For business owners, the best way to increase patrons is not through promotions or college dropouts in hotdog costumes standing on the corner. It is by having the stunning photography of your latest dishes, desserts, and featured menu items brilliantly displayed across your online and in-house branding. Want to convince a tourist to try the steak tartare? Present them with a photo that ignites the taste buds in the mind before any fresh morsel reaches their tongues. So how does a food photographer help your branding?
The Key is Visual Marketing
Consumers remember only a little of what they read. It is challenging to sift through the thousands of slogans and catchphrases we are inundated with during our commute or whenever we search for a new restaurant online. However, when you pair that information with relevant images, our minds are suddenly awash with imaginative ways to enjoy whatever sticks in our memory.
Visual marketing is the key to food photography. If you add pictures to your content, you will get 94% more additional views than with text alone. That is why 82% of people will try a dish based just on how it looks in an image. Having a quality food photographer to nail down that image with lighting and depth makes that number skyrocket.
The Brand Benefits of Food Photography
The recent pandemic has been a surprising benefit to restaurants in one unique way, we all can scan those little QR codes and get a digital menu on our phones. This augmented reality way of looking through restaurant offerings from Florence to San Francisco allows us to engage with food in new and exciting ways like:
- Giving a Great First Impression
Want to increase the number of visitors you have through your Tuscany bistro? Offer food photography on social media or your menu with delicious items that draws consumer attention. This associates your brand with a particular style and quality of food. When measured, patrons will create expectations that can make your brand stick out from the competition and trigger visual hunger. - Boost Potential Revenues
Let’s all say it together, “good photos sell products.” This is a marketing fact, not a concept. You will attract more customers if you have a captivating photo of your bolognese sauce drizzled over handmade pasta than just a line item on your menu. The more customers you get, the great potential for increased profits. - Social Media Digestible
From the new food truck in New York to the elite’s high-end private dining halls, having a social media account is practically synonymous with modern marketing. The best way to grow your brand on social media is with engaging visual media.
Sure, a snapshot with your iPhone may have gotten lucky once with a decent picture, but hiring a professional food photographer is the best way to leverage all your culinary delights for the vast majority of the population endlessly scrolling through news feeds. - It Tells a Story
When you work with a restaurant photographer who understands the unique world of food and marketing, you get a person who wants to tell your story. Being able to express why your family-run business has survived for so many generations in Italy with exquisite, passed-down recipes builds trust with your potential patrons and presents depth to what you have to offer. Not only are they getting fantastic food, but they are also getting tradition!
Where to Get Started
Exceptional food photography begins with an experienced and professional photographer. The easiest way to find a camera genius with the chops to capture your brand or restaurant identity is to view their portfolio of work on social media.
That is where I can help. I have spent years shooting enticing food photography for local restaurants, bars, and food brands all over Italy and am opening my studio to international brands looking to elevate their marketing and appeal. This includes collaborating with U.S. brands on editorial work for magazines and campaigns focused on the treasure that is Italian food.
My name is Nicco Leone, and I am a professional food and restaurant photographer working in Italy. You see my work all over Instagram by visiting my business account @niccoleone, or you are welcome to explore my brand new website at niccoleone.com. Shoot me a DM on Instagram or through my contact page, and let’s work together to get the incredible food photography you need to bring in more customers.
