Remove the background from food photos

At a glance

How to do it

1. Upload a photo of the real dish or packShoot in soft daylight from the angle that shows the food best: overhead for pizza and bowls, about 45 degrees for burgers, sandwiches and drinks. Shoot the plate with the food, not the food alone.
2. Pick the background for where it goesThe tool starts transparent, which suits menu boards, flyers and your website. Choose white for packaged goods in a store catalogue. For DoorDash and Uber Eats menu items, keep the original table instead of removing it.
3. Download at the platform's shapeDownload HD as a JPG on a solid colour or a PNG for transparency. Crop to the shape where it will appear: 16:9 for DoorDash, 5:4 for Uber Eats items, square for most social posts.

Tips and common mistakes

• Keep the real table for delivery appsDoorDash says images must look exactly as photographed and rejects photoshopped backgrounds. Shoot on a clean, simple table and keep it.
• Cut out the plate, not the foodFood edges such as crumbs, herbs, sauce drips and steam are hard to cut cleanly. Keeping the plate or bowl in the cutout gives a crisp outline.
• Steam won't surviveSteam and smoke are partly transparent and are usually removed with the background. If they matter to the shot, keep the original photo.
• Packaged goods are the easy caseBoxes, bottles and jars cut out cleanly. Uber Eats store catalogue photos want a clean white background and a single centred item, unless the item is a pack.
• Shoot the whole menu in one sessionSame plates, same light, same angle and same crop for every dish make a menu or website look planned. Batch the cutouts afterwards.