10 phone photos that feed three weeks of posts.
You don't need a camera, a photographer, or a free afternoon. You need a repeatable shot list and 20 minutes a week. This is the one I give to every cafe and small restaurant I work with, three hero shots, two ambiance, three process, two with people in them. Run it every Sunday and you'll never run out of source material again.
Hero shots
Three angles on whatever sells most this week. The dish is the subject — the room is the context.
- 01
The bestseller, hand-held
Your top seller in someone's hand, photographed at a 45° angle. Pull back enough that the room is visible behind it — the dish in context beats the dish on a backdrop.
Hero · Window light from the left. Indoors, near the front of the shop.
- 02
Overhead flat lay
Stand directly over the cleanest table you have. Phone parallel to the surface. Two minimal props max — a fork and a folded napkin, or a small glass of water.
Hero · Whatever your strongest natural source is. Avoid mixing warm + cool.
- 03
The money moment
The pour, the slice, the flip, the dust of sugar. Mid-action. Switch to burst mode and pick the sharpest frame later.
Hero · Side-lit so the texture and motion read.
Ambiance
Two frames that answer "what is this place?" before anyone reads a single word.
- 04
Storefront from outside, before open
Step out of your shop ten minutes before opening. Cross the street. Phone vertical, signage centered. Captures the brand mark in the wild and signals a real place.
Ambiance · Early morning, before direct sun hits the glass.
- 05
Interior wide, golden hour
From a back corner, slightly low angle. Empty chairs are fine — you want the room to feel inhabitable, not staffed. The viewer should think 'I could be there'.
Ambiance · Late afternoon, warm. Lamps on if you have them.
Process
Craft beats stock photography every time. These three shots are the difference between a feed that looks like an ad and a feed that looks like a real shop.
- 06
Hands at work, close-up
Kneading dough, frothing milk, plating, pulling shots, garnishing. No face needed. Crop tight enough that the craft is the subject.
Process · Overhead pendant or window. Avoid shadows on the work surface.
- 07
Today's prep
The mise en place — espresso pucks, the dough on the bench, the herb pile, the citrus halves. Looks like a still life, reads like a story.
Process · Top-down, single source.
- 08
The build, three frames
A carousel-ready triptych: empty plate, halfway through assembly, finished dish. Same angle, same crop, same lighting for all three.
Process · Locked. Don't move the phone between frames.
People
One staff member, one customer. Both candid. Always ask before posting a guest's face.
- 09
One staff portrait, not posed
The barista watching the espresso machine. The cook checking the pass. Apron visible, brand visible if your apron has one. Eyes on the work, not the lens.
People · Whatever they're standing in — don't move them.
- 10
The first sip, candid
From across the table. Customer's face slightly out of focus, the food and their hand sharp. Always ask before you post — a quick 'mind if I share this?' as you bring the bill.
People · Whatever the table is in.
How to actually run this
- Block 20 minutes on Sunday morning. Same time every week.
- Shoot all 10 in one pass — don't break it up across days. The light and the look stay consistent that way.
- Don't curate while you shoot. Take 3-5 frames per shot, pick later.
- Save them in a single folder named with the date. You'll thank yourself in three weeks when you want to reuse a hero from a slow week.
Now you have photos
Turn any one of them into a full week of posts.
Drop a single shot into Sevenposts and get five to seven branded images, captions, and hashtags ready to schedule. 20 free generations to start, no credit card.
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