How do you capture amazing restaurant photography? Well, it does help when the food is truly great! I’ve been lucky to work with the team at SlowBurn since before they officially opened. So far, I’ve gotten to shoot three of their menu iterations.
This time round, I photographed their stunning spring/summer menu. Please be advised that these photos will make you drool.
Amazing restaurant photography in Walthamstow: The spring/summer menu at SlowBurn
The ethos of SlowBurn is to champion vegetables, while putting meat on the side. It is therefore not surprising that the menu changes with the seasons – sometimes even several times per month.
Following lockdown, and as restaurants were allowed to host guests indoors, SlowBurn transitioned from a local takeaway option to a dine-in restaurant. To celebrate the reopening and revamping, I shot their latest menu.
The restaurant photography brief
As with the previous photoshoot at SlowBurn, the brief included:
- Single dish shots in similar settings and from different angles
- Big table scenes
- Zoomed in shots of a single dish on a large table scene
- Action shots, including hands
- A limited photo selection edited for the Resy website
The single dish shots
Most restaurants are keen to showcase their menu. I therefore always make sure to include single dish shots. These are really useful to use on the restaurant’s website, on delivery platforms, or on social media.
Head Chef and Owner Chavdar Todorov wanted each dish on the new menu shot from two different angles. First, I shot them from above, with the same set up for each dish. Keeping the same setting is a great way to save time during a busy shoot – simultaneously ensuring your client gets the images they need without having an overwhelming shot list.
Next up, I shot the same dishes at an angle, in a table setting.
The tablescapes
One of my favourite things to shoot is big table scenes. While these shots take a lot more time to plan and set up, it’s really satisfying to see the menu come to life, and represented in all its glory. Shooting tablescapes was a big part of the brief. I therefore shot different scenes of a big table, as well as zoomed in photos of singles dishes on a busy table.
Action shots
Food is inherently social. For that reason, I love shooting people interacting with the food. That includes eating, serving, or holding a plate. Since this was a short shoot, I kept the action shots simple, using the existing set up.
The photos for Resy
Lastly, I selected some of my favourite shots and cropped them to the specifications needed for the Resy website. Namely, the photos were cropped to landscape orientation, with a resolution of 2400 × 1602.
The nitty gritty
This shoot lasted one day. The images were shot on a Sony A7iii with a 35mm and a 24-70mm lens, using natural light. The photoshoot took place at the Agenda Brown / Studio Marvelry studio space. Juliana assisted with hand modelling.
SlowBurn is located inside Blackhorse Lane Ateliers, a working denim factory in Walthamstow. You can see my previous shoot at SlowBurn here.
Let’s be social
Catch me on Instagram, Pinterest or TikTok.
You can also check my previous restaurant shoots at Chuku’s, The Haberdashery, and Pastore – or get tips on how to get started. You can also see some of my food styling gigs!
If you liked this post, please let me know!
0 Comments