PHOTOLICIOUS Start a project

Photolicious — food and beverage photography and film studio in Abu Dhabi

Appetite,(Framed).

Photolicious founders introducing the studio in Abu Dhabi

introduction video

See the work Services

Expo 2020
Talabat
AlBaik
Pizza Hut
Burger King
Texas Chicken
Al Habtoor
Expo 2020
Talabat
AlBaik
Pizza Hut
Burger King
Texas Chicken
Al Habtoor

This season

What are we cooking this season?

Fresh frames, swapped as the menu and the season change.

Man in a kandura pouring coffee from a brass dallah on a majlis carpet

Trays of fries and crispy chicken tenders with pickles and dips on blue tiles, a Sandos box beside them

A classic car with red seats and a man in a flat cap and braces at the wheel, the café's name in white letters across the frame

Services

Three ways to build appetite.

Visual Uplift, Seasonal Uplift or High Production, based on your brand, your phase and your needs.

Visual Uplift

A complete makeover of your brand's presence. From a full menu reshoot to social media content and ad-ready videos, with visuals that upgrade how you look across every aggregator and platform. All of it comes in one package, not in pieces.

Full menu reshoot Social Ad-Ready Web Assets Aggregators Google

Seasonal Uplift

Your whole season, in one package. Pick Ramadan, winter or summer, and we cover it with content that keeps your brand standing out from the first day of the season to the last.

Photos Videos Campaign Launches Ad-Ready Menu shoot for new products

High Production

For when your food needs a bigger stage. Cookbooks, food shows, brand films and long projects. We can run the whole project from start to finish, logistics and operations included, or just take on the shoot.

Cookbooks Food shows Brand films Long projects

Case studies

The work that made people hungry.

Cinematic work for brands across the GCC. The frames, and what came after.

The starting point

Every season brings talabat a new occasion, from Ramadan to the World Cup. Each one needed its own cultural register, without the campaigns starting to look alike.

What we did

Seasonal campaigns for Ramadan, the World Cup, Christmas, Halloween and Arabic food
A new visual direction for every occasion, one production standard across all of them
Shot the platform's top restaurants for its biggest campaign

The result

Three years and six campaigns together
Campaign frames ran on billboards across seven UAE cities

A hand lifts a blue cloche off crispy fried chicken on a blue plate with an orange star, against a blue wall

A wrap and a salad bowl with olives, tomato and onion, eaten in front of screens showing the talabat name

A cheeseburger on a tiny blue table over orange sand, with a toy beach umbrella, boat and flip-flops around it

A cereal-topped drink held up beside a platter of kiwi, orange, lime and pomegranate, more cups on pool floats in an orange room

See the full case study

The starting point

A small sweets and ice cream operation in Al Ain with a real product sitting behind basic visuals, and no way yet to be taken seriously as a brand.

What we did

Opened with a visual uplift across the full range
Six months of monthly content, with a new direction every month
A brown and beige brand world: premium, but warm for the local market

The result

12x return on the ads the client ran with our content
Grew to two branches and two central kitchens
A team of more than 50 by the end of the six months

Overhead of crumb-coated ice cream bites with a berry layer in a paper-lined tub, hands taking them, on brown

White cream whisked by hand in a steel bowl under warm, low light

Berry ice cream bite lifted from a white tub, framed by Brylo, Ice Cream Bites and Ramadan Collection lettering

Grid of nine Brylo frames: croissant sandwiches, ice cream bites, caramel biscuits and halved passion fruit

See the full case study

The starting point

Heaven of Roses had a gifting product but no visual identity to carry it, and the content was selling the product instead of the occasion.

What we did

Built the brand identity first
A content strategy built around the occasion, not the product alone
A season campaign in dark green luxury, silk and sheen

The result

7x return on ad spend from our visuals
Chocolate that reads expensive before it is tasted

Rows of chocolates on a gold tray and in a glass bowl, ribboned green gift boxes beside, a hand reaching in

Long green Heaven of Roses box of dates, truffles and pistachio balls dressed with white roses and a Ramadan card

Chocolates on a glass cake stand seen through an empty gilt frame, a hand lifting one piece, on dark green

Oval silver platter of chocolates in rows on a dark green table, two wooden stands of truffles beside

See the full case study

The starting point

Feno had a product that could compete with anyone, and visuals that gave it none of the authority to back that up.

