PHOTOS: Food shots for my new client's restaurant, taken earlier today

[Amerigo Vespucci]

I'm working on a revamp of their Website, with a target date of Christmas Eve. I will be going back for a second photo shoot tomorrow...today was heavier on breakfast items, tomorrow I will focus on lunch (they serve breakfast and lunch only).

ENJOY!

Banana Walnut Pancakes:



Blueberry Pancakes:



Cheeseburger with Fries:



Cheesesteak with Onion Rings:



Chicken Strips with Fries:



Denvere Omelete with Breakfast Potatoes:



Egg White Scramble:



Eggs Benedict with Ham & Mushrooms:



Eggs Benedict:



Grilled Herb Chicken Cobb Salad (herb chicken breast, mixed greens, diced avocado, tomatoes, bacon, cheddar cheese, cucumbers, hard boiled eggs and dressing):



Ham and Eggs:



Monterey Omelete (avocado, bacon, green onions, Monterey jack cheese topped with salsa) with Breakfast Potatoes:



:-)

[mzteris]

1. great pics, but . . .

parsley on PANCAKES?

that's just weird!

[noamnety]

2. same reaction here!

do they really serve them that way?

[arcadian]

17. They should use mint

That's at least doable

[spinbaby]

33. Parsley is on everything

Sometimes it's tucked in the back but it's in every photo.

[av8rdave]

40. Well, you know that nobody eats parsley

Sorry....old punchline.

[marzipanni]

3. Looks good - now I'm REALLY hungry!

:9
I realize this isn't the website, but those are pecans, not walnuts, on the pancake; a Denver omelette (no 'e' on the end); and that avocado is sliced, not diced.
Picky, picky, picky. :P (I'm a wannabe proofreader)

[Amerigo Vespucci]

11. Yes, I need to verify all captions with the owner in the final version...

...you're right, they're pecans. That was probably the result of my typing too quickly.

:-)

I have a tendency to always spell "omelette" wrong so I will definitely spell-check the site.

:-)

And the "diced" versus "sliced" is a typo on the menu (or they changed the way of making the salad), because I typed that description, and sure enough, after I looked at the thread (after posting) I said "Hey! Those are SLICED, not DICED."

:-)

:toast:

[Redstone]

4. Damn nice pictures! Did you use a food stylist?

Redstone

[KittyWampus]

7. I actually know a food stylist. What an interesting job to ever find yourself doing.

[Redstone]

9. Funny how most people hear "food stylist" and think it's some kind of

fictional job, but it's a serious business...because (as I'm sure you know) it's pretty much impossible to photograph food in its natural state and make it look attractive.

Redstone

[Amerigo Vespucci]

10. Wow, what a nice compliment...THANK YOU...this was 100% me.

No stylist, just me.

That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said about my food photography. I just have very definite ideas about how things should look. One of my best customers tells me that he gets people in the restaurant all the time who saw his Website and said "Saw the photos, HAD to come."

:toast:

[Capn Sunshine]

5. nicely done

you work in Southern California at all?

[Amerigo Vespucci]

13. So far on photography, no...

...I have Websites all over the place, including an attorney in Texas.

My dad was a photographer...I've loved photography since the my days in the second grade when I'd help him in the darkroom. Those were the days of chemical-filled trays, tongs, and safe lights.

If I had an opportunity in Southern California...or anywhere else, for that matter...and I didn't have to shoulder travel expenses, I'd go for it.

:toast:

[KittyWampus]

6. WANT! Both the food and your photo taking prowess. Wish my Ebay pictures looked half that good

[Gormy Cuss]

8. I want the taters.

They look especially good in these photos, as does the eggs benedict.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

14. The potatoes are unbelievable.

I've always preferred home fries (called "Breakfast Potatoes" here...every time I say "home fries" to the owner she corrects me and says "Breakfast Potatoes.")

The eggs benedict variations are delicious. They have "regular," plus:

"California Bene" (avocado added to "regular" eggs benedict)

"Club Bene" (two strips of bacon, two slices Canadian bacon, topped with Hollandaise and crumbled bacon)

"Redwood Benedict" (sliced bacon, spinach, tomatoes)

"Corned Beef Hash Benedict" (corned beef hash, poached eggs, hollandaise)

[Gormy Cuss]

16. They're classic home fries no matter what they call 'em

and though the hash browns may be tasty, I'D go to this place for the home fries.
Redwood Benedict sounds REALLY good too.

