Could your food styling be sending your customers away?
The images that you choose to use to promote your products send a brand message about your business. They are often the first things that potential customers see and the first things used to read into what sort of company you run.
When a customer opens a menu, types in your web address, or sees your product on display in a magazine, images are the introduction to all communication you will have with that customer about your products and services.
Take a look at your images you use and ask yourself: what sort of message are you sending?
There’s the old saying that perception is reality. When somebody sees photos of your product, they form opinions based on their perceptions. Based on what your product looks like, people imagine what your food is going to be like.
Studies have shown that these first brand impressions can even impact what people thing about your food, after trying it!
I have been in old takeaway restaurants that are guilty of poor-quality images that didn’t send great messages about their food.
When I opened the menus, the menu photography was decades old. They were faded through years of overuse. Some of them looked cloudy or out-of-focus. The styling was out-of-date or disorganized…and the food just didn’t look appealing.
Was the food good? Yes! But think about how many people may have overlooked the restaurant because of their perceptions based on the menu photos.
Most people I know that have worked in any business are quite passionate about what they do. They want to show off their food or products and demonstrate to people how great they are. They want those images that make people want to eat that food or own that product.
Poor-quality images just don’t do you any favours.
Right now, there is a lot of iPhone photography being used by businesses. And what people get from that are inconsistencies and a message that doesn’t communicate the business owners’ passion for their products. It just isn’t the same as what a professional food photographer could do.
The message sent to customers is that the business just can’t be bothered. Or that they don’t care about their products.
I think that’s what frustrates me most about businesses that use poor-quality images: the message they send is that they just don’t care, and that does a disservice to themselves and the hard work they have most likely put into creating a quality product or service.
So what kind of message are you sending?
Take a look at the photos you use to sell your food. Ask yourself:
- When was the last time you updated your photos?
- How could your images be restyled to show off exciting features of your product?
- Does the lighting in your photos highlight your product or obscure it?
- Are your images consistent?
- If you knew nothing about your product, would these images alone make you want to buy it?
- Are these images sending the exact message you want to send to the world?
If it is time to update your message, get in touch today. I have 14+ years experience styling and photographing food to ensure that people see your product the way you want it to be seen!