# Photo guide

Source: https://docs.foodshot.ai/photo-guide

> The quality of your photo strongly affects the result.

A sharp, well-lit photo of the whole dish gives a clean result. A dark, blurred or cropped photo gives a weaker one, whatever the style.

![A phone photo of a fried chicken sandwich with cheese sauce, pickles and lettuce on a wooden table](https://docs.foodshot.ai/images/examples/chicken-sandwich-photo.jpg)

![The same sandwich on a white plate in front of a white background](https://docs.foodshot.ai/images/examples/chicken-sandwich-white-hero.jpg)

## A good photo

1. The camera original, at least 1,024 px on the short side. Not a screenshot or a thumbnail.
2. Sharp and well lit. Soft daylight near a window, without flash.
3. The whole dish, with some space around it. One dish per photo.
4. The style's angle. From above for `top_down` styles, at about 45° for `angled` styles.
5. Clean edges. Wipe drips and crumbs off the plate.

For drinks, bottles and packaged products, photograph the product on its own, with the label facing the camera.

You can show these tips to your vendors on your upload screen, shortened or translated.

## Avoid

* A cropped plate. When part of the dish is outside the photo, the missing part can be filled in, so the result no longer shows the real dish.
* Dark or blurred photos. Darkness and blur can't be fixed afterwards.
* Flash and coloured light.
* Other things in the photo: hands, people, packaging, other dishes and glasses.
* Edits: filters, text, stickers and collages.

Styles are made to keep the dish unchanged, but small details can differ. Review each result before you publish it. We don't fix burnt or messy food.

## Photos we can't use

Some photos can't be used: under 512 px on the short side, not a JPEG, PNG, WebP or HEIC file, damaged, or showing content that isn't allowed. They never cost credits. [Errors](https://docs.foodshot.ai/guides/errors#what-to-tell-your-vendor) has a message for your vendor for each case.