Top 5 Food Photographers in the UK

A takeaway’s menu on a delivery app and a brand’s new product on a supermarket shelf both depend on food photography, but they need different photographers. The menu needs dozens of dishes shot quickly to the platform’s specification. The product needs a stylist on a controlled set, with usage rights agreed before the shoot.

We looked at food photographers across the UK and picked five whose client work and credentials we could check against a source. Two are based in London, and the others work from Northampton, Nottingham and Surrey.

How we created our list

Our goal is to connect you with photographers who have a proven track record of excellence and reliability. We vetted the best photographers based on a set of criteria:

• Portfolio depth: We look at the full body of work behind each photographer, not just a handful of standout images, to get a true sense of consistency and skill.
• Client reviews across multiple platforms: We analyze feedback from clients on Google, popular booking platforms, and social media to ensure consistent satisfaction.
• Industry recognition and awards: We look for photographers with accolades from respected organizations and industry bodies relevant to their specialty, whether that’s weddings, commercial work, or beyond.
• Professional credentials and associations: Active membership in industry groups, relevant certifications, and verified business operations, including appropriate insurance for working in the city, are often held by our photographers.

Best food photographers in the UK

1. R Sembi Photography

Photographer: Rajan Sembi, based in London and working across the UK

Speciality: Menu and social media photography for restaurants and takeaways, including photo packages for delivery platforms.

Notable work: Rajan graduated in photography in 2012 and began his career photographing weddings before specialising in food. His clients include Just Eat, Uber Eats and Deliveroo, and brands such as Pizza Hut, Subway, Cake Box, Chaiiwala and Cheat Meals. Much of his work is for independent restaurants and takeaways across west London and the Home Counties.

Pricing: Social media and website shoots are £249 for an hour, £499 for up to three hours and £749 for up to six hours. Delivery platform packages are £299 for 15 photos, £399 for 25 and £499 for 50, with orders above 50 photos quoted on request. A monthly content package with Instagram management is £1,499. A £49 non-refundable deposit secures the date and comes off the final bill.

Why we rate him: Packages priced by the number of photos make a full menu easy to budget. Every package includes a free consultation and retouched high-resolution images.

Connect with him: Follow @rsembiphotography on Instagram.

2. The Little Plantation

Photographer: Kimberly Espinel, working from a home studio in London and on location

Speciality: Editorial and commercial food photography with her own food and prop styling, recipe development for plant-based brands and short-form video.

Notable work: Her clients include Waitrose, Ottolenghi, KitchenAid UK, Tefal, Tate & Lyle Sugars, Orion Publishing and Caffè Nero. She is the author of Creative Food Photography (Meze Publishing, 2021) and How to Make Your Food Famous (White Lion Publishing, 2024), and she was a finalist for Best Photography at the 2018 Saveur Blog Awards. She also teaches food photography through online courses and workshops, and hosts the podcast Eat, Capture, Share.

Pricing: Quoted on enquiry. No rate card is published.

Why we rate her: She has written two books on food photography, so a client gets a photographer who can explain every lighting and styling choice. Her recipe development suits plant-based and vegetarian brands that want the recipe and the images from the same person.

Connect with her: Follow @thelittleplantation on Instagram.

3. Lucy & Lentils

Photographer: Lucy Parker, based in Nottingham

Speciality: Plant-based recipe development with her own food styling and photography, for brands that need recipe-led content.

Notable work: Lucy trained in interior architecture and worked as an interior designer before building her plant-based recipe blog. Brands she has worked with include Tesco, Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, ALDI, Barilla, Mornflake and Schwartz. She has created sponsored recipes for the British Leek Growers’ Association and a recipe video for Heinz, and she also presents cooking demos and classes.

Pricing: Quoted on enquiry. No rate card is published.

Why we rate her: She develops each recipe and then styles and shoots it herself, which keeps a recipe-led campaign consistent from the first test to the final image. She suits food brands that want content for social media and their own websites.

Connect with her: Follow @lucy_and_lentils on Instagram.

4. Bright Foody

Photographer: Zeynep Gizem Yurtsever, working across England from Northampton and London

Speciality: Menu and food photography for restaurants and food brands, with lifestyle staging and recipe creation for social content.

Notable work: Her restaurant work includes a menu shoot for Wingspot in Northampton, a takeaway shoot for Zizou Express and the summer private dining menu at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge. She has also created recipes with photography and video for timar.nl, and product images for food and chocolate brands. Her photograph “Traditional Turkish Baklava” was shortlisted in the Food & Drink category of the 2022 British Photography Awards.

Pricing: Restaurant shoots run from about £300 for up to two hours to about £750 for a full day of up to eight hours, with a set number of finished photos in each package. VAT is included. Product packages are £175 for three photos of one product, £250 for five and £350 for ten. Every package includes lifestyle staging and a lifetime commercial licence.

Why we rate her: A lifetime commercial licence comes with every package, so a restaurant can use the images on its menu and in advertising without renegotiating. She brings her own lighting and backgrounds to the venue.

