Who prepares the food during the shoot?

Your own kitchen, exactly as guests receive it. I work on the light and the angle with the chef, and a food stylist only comes in if you really need one.

How long does a restaurant shoot take?

The minimum is two hours. How many dishes fit depends on the kitchen's pace, so we plan the order with the chef beforehand.

Can you also photograph the dining room and the team?

Yes, in the same booking. Tell me in the brief and I'll plan the room before service and the plates after.

Do I get vertical photos for Instagram too?

If you ask for them in the brief, yes. I shoot the dishes that matter most both ways, so you're not cropping a horizontal frame into a story later.

Can I use the photos on Uber Eats and Deliveroo?

Yes. The rights include the delivery platforms Uber Eats, Deliveroo and Takeaway, alongside your website and menus, with no time limit.

Photography Tips · Brussels

Food Photographer in Brussels: What a Restaurant Shoot Actually Includes

By Dmytro Derkach · Brussels-based commercial photographer

When I photograph a restaurant, one hourly booking can cover the plates, the dining room, the team and the facade. Your kitchen cooks. I handle the light and the retouching, and the photos arrive in a private online gallery within 72 hours, with the rights for your website, menus, Google profile and delivery apps.

Before the day

It starts with a short brief. Which dishes, what they're for, and in what order. A menu refresh needs every plate in one consistent style; a new opening usually needs the room and the people more than single dishes. I agree the order with the chef, because the kitchen sets the pace of the whole day.

Syrniki with sour cream and jam — Food and Restaurant Photography, Brussels — Food and Restaurant Photography

Send me one or two phone photos of the dining room and I'll tell you straight away whether my portable lights are enough or whether studio lighting is worth bringing. Travel within Brussels and portable lighting are part of the booking anyway.

Your kitchen cooks, I don't style

The dishes come from your own kitchen, plated the way guests get them. That's the point. Someone who orders from a photo should recognise the plate when it lands on the table. I set up the angle and the light, and I'll ask the chef to wipe a rim or turn the plate a few degrees, but that's about it.

Spinach crêpes with salmon — Food and Restaurant Photography, Brussels — Food and Restaurant Photography

A professional food stylist isn't included. For a restaurant you rarely need one (it's more of an advertising campaign thing, or very fragile desserts), and if you do, they're booked separately.

What fits into one session

There are really two jobs here, and both fit into one booking. Menu and delivery photos: plates in a consistent style for the printed menu and the apps. And the restaurant itself, meaning the room, the bar, the people working, a bit of service as it happens, the facade for Google.

How many dishes I can finish in an hour depends on how fast the kitchen sends them and on the brief, so I don't promise a fixed number. The minimum booking is two hours. For a compact menu, or for the room and team of a small place, that's usually where I'd start.

After the shoot

Every good frame gets basic retouching of colour and light. If a few hero images need more care, detailed retouching is available per image. You pick from a private online gallery within 72 hours, and I keep the files for three months in case one goes missing.

The rights cover your website and social media, printed and digital menus, the Google Business Profile and the delivery platforms Uber Eats, Deliveroo and Takeaway, with no time limit. Print beyond the menu and advertising follow the SOFAM tariff. If you're still weighing whether a photographer is worth it at all, I wrote about that in do you really need a food photographer.

When the menu changes

Phone photos are fine for a daily special that's gone by Friday. For dishes that stay on the menu for a season, I'd photograph them properly so they match the rest. Restaurants that refresh several times a year can work with a seasonal contract: priority booking at the same hourly rate.

The details are on the food photography page, and the rates on the price list.

Planning a restaurant shoot in Brussels?

See my estimate