What we did

Shot the range to the standard of a global QSR, in hard reds and oranges
Monthly content for social and the delivery apps
Ran the ads behind it

The result

+150% overall sales in three months
+100% on aggregator sales

Chicken and pepper sub with cheese sauce, mid-bite, white doodle lines drawn over it on a red and orange set

Crispy chicken burger with cheese, lettuce and avocado on a wooden ledge, the word Hungry in white script on red

Two hands in a red spotlight, one holding a crispy chicken burger, the other a burger traced in white doodle lines

Grid of twelve Feno posts in red and orange: chicken burgers, long subs, fries and cheese sauce

See the full case study

The starting point

The Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority set out to document traditional Emirati home cooking in a book, with every recipe held to one print standard from the first day to the last.

What we did

Photographed and filmed traditional Emirati recipes through publisher Austin Macauley
Five chefs cooking in rotation, every plate built from scratch
Two images per recipe, styled to book-print quality

The result

20 shoot days at one consistent standard
A cookbook record of Emirati home cooking for ADAFSA

Pale coffee beans roasting in a dark pan over glowing charcoal, smoke rising beside a brass coffee pot

A whole fish with scored, spiced skin on an oval plate, with lime wedges, sliced onion and rice topped with fried onion

Close-up of a chicken leg in a rich red stew with potato, courgette, a green chilli, dried lime and parsley

Overhead of two small coffee cups, a bowl of dates, saffron threads, a brass mortar and a silver dallah

See the full case study

The starting point

Shawaya Daaoun's delivery listing ran on basic images that disappeared in the aggregator grid.

What we did

A full visual uplift of the delivery range, built for the aggregator
Charcoal and Khaleeji cues carried through every frame
Shot to read at thumbnail size

The result

30% increase in sales
Still growing since the new visuals went live

Shawaya Daaoun grilled chicken on spiced orange rice, with a green salad, three dipping sauces and a cola bottle

Grilled chicken on a creamy white base drizzled with oil in a patterned dish, three sauces and clay jugs beside

Chopped tomato, cucumber and lettuce salad with lemon and a romaine leaf in a white bowl on a small red rug

Mint and lemon drink in a hammered copper cup on a small red rug, lemon wedges and fresh mint beside

See the full case study

The starting point

Sandos needed a modern look for the winter season that still read as its own brand.

What we did

A visual uplift built on the brand's own colours
A modern direction designed for the winter season

The result

Sales went up after the switch to the new visuals

Three cheeseburger sliders on a bed of fries in a metal tray, on a pink and yellow painted backdrop

Trays of fries and crispy chicken tenders with pickles and dips on blue tiles, a Sandos box beside them

Close-up of a beef and cheese burger with caramelised onions and sauce in a glossy brioche bun

Loaded fries with minced beef, herbs and a creamy orange sauce in a metal tray, a forkful lifted by a man in a white T-shirt

See the full case study

The starting point

Two years into the market, Adore asked for a refresh of its chocolate visuals.

What we did

Proposed a full visual uplift instead of a refresh
Creative strategy, palette and styling, end to end
One red world around the chocolate: red velvet, a red table, red boxes

The result

20% increase in sales
A premium look built on the brand's own colour

Caramelised pecans in an iridescent box with a red base, held up in white gloves against a red velvet curtain

Gold-flecked chocolate fingers on a red Adore box, an iridescent box of chocolate behind and a dark red vase of flowers

White-gloved hand lifting a nut-studded chocolate finger from an iridescent box on a red table, red velvet behind

Three gold-flecked chocolate fingers on a red Adore gift box, with a satin ribbon, scattered petals and an iridescent box

See the full case study

The starting point

The barbecue box was White Burger's big winter push, and it needed visuals that carried the heat, not just the product.

What we did

Direction, props and location for the barbecue season
Open fire and smoke, shot vertical for social
Ran the paid campaign off the same frames

The result

+20% barbecue sales on the previous winter

Three beef patties with dark grill marks over open flame on a barbecue grate

Cheese melting on beef patties over a flaming grill, one lifted with tongs by a cook, Arabic campaign text above

Glazed pastry fingers with almonds and pistachio in a tray, small bowls of nuts, a White Burger box and a bottled drink

Grid of twelve campaign frames: sausages and patties over flame, a cheeseburger, the barbecue box and glowing embers

See the full case study

The starting point

Julith was opening into Dubai's coffee market, where good content is the baseline, not the difference.

What we did

A teaser campaign before the doors opened
Launch content and ads through the opening period
Set a new standard for coffee content in Dubai instead of matching it

The result

Followers doubled from 10k to 20k in the first two months
A full house through the opening period

The Julith team in white T-shirts and blue aprons, gathered together in the café

Café interior with arched booths and a concrete staircase, a server carrying a tray down the steps

Overhead of a café table with gnocchi in cream sauce, smoked salmon toast, a latte and an iced drink with lime

Layered iced matcha drink in a double-walled glass, green foam over a golden base

See the full case study

The starting point

AlBaik had decades of traditional visuals and no reference for anything modern.