[david13]

12. Well are you inviting us over for some of this food or not?

Beautiful stuff. Hey, why no prices? Too high? At least you could use the $$ in there, to indicate.
Dang, I just ate and now I'm getting hungry.
dc

[Amerigo Vespucci]

15. Prices are VERY reasonable for BIG portions and top quality

That's why I got interested in the place. It is 100% comfort food, but the "hook" is that it is not "greasy spoon."

Yes, they have things like burgers and bacon and all the rest, but you don't have "that feeling" an hour after you eat it.

The majority of the items on the menu range from $8 to $9.50. The most expensive item is $10.95 (Charbroiled New York Steak Salad). She also serves a New York Steak with cottage cheese and mixed veggies for the same price.

:toast:

[Fridays Child]

18. Eggs Benedict...

I'm hungry!

[Tuesday Afternoon]

19. *drool*

I want one of each and I am not even hungry. It all looks yummy :9

[Rabrrrrrr]

20. The photos are generally quite good. You might want to counsel the chef on presentation, though.

Everything gets a garnish, and that garnish is always and only parsley? And sometimes quite wilted parsley?

I assume this must be a regular kind of diner restaurant - big portions of good food, even if not presented with a lot of flair or cooked particularly well?

But in terms of the photos, other than the few that have the edge of table in view and therefore all the stuff behind it, they're quite good - especially since it appears you were stuck using only the restaurant lighting. Great focus on almost everything in the photo, good angle of approach on the food so some dimensionality is there while showing all the components, mostly well-lit (some shadowing problems on the plates, but not so much in the food), the exposures are good and even.

Having a spotlight or two could really help eliminate the shadowing and bring some better lighting to the food. I really like the blue of the table as the background, but I don't like the reflections of the overhead lights in it - maybe find a cloth the same color of blue to put under the plate, and a reflector in back of it.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

25. All good points...

...with most of the clients I deal with, these are "guerilla photo shoots."

That means that everything you see here was paid for, and eaten by, customers in the restaurant. Cold food = no tip, so waitresses get nervous if you labor too long over a pic.

"Everything gets a garnish, and that garnish is always and only parsley? And sometimes quite wilted parsley?"...

I don't know the rationale behind this, other than the fact that parsley is supposed to be good for digestion / breath / etc...it's a question I can ask as part of the process. I've taken DU feedback to other customers who own restaurants and they have been very grateful for it.

"I assume this must be a regular kind of diner restaurant - big portions of good food, even if not presented with a lot of flair or cooked particularly well?"...

It's a breakfast-and-lunch-only diner-type restaurant in a strip mall. Portions are big, flair probably isn't on the priority list of most of the patrons, and it is actually cooked quite well. Like any other restaurant, there are some items I would rank high, and others not as high...but that is only because I pride myself on being a pretty good chef myself, and I have family recipes and preferences that cancel out many restaurant versions (like macaroni and cheese, meatloaf, meatballs...I hardly ever order those items in restaurants).

the few that have the edge of table in view and therefore all the stuff behind it...

Yep, part of the "guerilla" nature of rapid-fire photos. I noticed that and re-set the tripod for subsequent shots. I've had the "visible table" pics in other photo shoots, and I either re-shoot them or crop them if I can.

it appears you were stuck using only the restaurant lighting...

Yep. Even if I brought supplemental lighting, there would be no room for it. I was at the far edge of the counter, the place was jam-packed, and people had to walk behind me to get to the rest room, which meant every time they did I had to grab and hold onto the tripod to make sure they didn;t trip over it and hurt themselves or knock over my camera. I wanted the natural light at the front of the restaurant, but the only way that would have happened would have been if I'd commandeered one of the tables, which means taking a table away from paying customers, which means I got the far edge of the counter by the restrooms.

:spray:

Having a spotlight or two could really help eliminate the shadowing and bring some better lighting to the food...

Absolutely, I agree 100%. What I know instinctively (reflected in the comments in this thread) is what I try to communicate to the restaurant owners. The challenge is getting their cooperation to set up a staging area where this can be accomplished.

I don't like the reflections of the overhead lights in it - maybe find a cloth the same color of blue to put under the plate, and a reflector in back of it...

Again, I agree with you completely. The waitresses are going back and forth between the edge of the counter and the "staging area" where the cooks set the finished dishes. There would be nowhere to put the reflector. If I had a table at the front of the restaurant, I'd have natural light and no reflections on the plates, but...

