the delivery platform, including its website, social media, menus and marketing campaigns.
For restaurants investing in their visual presentation, one photoshoot can therefore provide much more than just a set of Deliveroo images.
Professional Deliveroo food photography
A professional delivery menu does not necessarily need complicated styling or elaborate backgrounds.
In many cases, the most effective approach is simple: good food, controlled lighting, clean composition and consistent photography.
The photographer's job is to make the food look appetising while keeping the images practical for the platform and useful for the restaurant.
For restaurants looking for professional food photography for Just Eat, Deliveroo and Uber Eats, the same principles can be applied across the different delivery platforms.
The result is a consistent set of photographs that can be used across the restaurant's online presence.
Food photography for restaurants in London
Alessandro Pietrosanti provides professional food photography for restaurants, takeaways and delivery-focused businesses across London and the UK.
The service can cover individual dishes, complete takeaway menus, hero images and photography for delivery platforms including Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats.