Restaurants and cafés · 2026-10-20
Food photos that sell: what a study says
Short answer: vivid colors sell. An Ohio State study published in 2022 found that food photos with higher color saturation made dishes look fresher and tastier, and made people more likely to want to buy them.
What the study found
Researchers from Ohio State, Temple and the University of Macau showed poke bowl and pizza photos to hundreds of people (Journal of Business Research, 2022). More saturated photos raised purchase intent. The effect was stronger when the food was shown from a bit farther away than in tight close-ups, and when the person expected to eat alone.
How to shoot them with your phone
- Natural side light, near a window or outside in the shade.
- Show the whole plate, not just a tight close-up.
- Bump the saturation a little when editing, without making it look fake: the real dish has to match the photo.
- A clean background, no used napkins or hands.
- Start with your 5 best sellers.