I am Shahid, a Manchester food photographer. I photograph dishes, drinks and menus for restaurants, cafés, hotels and food brands that need people to look at a plate and want it. A good food photo is not decoration. It is the image that fills your menu, carries your delivery listing, and stops someone scrolling long enough to book a table or place an order.
My food photography services are built around one thing: where the images end up and the job they have to do there. A shot headed for a Deliveroo listing is not the same as one for a printed menu or an Instagram feed, so I plan and shoot for the format from the start. I work across Manchester and the North West, almost always on location in your own kitchen and dining room, because the best version of your food exists there, at service pace, and that is where it should be caught. Tell me what you cook and where the photos need to go, and I will come back with a quote and a date.
There is no single way to shoot food. A burger, a cocktail, a tray of pastries and a plate of oysters each want something different, and shooting them all the same way is why a lot of food photos fall flat. Here is how the approach changes by dish.
The dish
| What the shot needs
|
|---|---|
| Hot dishes | Shot first and fast to hold the steam, the gloss on a sauce and the just-served look before it cools. |
| Cold and fresh plates (salads, seafood, charcuterie) | Lit for crisp colour and texture so everything reads fresh rather than tired under the lights. |
| Drinks and cocktails | Built around backlight to bring out clarity, ice, bubbles and colour, with pours and condensation caught in seconds. |
| Baked goods and desserts | Lit to rake across the surface and show crumb, glaze and detail, shot before a scoop softens or a glaze sets. |
| Plated fine dining | Shot clean and true to the kitchen's plating, so the precision the chef built carries the image. |
| Street food and takeaways | Made to look generous and honest, so a delivery listing matches what actually turns up in the box. |
| Ingredients and produce | Shot to show freshness and quality, supporting the story of where your food comes from. |
Knowing which plate needs speed, which needs texture and which is best left exactly as the kitchen sent it is most of the job, and it is the difference between a menu that looks even and one that lets its best dishes down.
Different food businesses need different things from a shoot, so I approach each one around how it actually trades.
Full menu coverage shot to work across your website, printed menus and the booking platforms, so a diner sees the food clearly before they choose where to eat.
Brunch plates, cakes, coffee and the counter display, shot bright and natural to match the everyday feel that fills tables during the day.
Restaurant dishes, breakfast, room dining and the drinks list, photographed as one consistent set for websites, in-room menus and marketing.
Honest, appetising images built for delivery apps and social, where your listing sits next to a dozen rivals and the photo does the selling.
Dishes, ingredients and finished plates styled to sell provenance and quality for a producer's own site, social and marketing.
A shoot only earns its keep if the images do real work afterwards, so I shoot and size them for where they are going:
Where it goes | What good photography does there
|
|---|---|
| Menus, printed and digital | Lifts the dishes you most want to sell and makes the menu look considered |
| Delivery platforms (Deliveroo, Uber Eats, Just Eat) | Wins the click over the listings sitting there with no photo or a bad one |
| Your website | Makes the food look as good online as it does on the plate |
| Social media | Feed and story crops ready to post, so you are not reshooting for every channel |
| Press and PR | Images at a standard a publication or an awards entry will actually accept |
Every shoot is different, but the way one runs stays the same, and with food it has to be planned tightly because the food will not wait around.
A little preparation makes the day faster and the results better. Before I arrive, it helps to have a shortlist of the dishes and drinks you want photographed in priority order, with the ingredients and portions ready so each one can be plated fresh on the day. Your best crockery, glassware and any signature garnishes are worth having to hand, and it makes a real difference if a chef or team member is free to plate to order while I shoot.
Two things are worth sorting in advance: share any menu, app or brand format the images need to fit, so I can shoot to the right crop, and pick a slot outside peak service so we are not clashing with covers. None of this has to be perfect, though. Tell me what is realistic for your kitchen and I will plan the shoot around it.
As a food photographer in Manchester, most of my work happens in your own kitchen and dining room, not a studio across town. Food is at its best for a short window, and hauling it to a set means it arrives tired. Working on location means I catch each dish the moment it leaves the pass, in the space it belongs to, using natural light where the room allows and my own lighting where it does not. Where a job genuinely needs a controlled set-up, for example tight product-style shots for a food brand, I will set that up on site rather than move your food to it.
Every shoot is delivered as a finished set, ready to use:
My food photography services start from £150, but the honest answer is that the final price depends on the job. A handful of hero dishes for a delivery listing and a full menu shot across starters, mains, desserts and drinks are not the same piece of work. So rather than quote a package that does not fit, I work it out with you once I know how many dishes and drinks you need, whether it is on location, and where the images are going. You get a fixed price before anything is booked, with no per-image charges added afterwards.
Planning the shoot, styling each dish for the camera, photographing it on location, and delivering a finished, edited set sized for your menu, apps, website and social. You get the full job, not just the shooting.
Yes. Most food shoots happen on location in your own kitchen and dining room, so dishes are caught fresh the moment they are plated. I bring the lighting and equipment to you.
Usually not. Your chef plates the dish as they serve it and I refine it for the camera on the day. For larger brand or campaign work where full styling is needed, I will tell you upfront.
It depends on the dishes and the setup, but a typical session covers a solid run of menu items. We agree a realistic shot list when we scope the job so you know what you are getting.
Yes. You get full usage rights, and the images are sized and shot to work on the delivery platforms as well as your own menu and website.
Most food shoots are edited and delivered within two to three working days. Larger menus can take a little longer, and I confirm the timeline before we book.
Manchester and the surrounding areas are my core patch, along with Salford, Liverpool and across the North West. Anywhere further afield is fine too, with any travel shown clearly in the quote.
If your dishes deserve better than phone snaps, this is where it starts. I photograph food for restaurants, cafés, hotels and food brands across Manchester, Salford, Liverpool and the wider North West, with a two to three working-day turnaround. Tell me what you cook and where the images need to go, and I will come back with a quote and a date. No long forms, just a straightforward conversation about your food.