What we did

Wrote the creative direction from zero
Photographed and filmed the brand fresh, colourful and young
Built the campaign with talabat around it

The result

The brand's first modern visual direction
A new feel without losing what people already recognise

Crumbed fingers dipped in white and red sauce on printed AlBaik paper, with chicken strips, crisps and a tray of fries

An open sub roll with pickles, sauce and grated cheese on printed AlBaik paper, beside nuggets, fries, a burger and a talabat letter t

A burger with two crumbed fillets, cheese slices, pickles and orange sauce in an open box, crisps and another burger behind

Overhead spread on orange: fried shrimp, nuggets, fried chicken, fries, coleslaw, crisps, a drink and a white talabat letter t

See the full case study

The starting point

Seven outdoor food-truck sites meant a 150-item range had to be shot outdoors, with no studio to fall back on.

What we did

A built set theme that reads as the brand, not as an outdoor location
All 150 items shot to one standard

The result

15% increase in sales
One look across all seven branches

Sparkling iced drink with lime slices and mint beside a cup of mango cubes, in Yuki cups on pink plinths

Iced pink drink with mint and lime in a Yuki cup on a pink block, lime wedges on a plinth beside it

Soft serve in a coconut shell with a pink paper umbrella, half a coconut on a pink plinth behind

Soft-serve cone studded with fruit-ring cereal beside a cup of the cereal on pink plinths

See the full case study

The starting point

The brief was clean product photography on white for Pizza Hut's Cricket World Cup push.

What we did

Delivered the product range on white
Proposed one frame beyond the brief: a cricket pitch built on set with our stylist

The result

Frames used in-store, outdoor and digital
The client kept using the cricket pitch frame after the campaign closed

Three Pizza Hut pizzas on wooden boards on cricket turf, with a red helmet, a cricket ball, dips and a bottle of cola

A chicken pizza with spiced chicken pieces, melted cheese, herbs and a golden sauce drizzle, on white

Overhead of three pizzas on wooden boards on cricket turf, with a helmet, bat, ball, dips and a can of cola

A paneer pizza with tomato, green pepper, red onion and sliced green chilli over melted cheese, on white

See the full case study

The starting point

For a limited-edition Ramadan launch, Bake Notes wanted something that felt like memory rather than marketing.

What we did

A three-film series and a full photo campaign
Set in a vintage Emirati home, warm and lived-in
Cast with Emirati talent speaking in an Emirati accent

The result

+5,000 new followers
+30% engagement

A cake with a caramel-brown spiral top, green cream sides and a ring of halved strawberries, held out on a glass stand

An orange pistachio cake with piped pistachio cream on a lace tablecloth, a lantern beside it and a family seated behind

A cake topped with piped cream, almonds, black seeds and a chocolate disc on a lace runner, beside a lantern and a Bake Notes box

A hand reaches for a slice of orange pistachio cake on a patterned plate, with a lantern and the whole cake beside it

See the full case study

The starting point

Brylo House asked for a film and defined nothing else.

What we did

Built the idea, the cast, the wardrobe and the execution
A 1960s English world in a warm palette, with strict period discipline
A 6am call and a twelve-hour day to hold the light

The result

+50% engagement on their profile
Concept to film, all in-house

The white front of the Brylo House café, with a brown awning, a cream door and stone steps under a blue sky

A classic car's wing mirror outside the café, reflecting a woman putting on lipstick

A Brylo House bag of Origin Ethiopia coffee lying in a bed of roasted coffee beans, a wisp of smoke at one corner

A classic car with red seats and a man in a flat cap and braces at the wheel, the café's name in white letters across the frame

See the full case study

Client feedback

Straight from the set.

The founders and marketers who've stood on our set — on camera.

Jerial Roastery Roastery · Visual Uplift

Brylo House Coffee concept · Seasonal Uplift

Bayroot Deli Lebanese restaurant · Visual Uplift

Talabat Visual library · High Production

Questions

Before you ask

What's included in a project?

As much of the production as the brief needs — casting and models, location, styling, strategy and script. We can run the whole thing, scaled to what the brand calls for.

What's your process?

A discovery call to understand your business, a creative call to lock the details, the production day, then post-production — around 14 days.

How long from start to finish?

About three weeks: a week of planning, a shoot day, then two weeks of post.

Can you shoot at our location or your studio?

Both. Wherever the shoot works best.

Do you shoot anything but food?

Food is our craft and our passion — but we don't say no to non-food work. We take it case by case, and if we can add real value, we're in.

Let's make them hungry.

Tell us what you're cooking. We'll tell you what it should look like — one campaign, or month after month.

Start a project