How to take a good photo

Updated October 2, 2026

The angle and the light decide whether the model can see the separate parts of a dish and estimate their weight. Four simple rules improve accuracy the most.

Step 1. Shoot from above

Hold your phone roughly at a right angle to the plate. From above you can see how much space each component takes up, and that is exactly how the model estimates grams. A side shot hides half the portion and makes the estimate rougher.

Step 2. Use ordinary light

Daylight from a window or an ordinary lamp works well. A flash overexposes the surface and washes out the texture: rice stops looking different from bulgur, and sour cream from mayonnaise.

Step 3. Fit the whole portion in the frame

If part of the plate is cropped out, the model counts only what it can see. It is worth including bread, sauce in a separate dish and your drink too, or adding them separately.

Several dishes in one shot are fine: they are analysed as one meal, each dish with its own ingredients. More in Several dishes in one photo.

Step 4. Check the ingredients

After the analysis, look through the list of ingredients. If the model is unsure, it says so: the result shows its confidence as high, medium or low. One correction of the grams or one clarification in words usually fixes the most. How to correct weights is covered in Editing portion weights.

If you often eat the same thing, correct the grams once: after that you can add the dish from "My dishes" or from favorites with the right portion already in place. See Repeat meals.

Common problems