Food photographer: how Mathilda Perrot lands high-end clients

Mathilda Perrot is a photographer for restaurants, hotels and luxury brands. Based in Lyon for 10 years, and in Barcelona since 2026, she works with Michelin-starred restaurants and venues such as the InterContinental in Lyon. She also trains photographers who want to work with this kind of client.

We invited her onto the Fotostudio podcast. This guide brings together her practical advice, whether you're a food photographer or you're aiming for any other kind of business client.

1. From 220 restaurants to her first Michelin-starred client

Mathilda became a food photographer almost by chance, and it was her positioning, not her technique, that opened the door to high-end clients. Trained in graphic design and advertising art direction, she went freelance in Lyon at the end of 2015. Her photos of the city on Instagram brought in the first requests, just as food delivery platforms were taking off: one test shoot later, she photographed more than 220 restaurants in three years.

During those years, she took "whatever came along", without really choosing her clients. In 2019-2020, she got coaching on her positioning and decided to work with high-end businesses that share her eye for detail. That work led to her first Michelin-starred client, then a collaboration with the InterContinental in Lyon.

"What really interests me is working with high-end businesses that care about detail as much as I do."

Mathilda Perrot

Her advertising training also left its mark: she was taught to think about the concept before the image. To this day, she never takes "pointless images": every photo answers a business need for her client.

2. Prospecting without selling

Mathilda's best prospecting tip: don't go and see your future clients to sell them something. Restaurants, like many businesses, get pitched every single day. Turning up with an offer is the best way to never hear back.

Instead, take the approach of an investigator: you're there to talk, to understand their market, their problems and their needs. They don't get defensive, and that first conversation is what builds the relationship.

"You need to have nothing to sell them, literally. You just go there for a conversation."

Mathilda Perrot

The channel matters less than the approach: email, Instagram, WhatsApp, phone or in person. Mathilda recommends talking and meeting face to face as much as possible. With AI-generated automated messages everywhere, businesses immediately spot a message that's too formal, and it goes straight in the bin. The more spontaneous you are, the better it works.

If prospecting scares you, that's normal: many photographers are introverts, and most of them try without a method. Mathilda compares it to a chocolate cake: without a recipe, you get it wrong four times and give up. With the recipe, even if you're not a chef, you get a result.

3. No need for a website to get started

For Mathilda, waiting until you have a website before reaching out to clients "is active procrastination". Nobody needs a website to get started.

• A PDF with your best photos is enough to present your portfolio.
• 9 photos on Instagram are enough as an online shop window.
• Your energy goes into the field: talking to potential clients, building your offers, working on your sales.

Instagram is still a powerful lever, but it's a long-term strategy. Today, clients contact Mathilda through her account, but that didn't happen overnight. If you don't have any clients yet, posting every week isn't your priority: land your first clients in the field first, then set up your Instagram strategy. The day you want a proper website, a photographer website takes just a few hours to build.

4. Too many photographers in your city?

Before deciding your market is saturated, count your potential clients. That's the exercise Mathilda recommends: look up the number of restaurants, hotels and related businesses (tableware suppliers, florists, and so on) in your area, then compare it with the number of photographers.

Even if only 20% of those businesses are ready to buy, and a photographer works with ten or twenty clients, there's plenty of work for everyone. That reasoning is what gave her the confidence to start again from scratch in Barcelona.

5. Will AI replace food photographers?

For Mathilda, AI will wipe out photos of dishes on a white background, but not photos of real moments. A cut-out photo of a dish no longer adds any value: AI does it just as well, or even better, in half a second.

"I still think AI will never replace the authenticity of a moment."

Mathilda Perrot

A table of guests sharing, laughing and chatting with the waiter is something AI can't invent, or if it does, you can tell it isn't real. And many restaurant owners are passionate craftspeople who reject exactly that kind of artificial perfection. Those who want to convey emotion and make people want to come will keep hiring a photographer.

6. Transferring image rights to restaurant owners

With agencies and big brands, transferring image rights goes without saying. With restaurant owners, who often know little about it, Mathilda includes it in her service and states its value.

Charging for rights on a separate line can surprise a small business ("I've already paid for the shoot, why pay again to use the photos?"). But not mentioning it isn't an option: without a rights transfer, the client theoretically isn't allowed to use the photos. By building the rights into the price and stating what they're worth, she stays within the law, educates her client and protects all photographers, without opening an endless debate.

You can write the rights transfer directly into your contracts so your client signs it with the rest.

7. Annual contracts, paid monthly

Since Covid, restaurants post much more on social media: they need images regularly, and that's the opportunity to sign annual contracts. Mathilda encourages her students to offer one shoot per season, every two months or even every month.

For you, the final total is the same. But monthly payments make it easier to sign, and they give you a regular income: even in August, with no shoots, money comes in. A client you work with all year round is also far more likely to renew the following year. You no longer need to find a new client for every shoot, and if one of them stops, you have time to replace them. With online payment, you can let your clients pay in instalments.

8. The photo + social media manager pack

Many restaurants hesitate to buy photos because they won't know how to post them. Offering a pack with a social media manager removes that objection and puts you in direct competition with agencies.

Mathilda learned this first-hand: some restaurants chose a photographer who also offered social media management over her. This year, a client who came "just for the photos" received three offers from her: photos only, photos + social media management, and an even more complete package including advertising. He chose the pack with the social media manager.

"You're the only one who offered us something like this, and in the end it really suits us to have everything included."

Mathilda's client

Her golden rule: never sell a service you don't want to do, or you'll end up sabotaging your own sales. If managing social media isn't your thing, find a partner:

• post an ad on LinkedIn (her ad for a video editor got 37,000 views);
• search "restaurant social media manager + your city" on Instagram and call several people;
• include their rate in your offer and sell a single pack: then each of you sends your own invoice to the client.

You can even add a commission for bringing in the contract, and your partner will recommend you in return.

9. Making your network work for you

One prestigious reference attracts others, as long as your name is visible. Working with the InterContinental was a springboard for Mathilda: high-end businesses all follow each other on Instagram, and several contacted her after seeing her photos posted by the hotel. Always ask to be credited when your photos are used, and look after the relationship: a happy client keeps recommending you for years.

10. Putting it all in place with Fotostudio

• Your annual contracts: prepare your contracts and get them signed online, with your terms and your rights transfer.
• Your payments: offer deposits and payment in instalments, and let reminders go out automatically with invoicing.
• Your prospects: find every contact, every conversation and every quote in your CRM.

The full interview with Mathilda Perrot

Listen to our whole conversation with Mathilda on the Fotostudio podcast: her move to Barcelona, her training and plenty more advice. The interview is in French.

FAQ: finding high-end clients

Conclusion: choose your clients, then go and meet them

Mathilda's journey shows it: clear positioning, genuine prospecting and offers designed around the client are what land high-end contracts, far more than gear.