You don’t need a photographer to have good photos on Google. You need light, a tidy table and five minutes. Photos are among the first things a new customer looks at: they show what you serve, how the dish looks and what the place is like.
Before you shoot
- Clean your phone’s lens. It sounds obvious, but a greasy lens is the number one cause of blurry kitchen photos.
- Find natural light. A table near the window, during the day. Turn off yellow overhead lights if you can and skip the flash.
- Keep the background simple. A clean table or a wooden board. Remove napkin holders, bottles and cables.
The dish
- Plate it “for the photo”: the same dish you serve, with a clean rim and the sauce where it belongs.
- Two angles that work: from above (pupusas, tacos, bowls) and at table height, slightly tilted (burgers, tortas, drinks).
- Get closer with your feet, not the digital zoom.
- Tap the screen on the dish to focus, and lower the exposure a little if it looks washed out.
Which photos to upload to Google
- Storefront in daylight: so people recognize you when they arrive.
- Interior: tables, counter, atmosphere.
- Your 5 best-selling dishes.
- Drinks and desserts.
- Your team at work (with their permission).
- The menu or chalkboard, as a complement to a text menu.
How often
Add a few new photos every month: a seasonal dish, holiday decorations, an event. It keeps the profile alive and shows the place is active.
What to avoid
- Photos from the internet or stock sites: they mislead customers and may violate copyright.
- Heavy filters that change the color of the food.
- Text and promotions on top of the photo.
At LocalDual we post the photos you send us to Google, with descriptions in English and Spanish. Want to know how your photos look to a new customer today? Ask for the free review.
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