Making Menu Item Food Photos for The Gig in Monterey
Mike contacted me with a number of ideas for creating visual content for his restaurant right on Old Fisherman’s Wharf in Monterey, The Gig. We decided to start with the most pressing need, getting menu photos especially for online ordering services. I set up on a table with good window light that allowed me to then just use natural light and a reflector to make these photos. It’s always great when I can use natural light for food photography instead of off camera flash. I shot tethered to my laptop so Mike, who has a great eye for detail, could preview each food photo in real time. He noticed small details that were very helpful in getting each dish photographed as perfectly as possible.
In addition to the menu shots, I suggested after there were about 5 dishes brought out that I get an overhead “hero shot” of all five dishes. Clients usually really like these shots, and end up liking them the best, and such was the case with Mike too!
This was my first time to visit Bernardus Lodge for a photo shoot out in Carmel Valley. I was contacted by Guardant Health who were having some executive meetings at the lodge and while everyone was in one place, asked me to make team headshots. I do not often know what available space there will ultimately be for setting up my mobile headshot studio. This time, it was a real challenge, with every inch counting even after moving furniture around! After that though, it was actually one of the smoothest 20+ person team headshot shoots I have ever had. Each person came on time and even though some said they did not like their picture taken, everyone was friendly in front of the camera and left liking the headshot I made for them! Thank you to Lorin and the Guardant team for making it a smooth shoot and for choosing me as their photographer. Thank you also to Elysha and Derrick for assisting on this shoot that required a little extra physical labor than usual.
Returning to Another Project With Waveform Electric
I have done a number of photo and drone projects for Ryan of Waveform Electric and one of the best things about them is that no two so far have ever been the same! Last time was finding a way to get drone video of batteries installed in a garage while also showing the house was on a cliff in Carmel Highlands. This time, less challenging flying logistics as the construction job site in progress home build in Pebble Beach actually allowed me to stand right out on what will eventually be the second floor deck and fly from there with clear views of the drone the entire time as I got drone video of the job site itself as well as the stunning surroundings which included a golf course, 17-Mile Drive, and the Pacific Ocean. Having this much visual interest both close by, and in the distance, really makes it enjoyable to create shots that go right from the deck itself out over the course then on toward the water. That last shot was requested by Ryan himself, which was a great clip to end the video on. Thank you Ryan for continuing to choose me as your drone pilot and photographer!
Photography for Lion Gate Construction's New Website
It was great to get a call from Lion Gate Construction about several projects they have needing construction and renovation photography and drone content as they prepare to launch a new website for the company. They wanted professional photographs of this finished renovation in Pebble Beach to show the kind of work they do and give potential clients a much better look at the details of a completed project.
I found this to be a very interesting house in terms of its architectural features, not to mention a piano has its very own stage area right in the middle of the living space!
Zara is a new graduate and wanted professional headshots for her LinkedIn profile. We discussed background colors when she came to the studio, and she chose dark gray, which has been a very popular color the past few years that more and more professionals are choosing for their headshots. Zara liked the background, so to add variety to her two headshots there was a wardrobe and pose change. I am glad to listen to and create in real time with clients based on exactly what they want in terms of their headshots, even if they do not know until the see their headshots live on the big screen in my studio. The benefit of shooting tethered and showing clients like Zara their headshots live in real time, are that feedback is instant, and thus so can adjustments and changes be in terms of seeing what works for background color and poses as well as wardrobe. Thank you Zara for choosing me as your headshot photographer!
Rip reached out to me about making surprise engagement photos. We discussed what location to use with him suggesting a few places, and then after thinking about each carefully and considering things like cpermission to shoot there, and access for me to be close, but not so obvious and spoil the surprise we chose the Carmel Meadows Trail area.
Then we came up with a signal for him to give to let me know he was about to propose. Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans! I did not see him give the signal as I was still far away and making my way down, but I did suddenly notice him get on one knee and luckily I already had both cameras ready to go, including the one with the telephoto lens so I was able to get some shots of the live proposal!
This was my second year in a row photographing the Pacific Grove Butterfly Parade (see 2025’s parade). It was an unusually warm Saturday for the parade this year, making it feel like the middle of summer! What is the Butterfly Parade about? It is mostly elementary school students representing their class grade in a different theme costume marching through downtown PG with their class banner accompanied by their teacher. There is of course a marching band as well, and the parade concludes with Pacific Grove High School classes of 50 years or more! So banners flew from the class of 1976 all the way to 1971.
