We are hiring! Freelance Social Media Content Creator — NYC Restaurants & Hospitality
Location: New York City
Position: Freelance / Project-Based
Industry: Restaurants, Food & Beverage, Hospitality
About the Role
We are looking for a talented Freelance Social Media Content Creator with hands-on experience in the New York City restaurant and food & beverage scene.
This is a hands-on, on-site content creation role. You’ll visit restaurants while they are operating and capture compelling video and still photography that showcases the food, drinks, people, atmosphere, details, and personality of each establishment. Content will be used across Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and other digital and social channels including the client’s website.
The ideal candidate understands that great restaurant content is more than simply photographing a beautiful plate. You should have a strong instinct for what is culturally relevant, visually interesting, timely, and likely to resonate with today's NYC dining audience.
What You’ll Do
Work on-site at NYC restaurants to capture short-form video and still photography
Create content featuring food, cocktails, wine, service, interiors, staff, guests, and the overall restaurant experience
Work from established shoot lists, creative direction, and content calendars
Identify additional spontaneous content opportunities while on-site
Capture content that can be adapted for multiple social media platforms and formats
Stay current on NYC restaurant, hospitality, food, and beverage trends
Understand both current and emerging social media trends, as well as influential trends from the past that continue to shape restaurant culture
Keep up with food and beverage news, chefs, restaurants, hospitality concepts, and creative developments in major culinary hubs beyond NYC
Understand what makes restaurant content feel current, authentic, aspirational, entertaining, or culturally relevant
Deliver organized, post-ready files through shared drives according to established file-naming and organizational standards
Meet agreed-upon deadlines consistently
Collaborate with designers, social media managers, marketing teams, restaurant management, chefs, and staff
What We’re Looking For
Proven experience creating social media content for restaurants, bars, cafés, hotels, food brands, or other hospitality businesses
Strong portfolio of food, beverage, lifestyle, and restaurant content
Excellent eye for composition, lighting, movement, detail, and storytelling
Strong understanding of Instagram Reels, Stories, TikTok, and other short-form video
Comfortable shooting both video and still photography
Experience with food styling or basic food photography - we are not looking for imagery that looks like user-generated content
Strong understanding of what performs well on social media without simply chasing every trend
Deep familiarity with the NYC restaurant and hospitality landscape
Genuine interest in food, beverage, restaurants, chefs, design, and hospitality
Comfortable working independently and making good creative decisions on-site
Able to work discreetly and professionally while a restaurant is open and customers and staff are present
Reliable, organized, responsive, and able to meet deadlines
Comfortable transferring and organizing files using shared cloud drives
English comprehension is required for following shoot lists, creative direction, and on-site communication
Bonus Skills
Spanish and/or French language skills
Familiarity with restaurant PR, marketing, or social media strategy
Editing skills for short-form video
Knowledge of current restaurant openings, chefs, culinary personalities, food media, and hospitality influencers
Awareness of food and beverage trends in culinary hubs such as Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, New Orleans, London, Paris, Tokyo, and other influential markets
The Right Person
You don't have to be a professional photographer or videographer with a massive production setup. We are looking for someone with great instincts, strong visual taste, curiosity, and an authentic understanding of restaurants and social media.
You should know when to capture the perfect martini pour, when the kitchen is about to send out something worth filming, when a restaurant's energy is the story, and when a trend is genuinely interesting versus already over.
Most importantly, you should be comfortable in restaurants and around people. You can walk into a busy dining room, work efficiently without disrupting service, interact professionally with staff, and leave with a strong collection of usable content.
To Apply
Please submit:
Resume or brief professional background
Portfolio or examples of relevant restaurant, food, beverage, or hospitality content
Links to social media accounts or relevant work
Your freelance rate or typical project/day rate
Brief description of your availability and preferred NYC neighborhoods/areas
There will be about 3-5 hours of shooting each month at 2 locations (a 2 hour session at one location, and then a second shoot about 2 weeks later at another location) within Manhattan. Please indicate to the best of your ability your estimated time for post-production for shoots of that length.
Please include examples that demonstrate both video and still content creation.
This person’s role is to provide an ongoing supply of visual content. Please note that this role can also add-on the social media management and execution if it’s a good fit.
