Why I Stopped Recommending Interior Designers to My Clients

I am a food photographer. Light is the entire job. Not just the light I bring to a shoot, but the light that already exists in the space when I arrive. The colour temperature of the room. Whether the overhead fixtures are casting harsh shadows on the plate. Whether the evening warmth makes the food glow or was

hes it out.

I notice these things in a way that most people do not consciously register. But here is what I know for certain: people feel them. They feel the difference between a restaurant that makes them want to stay and one that makes them want to wrap up and leave. They feel it even if they cannot name it.

When my client Ayoub told me he was opening a second branch of Melt Point Burgers and wanted it to feel completely different from the first, I had one recommendation before I said anything else about photography or content. I gave him Taher and Mohammed's number.

The Problem With the First Branch

I had shot Melt Point Burgers multiple times. Great food, great owner, and the kind of client relationship that becomes a genuine friendship over time. The first branch had the lighting situation I see in a lot of Dubai restaurants. Generic downlights, bright and flat, treating the space exactly the same at midday and at 9pm. No warmth in the evenings. No shift in mood between lunch service and dinner.

As a photographer, I know what that kind of light does to food on camera. It flattens everything. Textures disappear. Sauces look dull. The image works technically but it does not make you hungry.

The AC was a separate ongoing issue. Staff were manually adjusting the thermostat based on how busy it got. On a Friday evening when a rush of customers walks in over 20 minutes, by the time someone reacts to the rising temperature, the damage to the experience is already done. Small thing. Big impact on how comfortable and happy customers feel.

Ayoub was planning the second branch carefully. He did not want to spend on a full interior redesign. He wanted smart systems that would solve the problems from the first branch and make the new space feel premium without breaking the construction budget. That is a brief for a smart home and automation company, not an interior designer.

What Trodac Actually Delivered

Trodac are a Dubai-based smart home and commercial automation company. I had come across their work through Mohammed, one of the co-founders, who also has a background in photography and videography. We had spoken more than once about how colour temperature and ambient light shape the way food is perceived, both in person and on camera. I knew they thought about spaces the way creatives do, not just the way electricians do.

The first thing Mohammed did after assessing the new branch was build a 3D visualisation of the complete lighting design before a single fixture was installed. Ayoub could see exactly how the restaurant would look at different times of day, with different lighting scenes active. That pre-visualisation removes a huge amount of uncertainty for a restaurant owner making a significant investment. No surprises. No "this is not what I imagined."

Three things made the biggest difference:

The smart lighting system shifts colour temperature across the day. Cooler tones during the lunch service keep the space feeling fresh and energetic for the midday crowd. As the evening begins, the system moves into warm 2700K amber tones. That evening warmth is, from a food photography standpoint, everything. It is the colour temperature at which food looks most natural and most desirable on camera. Textures become more visible. Colours deepen. The plate looks like it belongs in a magazine.

The AC automation meant the climate now responds to foot traffic and temperature automatically. Smart sensors track occupancy and adjust before the space gets uncomfortable. During quiet hours the system eases back. On a busy Friday evening it ramps up before anyone notices the room getting warm. Ayoub stopped thinking about the thermostat, which is exactly the point. His energy bill dropped too, because the system is not running full blast during slow hours.

Everything runs through an iPad at the counter and Ayoub's phone. Lighting scenes, climate, speakers. He can monitor and control the restaurant remotely. Mohammed stayed available after handover, made fine-tuning adjustments during the first weeks, and checked in regularly. That kind of consistent after-care is not something you get from every automation company in the UAE, and it matters.

What I Saw When I Came Back to Shoot

When I returned to photograph the new branch for their social media and brand content, I noticed the difference within the first few minutes. The room was doing a lot of my work for me.

The warm ambient lighting was already directional. The colour temperature was calibrated for the evening and the food on the table looked alive under it. I spent significantly less time adjusting my own setup than I usually would on a restaurant shoot. When the environment is right, a food photographer can focus entirely on storytelling rather than fighting against flat or harsh light.

More telling was what was happening with the customers. People were photographing their meals unprompted. Not staged, not encouraged. Just people who felt the space was worth sharing. The restaurant's Instagram organic reach picked up noticeably in the weeks after opening because customers were generating their own content inside a space that photographed beautifully.

Ayoub told me footfall at the second branch was significantly higher than the first branch had been at the same stage of opening. The environment was doing what smart restaurant lighting and automation in Dubai is supposed to do when it is designed properly.

The Recommendation I Make Now

If you are a restaurant owner in the UAE reading this, here is what I tell every client who asks me where to spend their renovation or fit-out budget before they commission photography. Sort the environment first. Get the light right. Get the climate right. Get the systems right. The photography that happens inside that space will be dramatically better for it, and your customers will create content for you that you could never buy.

Trodac are the team I trust for that work. You can find them at [trodac.com].

And once your space is ready and you want food photography and brand content that makes people want to be there before they have ever visited, that is what we do at [spinthirasmedia.com].

About the Author Ibrahim Doodhwala is the founder and lead photographer at Spinthiras Media, a food and commercial photography studio based in Sharjah and Dubai, UAE. Ranked #3 on News Network's Top 10 Food Photographers in UAE (2025), with 14+ international awards and clients including Skechers, Levi's, Era Coffee and Matcha, and Gully Kitchen. Instagram: @ibrahim_food_photographer