Why Good Restaurant Photography Is About More Than Pretty Food Photos
A lot of restaurant owners understandably start from the same place when thinking about photography: they want the food to look better. That matters, of course, but I think the real value of restaurant photography goes further than that. Strong restaurant images should help people stop, pay attention, get a feel for the business, and feel more confident about coming in. On the Monterey Peninsula especially, where people have plenty of dining options, photography should not just make menu items look appealing. It should help a restaurant stand out, build trust, and attract both new customers and repeat visits.
Professional Food Beverage and Dessert Photography and Branding Video with a Holiday Theme
The Point Kitchen & Bar restaurant in Santa Cruz, California was well decorated for the holidays and wanted a branding video made that they could specifically use at the holiday time of year. They also had a series of menu items to be photographed for use on their website and in other marketing materials and on their social media accounts. I coordinated with them in making the video and guided the staff to make it a team effort to get the best action shots of food being cooked, beverages being poured, and the staff interacting with customers. The menu item portion of the shoot also was in sync with the kitchen bringing out each item in a timely manner for it to be photographed at its maximum visual appeal on the plate. After a few dishes were photographed on their own, I styled them next to each other for a high impact hero shot that is fantastic to use as a banner image on a restaurant’s website and as a highlight image for social media. There was even room for dessert! The restaurant had no previous professional photos of their desserts so they brought out a wide variety of their sweet offerings.
Promoting Pacific Grove for the PG Chamber featuring Red House Cafe
Continuing with the series of local business social media videos I made for The Pacific Grove Chamber of Commerce, this time the video shows local favorite restaurant, Red House Cafe. Also seen again are Jazmyn and CC as they check out the restaurant, order, and enjoy the meals they chose in the very cozy and comfortable atmosphere of the Red House Cafe, with working fireplace no less! Thank you to all involved in helping me shoot and record this video at Red House Cafe.
Promoting Pacific Grove with the PG Chamber featuring il vecchio restaurant
The Pacific Grove Chamber of Commerce president contacted me about a video project they wanted to do, asap, and fortunately, my schedule could fit in a two day video shoot at no less than 9 locations! Good thing Pacific Grove is also small and compact, so highlighting restaurants, experiences, and just the beauty of the area at some many different places was possible, and it also helped that Jazmyn and CC were pros in front of the camera letting me work creatively and efficiently everywhere we went.
Ribbon Cutting Event for Love Thai Restaurant in Pacific Grove
As an ambassador for the Pacific Grove Chamber of Commerce I often attend ribbon cutting events helping out by making photos to help promote both the chamber, and the business itself having the ribbon cutting. Such was the case at Love Thai Restaurant in Pacific Grove, California. It is a chance for a local business to have their own big grand opening day, to celebrate the start of their business, and for the community to come out and show support. All that happened this evening at Love Thai! You do not have to be a chamber member to come out and attend one of these great events. Here is a list of upcoming events, like this ribbon cutting.
Monterey Food Photography photo shoot for Grubhub at Lighthouse Bistro
I had not done a shoot for Grubhub in a very long time, so when the opportunity came up to go to Lighthouse Bistro in New Monterey, I took it. These are basic food shoots, following the guidelines provided using just natural window light with a bit of reflector bounce and shooting ten meals plus a hero shot in less than an hour! This is a new restaurant that just opened up in May 2025 with a friendly staff that was fun to work win in making these shots. I got to take both the pasta dish and the hummus home too!
Adding handheld “from the ground” video services in Albuquerque
I am always looking to improve and increase the imaging services I can offer clients here in Albuquerque, New Mexico and now I am pleased to offer “handheld video” in addition to the drone aerial video I have been offering for years. You may recall the drone video shoot I did for County Line Restaurant last summer (check it out here). At the time I did not have the gear nor the skills to make video inside the restaurant for the client. I kept it in mind though and when DJI released the new RS 3 Mini gimbal, I decided this is my time to start to offer branding video from the ground. Thank you to the team at County Line for this opportunity and doing a great job getting the restaurant prepped!