...I'm going to post a follow-up thread tomorrow with the photos I'll take tomorrow afternoon. Excellent feedback, much appreciated.

:toast:

[Rabrrrrrr]

29. Well, then - for guerilla photos, they're fucking excellent!

Didn't realize your shooting conditions were so piss poor.

I'd say you did damned well, considering.

Of course, the trick of the professional (that's you) is to convince the clients that doing something in which Priority Number One is to "do it as bone-dirt cheaply as possible" is rarely a wise option.

If it means anything to your client, let them know that, if I were to read one of the their menus on-line (no pictures) I'd think "Cool, standard diner fare - just what I'm in the mood for!". But if I went to their website and read the menu items, but had to look at those pictures, I'd say "Damn - they DO NOT give a SHIT about their food. Even for a diner, that's piss-poor. I'm going somewhere else."

Which is to say - a photo of shitty looking food (partly because it IS shitty looking, partly because they don't care enough about their food to let their photographer do the job he's supposed to do) - is worse than having no photo.

Seriously.

[greenbriar]

21. that looks wonderful

OH my goodness, that is awesome.

I would so eat there and try every dish!

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

22. What's with the parsley all over the pancakes? Yuk.

Otherwise, the food looks tasty (but they need to ditch the parsley). I must say that the cobb salad looks especially toothsome. The photos are very good. They made me hungry.

[likesmountains 52]

23. Great pics but Denvere? What's wrong with just Denver?

[Amerigo Vespucci]

26. OOOPS...too late to fix it now.

:rofl:

[datasuspect]

31. the extra "e" means it is more fancee

[proteus_lives]

24. I'll take the cheesesteak with onion rings!

Yummers!

[Amerigo Vespucci]

28. You can actually taste the onions in the onion rings

Fast food onion rings taste like grease, or at best, the batter they're dipped in, with some kind of vaguely onion-y paste inside.

These onion rings taste like sweet onions (Vidalia?) and the batter is an accent, not the whole thing.

Tomorrow, they are going to prepare a burger with onion rings that I will get to photograph AND eat.

:-)

I'll post the pic tomorrow, with the others from the shoot. The burgers that I photographed today needed to have the top bun angled and off to the side so that you can actually see the meat patty.

:toast:

[nuxvomica]

27. If that restaurant were around here, I'd be there right now

Some of those dishes have ingredients I don't particularly care for but damn I'd still order them, they look so good. *slurp*

[Heidi]

30. Lovely photos, but why are there pecans on the banana walnut pancakes?

:shrug:

[tigereye]

42. makes em look so good, though...

[enigmatic]

32. I want that stack of blueberry pancakes, STAT!

Great pictures :thumbsup:

[mtnester]

34. Pics made me hungry, so they worked beautifully

the only thing I noticed, I wanted to see more of that burger..it looked delicious but was kind of hidden a lot by the fries...and even then I was drooling on all of them.

Great shots!

[Amerigo Vespucci]

36. I will be posting a follow-up thread later today...

...the biggest challenge I have with the pics is that I can't touch the food, because it is being served to customers...I move the plate into view by handling the bottom of the plate only, then slide it back to the waitress. So if I give direction to the chef, and he sends it out differently, I can't send it back (see above for the "cold food served to customer = no tip to waitress" equation).

This place goes for height in the burgers...more of a "hockey puck" and less of a flat patty...but you are absolutely right, I took four different shots of that burger and all I see are fries and a bun.

Today, I am going to ask them to do what I asked them to do yesterday...angle the top bun to the side of the burger, so that the patty and toppings are exposed and people can see the actual burger. The buns are small, but the meat is generous...something you don't see at all in yesterday's photos. Check back in the Lounge later today and you will definitely see the burger.

:toast:

[distantearlywarning]

35. Nom nom nom!

Now I want Eggs Benedict really really bad.

Good pics!

[S n o w b a l l]

37. Great pics!

They look delicious & would make me want to eat there. Especially the eggs benedict....the Denver omelet, not so much. That's the only one that looks unappetizing to me.

[watercolors]

38. Monterey omlete my favorite

First one i had was in SAn Diago CA. I make them quite a bit, no potatoes tho! Looks like a great place to eat and enjoy.

[Danmel]

39. Gotta agree about the parsley on the pancakes- lose it.

Denver, not denvere the ham and eggs and the benedicts look great, as does that cobb salad with the avocado.

[tigereye]

41. yum! Looks very good. Making me hungry!