City cost guide · Updated 2 October 2026
Food photography costs in London
Disclosure: we make MenuPhotoAI, an AI photo tool. This page uses only prices that photographers, marketplaces and delivery platforms publish themselves. Each figure has a source that you can open.
By the MenuPhotoAI team. Prices checked in October 2026. Sources and method.
Short answer
The three London food photographers that we found with a price list charge £190 to £250 for a short shoot of 1 to 2 hours, £490 to £775 for a half day and £749 to £1,500 for a full day. These are published prices, not an average of the market.
A photographer from Northampton who also works in London, Bright Foody, charges less: £350 for a half day and £550 for a full day, plus travel. The published prices do not show a clear London premium.
- Short shoot, 1 to 2 hours: £190 to £250
- Half day: £490 to £775. From £350 plus travel with a photographer from outside London
- Full day: £749 to £1,500. From £550 plus travel with a photographer from outside London
- Packs for delivery apps: £299 for 15 photos, £399 for 25, £499 for 50
- Marketplace booking: £79 for 1 hour on Snappr, plus a 15% fee
- AI from your own photos: MenuPhotoAI, from £0.65 to £1.56 per photo. 5 free photos to start
London price lists
| Source | What you get | Published price |
|---|---|---|
| Alessandro Pietrosanti | Up to 10 dishes and 1 hero; half day (20 to 40 dishes); full day (40 to 80 dishes) | £190; £490; £890, plus travel |
| R Sembi Photography | 1 hour; half day (3 hours); full day (6 hours) | £249; £499; £749 |
| R Sembi Photography, delivery app packs | 15 photos; 25 photos; 50 photos | £299; £399; £499 |
| Bright Foody, Northampton (London page) | Up to 2 hours (12 photos); half day (30 photos); full day (50 photos) | £250; £350; £550, VAT included, plus travel |
| Owen Billcliffe | Half day (up to 4 hours); full day | From about £775; about £1,500, plus VAT |
| Jennifer Cauli, market benchmarks (2025) | Half day; full day | £350 to £900; £500 to £1,500 |
| Snappr | 1 hour; 2 hours; 4 hours | £79; £149; £269, plus a 15% fee |
| Airtasker, completed tasks in London | Food photographer task | £120 to £157 |
Read in October 2026. The Jennifer Cauli figures are her view of the London market, not her own price list.
Is London more expensive than the rest of the UK?
The published prices do not show a clear London premium. Bright Foody shows the same prices on its London page and on its Manchester page, plus travel. Snappr charges the same in every UK city. Bark gives average quotes for a photoshoot, for all types of photography: £250 in London, £245 in North-West England, £280 in Scotland, £125 in the West Midlands and £245 for the UK.
A photographer in the East Midlands, Clean Plate, charges £395 for a half day and £650 for a full day. Those prices are below the London price lists and above Bright Foody.
What is included, and what is extra
The London price lists differ on these points. Check each one in a quote.
- Licence. Alessandro Pietrosanti and Bright Foody include a commercial licence. Owen Billcliffe includes your own use and one year of paid advertising use, and says that a longer licence can be arranged. R Sembi Photography does not state the licence.
- VAT. Bright Foody includes VAT. Owen Billcliffe adds VAT.
- Travel. Alessandro Pietrosanti adds travel costs. Bright Foody adds travel costs outside Northampton. Owen Billcliffe includes travel in central and south-west London when he can use public transport.
- Editing. R Sembi Photography and Bright Foody include retouched photos.
- Food stylist. A UK freelance food stylist earns £200 to £800 per day, according to a Leiths career article. The packages above have no separate stylist.
- Studio. The price lists are for a shoot at your restaurant. If you need a kitchen studio, Lockett Studios in south-east London costs from £400 for a 9-hour day and from £250 for a half day.
Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats in London
Two of the London photographers sell packs for delivery apps: R Sembi Photography (15 to 50 photos) and Alessandro Pietrosanti (from 10 dishes).
The platforms differ. Deliveroo sells its own photoshoot in two packages, Silver (1 hero photo and 15 item photos) and Gold (1 hero photo and 25 item photos), and does not publish the price. The Just Eat partner help page offers no photoshoot. The Uber Eats page for UK merchants does not mention one.
Each platform has its own photo rules. See the guides for Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats.
