AI food photography for restaurants

A restaurant can get menu-ready food photos with AI by photographing each dish in the kitchen and running it through NiceLook's Gastronomy module, which improves light, background and presentation while keeping the dish's ingredients. The 100 free sign-up credits cover your first five images at 1K, with no subscription afterwards.

100 free credits (5 images) · no subscription · packs from €4.99

By the NiceLook team · October 10, 2026

How do I make restaurant food photos with AI?

1. Plate the dish as you serve it and photograph it straight away, near a window if you can.
2. Sign up on NiceLook with Google: 100 free credits, no credit card.
3. Open the Gastronomy module and upload the photo (JPEG, PNG or WebP, up to 10 MB). For cocktails, wine or bottled drinks, use the Beverage module instead.
4. Optionally describe the setting: “dark slate table, warm evening light” or “bright wooden table, natural daylight”.
5. Generate at 1K (20 credits) and compare with the real plate. Then generate at 2K or 4K (40 credits) for print or your website.

What can you use AI food photos for?

• Printed and digital menus, with the same light and background on every dish.
• Your website and booking pages.
• Social media posts for a new dish, a seasonal menu or a special evening.
• Delivery-app listings, where a clear photo helps customers choose. Each platform has its own photo guidelines, so read them first.
• Short videos: the Image to video module animates a dish photo (300 credits per video).

Will the photo still look like my dish?

The module keeps the ingredients and the nature of the dish, and reworks lighting, background and presentation. That is exactly where you need to stay careful: customers compare the photo with what arrives at the table.

• Check that the portion size looks the same as the real one.
• Check that no ingredient has been added or removed, especially garnishes and sauces.
• Discard any version that makes the dish look more generous or more elaborate than what you serve.

Tips for the kitchen photo

• Shoot fast: steam, gloss and fresh herbs fade within a minute or two.
• Daylight, no flash: flash flattens textures and creates shiny hotspots on sauces.
• Pick the angle: from above for flat dishes such as pizzas, bowls and salads; at about 45 degrees for burgers, cakes and layered dishes.
• Clean the plate rim: drips and fingerprints often survive generation.
• Whole plate in frame, with some margin around it.

Is it free?

Free to try: 100 credits on sign-up, no credit card, for 5 images at 1K or 2 at 2K/4K. The first 2 free images carry a small badge and the following ones a more visible watermark. After your first credit purchase, no image carries a watermark, which matters for a printed menu.

Good to know

• One dish at a time: there is no batch processing and no public API. A 30-dish menu means 30 generations of about 30 seconds each.
• It is not a recipe tool: the AI does not change what is on the plate, so a dish that is poorly plated in reality will not become a different dish.
• Rights: images made from your own photos belong to you, commercial use included.
• Privacy: images are stored on a server in France and never used to train AI models.

How much does AI food photography cost?

No subscription and no expiry on purchased credits. A 1K image costs 20 credits, a 2K or 4K image 40 credits. Packs: €4.99 (500 credits), €9.99 (1,500), €24.99 (5,000), so a 1K image costs €0.10 to €0.20.

FAQ

Read next

• Gastronomy module
• Beverage module
• AI product photography from your phone
• AI headshot generator for your team page