Make 'em Hungry

One of the best ways to entice people to visit your restaurant or purchase your product is to make them hungry or thirsty.  Professional food photography can do that in a way that a quick photograph with your phone cannot do.  

I had a restaurant owner tell me that customers told him they were instantly hungry for his food when they visited his website and saw his dishes featured in photographs.  They had never visited before but they came right in that evening.  

About 3 months before he had reached out to me and we worked together to create great looking food photography for his place.  We got together and talked about what food he wanted to feature, the mood he likes to convey for his restaurant.  We then planned a day to come in to his restaurant when we could shoot.  We found the right spots to photograph each plate.  We talked about how the food should be plated and how I would photograph the food.  He made and plated the dishes one at a time.  Using a mixture of natural light and artificial light, props from around his restaurant and my sense of composition, we created food photographs that made people hungry.  

It doesn’t happen in an instance.  It takes a little bit of planning and work but creating food photography that will make people hungry or thirsty and want to get those desires satisfied with your food or drinks can be done when you hire a professional food photographer.

Bad Visuals on Instagram

I’ve been following restaurants and breweries on Instagram for a while now and am always amazed at how businesses show themselves.  As a Food Photographer and Beverage Photographer, I do admit that I am a little biased in favor of good imagery.  But what I’ve seen from some places looking to promote themselves can only be called disheartening.  I’ve spoken with restaurant owners and many of them seem to understand the importance of making their food look as good as possible, which is why they hire a Food Photographer in the first place.  It seems many businesses haven’t gotten that message.  Using your cell phone to make a photo of a dish you have at a restaurant as a customer is fine.  Show off that great meal you’re about to eat.  If the color is off or the lighting is bad, no big deal, you’re doing some social media bragging, not looking to sell the meal you’re about to eat.  If on the other hand you are looking to get people in to your restaurant, brewery or pub to pay you to try your offerings and you’re using quick cell phone photos to promote yourself, you aren’t doing your business any real favors.  I can’t tell you how many times I see photos where the color is off and the food doesn’t look very appetizing at all.  How many times a beer or glass of wine looks dull and lifeless.  There is so much competition in the hospitality world, so many places for your customers to choose from, why wouldn’t you want to make what you’re offering look as good as possible.  You’re trying to build your business on Instagram, which is a visual medium.  Why would you post less than stunning images?  You may only get one chance to make an impression on a potential new customer.  I’d suggest you work with a professional Food Photographer or Beverage Photographer.  I just so happen to know someone I can recommend.  ;)

Why am I a Food and Beverage Photographer?

Why I’m a Food Photographer?  I spent time as a wedding photographer.  I’ve photographed people, landscapes, cityscapes and street photography, so what was it about food and beverages that really took hold of me?  

Looking back on my days so far, almost every great moment with family and friends involved either food or drink or both.  Going back to when I was a kid, I remember the holidays when the family would come over and we’d gather around the dinning room table and spend the entire day there.  The food would come out in waves, dishes would be cleared, another wave of food,  coffee would follow with desert.  We’d be laughing or arguing but no matter what the memories are good.  

Later on in life, keg parties or getting together with friends for at a bar.  Friends having a good Meeting someone new over coffee or a dinner.  

See the thread here.  Food and drink is always involved.  When we gather as people we do so over a meal or in a place to sit with a drink and socialize.  That’s where real connections are made.  That’s where life really happens.  The important parts of life for me anyway.

So it’s not surprising that Food Photography and Beverage Photography is my “chosen” type of photography.  Sure I photograph other things and I find that fun and fulfilling as well.  But photographing food and beverages is what I really love to do.  I do it for clients and I do it for myself just for the fun and challenge of it.  That is where my passion is.

I’ve been a food photographer for years now.  I love it.  Being a beverage photographer can be a lighting challenge some times, but you can usually enjoy a drink after you’ve gotten the shot.  In short, I am a Food and Beverage Photographer simply because I love it. 

Vodka and Cranberry

Beverage photography offers so many different colors, textures and glassware and beverages offer so many different flavors to explore. Part of my journey is discovering those different flavors as I photography the different drinks. It’s a journey I am happy to be on.

Valjean from Icarus

With this photography, I wanted to tell a story dictated by the name of the beer. If you’ve ever seen or read Les Miserables you know the story of Jean Valjean. Arrested (and chained) for stealing a loaf of bread. When I created this photograph, I knew they needed to be a part of it.

Scotch...Rocks!

Smooth, earthy or smokey, a scotch on the rocks is a perfect way to end a day. Sit back and enjoy the light bouncing around inside the glass as you take your first smell. Hear the ice cubes dancing around the glass before you take your first sip. Tastes like heaven,

Corn on the Cob

Corn on the cob means summer to me. Sitting in the backyard after a day of swimming in the pool, cooking burgers and hot dogs on the grill and biting in to a fresh piece of corn on the cob. The taste of the butter and salt on the kernels. The butter dripping down on your hands and your chin as you take a bit. That is what I wanted to capture when I made this photograph.

Jelly Belly Beer

When I saw this bottle of beer flavored jelly beans, I knew I wanted to approach the photograph exactly like I would create a photograph of a real bottle of beer. It had to have the same lighting and the same perspective. Cheers

Honey Crisp Apple

When I decided to photograph this apple, I wanted it to look just washed and ready to eat. You can almost feel that crisp snap of the apple as you take that bite.