The AI option: what MenuPhotoAI costs in pounds
MenuPhotoAI makes a professional menu photo from a photo that you take of your own dish. You upload up to 25 photos at a time, choose one look, and get the results in minutes. One photo costs £0.65 to £1.56. All prices are on the pricing page.
It does not replace a photographer for every job. If you need people in the photo, your dining room, or an advertising campaign, book a photographer. Check the platform rules also: Deliveroo does not permit AI-generated images. See what Deliveroo and Just Eat allow.
| Option | Photos | Price | Per photo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | 5 (watermarked) | £0, no credit card | £0 |
| Starter plan | 25 each month | £29 per month | £1.16 |
| Professional plan | 50 each month | £37 per month | £0.74 |
| Enterprise plan | 100 each month | £65 per month | £0.65 |
| Pack, paid once | 25; 50; 100 | £39; £49; £89 | £1.56; £0.98; £0.89 |
Monthly photos do not roll over. Pack photos do not expire.
How to choose in London
For a full delivery menu on a small budget, the lowest photographer package prices are £190 plus travel for 10 dishes and about £250 for 1 to 2 hours. A pack of 15 photos for delivery apps costs £299. Marketplace bookings start lower. For a brand shoot, plan for a half day or a full day, and ask about VAT and the licence.
Prices in other countries are on the main page: what food photography costs in 2026.
- Count the dishes that need a photo.
- Ask two photographers for a written quote that lists VAT, the licence and travel.
- Try 5 free photos in MenuPhotoAI and compare them with your real plates.
Questions
How much does a food photographer cost in London?
The London price lists that we read in October 2026 give £190 to £250 for a short shoot of 1 to 2 hours, £490 to £775 for a half day and £749 to £1,500 for a full day. A photographer from Northampton who also works in London charges £350 and £550, plus travel. Some prices include VAT and some do not.
Is food photography in London more expensive than in Manchester?
The published prices do not show it. Bright Foody publishes the same prices for London and Manchester, plus travel. Snappr charges the same in every UK city. Bark gives an average quote of £250 in London and £245 in North-West England, for all photography.
How much do photos for Deliveroo or Just Eat cost in London?
R Sembi Photography sells packs for delivery apps at £299 for 15 photos, £399 for 25 and £499 for 50. Alessandro Pietrosanti charges £190 plus travel for up to 10 dishes and 1 hero image. Deliveroo sells its own photoshoot packages and does not publish the price.
Do I need a studio for a food shoot in London?
No. The London price lists that we found are for a shoot at your restaurant. A kitchen studio is an extra: Lockett Studios in south-east London costs from £400 for a 9-hour day.
How much does AI food photography cost in pounds?
MenuPhotoAI costs £29 per month for 25 photos, £37 for 50 and £65 for 100. A pack that you pay for once costs £39 for 25 photos, £49 for 50 and £89 for 100. The first 5 photos are free and watermarked.
Sources and method
We read each price on the source page in October 2026. The sources are three London photographers' own price lists, the London page of a Northampton photographer, one East Midlands price list, one London photographer's article on market prices, two marketplaces (Snappr and Airtasker), Bark's platform data, a Leiths career article, one studio's price page and the delivery platforms' help pages. These are published list prices. They are not quotes that we received, and they are not an average of the market.
- Alessandro Pietrosanti: delivery platform photo packages (London)
- R Sembi Photography: prices (London)
- Bright Foody (Northampton): food photographer London
- Bright Foody (Northampton): food photographer Manchester
- Owen Billcliffe: food photography London
- Jennifer Cauli: London food photography cost benchmarks (August 2025)
- Clean Plate: food photography rates (East Midlands)
- Snappr: how its prices work (15% service fee, one rate per country)
- Snappr: list prices, United Kingdom
- Airtasker: photographers in London
- Bark: photographer prices, UK
- Leiths: food stylist career article (February 2025)
- Lockett Studios: kitchen studio hire (London)
- Deliveroo: schedule a photoshoot (February 2026)
- Deliveroo: how to upload your own photos (rule on AI-generated images)
- Just Eat partner centre: photos on menu
- Uber Eats: photo tips (UK page, no photo shoot offer)
Prices and features change. If something here is out of date or wrong, email hello@menuphotoai.com and we will correct it.
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