Adding Media to Your Menu
Enhancing your menu with photos and videos is an effective way to highlight your restaurant’s unique offerings and captivate your guests. This guide provides step-by-step instructions for adding media to your menu, along with best practices for creating high-quality, engaging content that elevates the dining experience.
On this page, you'll find:
- Tips for Effective Media — Guidance on creating high-quality, engaging content
- Photo and Video Management — Step-by-step instructions for filming, viewing, deleting and reordering your media
Tips for Effective Media
Creating compelling food videos on TastyFood is simple and accessible. By following these guidelines, you can engage your customers and consistently represent your brand, with no editing software required.
Technical Guidelines
- All photos and videos are automatically compressed to balance visual quality and fast loading for diners.
- Images and videos will be cropped to a vertical 16:9 aspect ratio. For best results, capture your media in this format to prevent unwanted cropping.
- Supported file formats: JPEG and PNG for photos, MP4 and MOV for videos.
- Audio will be removed from videos.
Creative Suggestions
Food Action
Limit videos to a maximum of 5 seconds to ensure quick loading times and maintain viewer engagement. Consider capturing these elements to make your videos more engaging.
- Steam Rising: Capture natural steam from hot dishes
- Pouring: Sauces, dressings, or beverages being added
- Cutting: Knife work revealing interior textures
- Sizzling: Active cooking processes and sounds
Camera Angles
Consider even illumination across the food with minimal harsh shadows. Take photos and videos from the following angles to make your food look its best.
- 45-Degree Angle: Most flattering for most dishes
- Overhead Shot: Perfect for flat layouts and ingredient displays
- Eye Level: Great for burgers, sandwiches, and tall items
- Low Angle: Makes food appear more substantial and appealing
Camera Movement
When filming videos, consider the following camera movement guidelines.
- Smooth Pans: Gradual horizontal movements
- Gentle Tilts: Subtle vertical adjustments
- Dolly Moves: Forward/backward movement for depth
- Static Shots: Stable, well-composed stationary shots
Use smooth, predictable camera movements, and avoid excessive quick cuts that may cause discomfort
Additional Creative Video Ideas
Want to truly engage your audience? Create videos that tell a story and leave a lasting impression. Here are some creative ideas to help your videos stand out:
- Behind-the-Scenes: Show your kitchen culture and chef personalities
- Ingredient Showcases: Highlight premium ingredients
- Final Presentation: Glamour shots of finished dishes
- Preparation Videos: 5-10 second cooking demonstrations
Technical Errors
Avoid the following technical errors to ensure your videos are professional and engaging.
- Avoid poor lighting: ensure consistent, well-lit images without harsh shadows or color casts.
- Represent food realistically: avoid over-styling, misleading portions, or using non-food props.
- Maintain brand consistency: use uniform styles and following established visual guidelines.
Photo and Video Management
Manage your photos and videos in TastyFood with these simple steps.
Add Media to your Menu Item
Multiple photos and videos can be added to a menu item.
The TastyFood mobile app is required to filim and upload media. Find the Google Play and App Store links here.
- On the TastyFood app, navigate to the menu item you want to add media to.
- Click the button next to the menu item.
- Grant the app permission to take pictures and record videos.
- Actions:
- Tap the shutter button to take a photo
- Hold down the shutter button to record a video
- Click the button to select a video or image to upload
- Review the photo or video.
- Click the button to save the media to your menu item
- Click the button to download the media to your device
View Media List
To view your media for an item:
Delete your Media
- Navigate to the Media List screen for your menu item (learn how).
- Click the button on the media you want to delete.
Reorder your Media
Photos and videos will be displayed in your specified order.
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Navigate to the Media List screen for your menu item (learn how).
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Enter Reorder Mode:
Click the button at the top bar.
Click the button at the top bar.
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Rearrange your media by dragging and dropping them into your preferred order. On the mobile app, long-press the menu to grab it before moving it.
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Click the button.