Connect with her: Follow @bright.foody on Instagram.

5. Giles Christopher Photography

Photographer: Giles Christopher, working from his kitchen studio in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, and on location across London and the UK

Speciality: Food and drink photography and short-form video for brands and hospitality, shot in his own kitchen studio or on location.

Notable work: Giles won the InterContinental Food at the Table category at the 2019 Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year with “Mussels Ready to Eat”. He started out as a publicity photographer on TV commercials and feature films, moved behind the film camera, and founded his photography business in 2000. It has traded as Giles Christopher Photography since 2021. His 1,000 sq ft studio includes a semi-industrial kitchen, and he supplies images to Uber Eats, Deliveroo and Amazon. He is an accredited member of the Association of Photographers.

Pricing: Quoted on enquiry. No rate card is published.

Why we rate him: A working kitchen on set means dishes reach the camera within moments of plating, which matters for hot food and for drinks with ice or foam. His film background also shows in his short-form video for food brands.

Connect with him: Follow @prophoto.giles on Instagram.

Finding the right food photographer

A food photographer’s portfolio shows you what they can make a dish look like. It does not show you how many dishes they can shoot in a session, or what you are allowed to do with the images afterwards.

1. Match the photographer to the job

A delivery app menu and a cookbook spread are different jobs. Look at work for a client like you, and ask how many dishes or products a session realistically covers.

2. Ask who styles the food

Styling decides how food looks on camera. Kimberly Espinel and Lucy Parker style their own shoots, and Bright Foody includes lifestyle staging in every package. For the others, ask how styling is handled and whether a stylist is quoted separately.

3. Check the licence

A shoot fee does not always include the right to use the images everywhere. Bright Foody includes a lifetime commercial licence. Ask the others where and for how long you can use the images, and whether packaging or paid advertising costs more.

4. Count the finished images

Packages differ in how many edited photos they include. R Sembi Photography prices its delivery packages by the number of photos, which makes a full menu easy to plan.

5. Ask to see the work behind a credit

For an award, ask to see the winning image. For a client name, ask to see the published project.

Planning a food photography shoot

What it costs

R Sembi Photography publishes £249 for an hour, £499 for up to three hours and £749 for up to six, with delivery packages from £299 for 15 photos. Bright Foody charges from about £300 for a short restaurant shoot, and her product packages start at £175 for three photos of one product. The others quote against the brief. For a wider benchmark, a UK review of 40 published price lists and rate cards, compiled in August 2026, puts food and drink photography at £300 to £850 for a half day and £650 to £1,200 for a full day. The number of dishes and the usage you need will move a quote within that range.

Studio or on location

Bright Foody shoots at your premises with her own lighting. Giles Christopher and Kimberly Espinel work from their own studios or on location. If your kitchen cannot spare a day, Peerspace lists photo studios in London and Manchester that you can book by the hour.

Styling and props

For campaign and packaging work, a food stylist and a prop budget usually sit on top of the photographer’s fee. For a menu refresh, a photographer who styles their own shoots is often enough. Ask early who sources the props and whether they are charged to you.

Delivery platform menus

Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat each set their own image requirements. R Sembi Photography sells packages priced by the number of photos for delivery menus, so ask any photographer whether they have shot for the platform you use.

FAQs: hiring a food photographer in the UK

How much does a food photographer cost in the UK?

R Sembi Photography publishes £249 for an hour and £749 for up to six hours, and Bright Foody starts at about £300 for a restaurant shoot and £175 for a product package. A UK review of published rate cards puts food and drink photography at £300 to £850 for a half day. Campaign and editorial work is quoted individually.

Do I need a food stylist as well as a photographer?

For menu photography on a smaller budget, a photographer who styles their own shoots can be enough. For campaigns or packaging, a dedicated food stylist is usual and is charged separately.

Can a food photographer shoot for delivery apps?

Yes. R Sembi Photography sells photo packages for delivery menus and counts Just Eat, Uber Eats and Deliveroo among its clients, and Giles Christopher supplies images to Uber Eats and Deliveroo.

What does a commercial licence cover?

A commercial licence lets you use the images for business purposes such as menus and advertising. Bright Foody includes a lifetime licence, and the others set terms in the quote.

Can one person develop the recipe and take the photos?

Yes. Lucy Parker and Kimberly Espinel both develop recipes and photograph them, and Bright Foody offers recipe creation for social content.

Food that sells starts with the right photographer, and the right space

The UK’s food photographers run from menu specialists who price by the photo to authors and award winners working from their own kitchen studios. The right choice depends on what the images have to do, whether that is filling a delivery app or launching a product.

Once you have your photographer, the next question is where the shoot happens. Explore Peerspace’s photo studios in London, bookable by the hour so you pay only for the time the shoot takes.

If you have feedback on our list, our team would like to hear from you. Contact us any time at [email protected] with suggestions, corrections or additions.

This list reflects our research as of October 2026.