Festive Photography Archives

November 24, 2023 — Comments are off for this post.

A Gastronomic Wonderland: Three Unique Christmas Menu Photoshoots in London

Best Festive Menu in Canary Wharf — *Festive dishes at Bōkan 37*

'Tis the season, and Christmas menus are popping up all around London. Whether you're looking for a lavish fine dining meal or a Christmas sandwich on the go, there's something for every mood. In the past few months, I've had the pleasure of shooting three unique festive menus at Bōkan 37, The Pear Tree at Greenland Place, and B Bagel.

Shooting festive cheer

Three's something undeniably special about Christmas. it's a time when families and friends come together, often around the table. As a result, festive menus abound.

Since August 2023, I have done three festive photoshoots. The first was at Bōkan 37 in Canary Wharf, which is serving an elegant five course Christmas Eve and Christmas Day menu. The second was at B Bagel, which is welcoming the festive season with two decked out bagels. And the third one was at The Pear Tree, which is serving a two and three course menu throughout the month of December.

Best Festive Menu in London — *Three unique Christmas menus*

Christmas Menu at B Bagel: The Christmas Turkey Bagel — *Three unique Christmas menus*

A delectable five course menu at Bōkan 37

Perched atop the Novotel in Canary Wharf, Bōkan 37 beckons food lovers with its understated elegance and unmatched views. On Christmas Day, Executive Chef Robert Manea and Head Pastry Chef Luigi Festinante have put together a five course feast like no other.

To capture the essence of the menu, I shot three dishes, as well as some festive desserts, These were:

Chestnut soup, Alsace bacon
Venison, queen’s pear & ginger spice
Foie gras Brioche, Berries Chutney
Ricotta & pear cheesecake
Bōkan Big Ben

Fine Dining Photographer — *Fine dining elegance: The festive menu at Bōkan 37*

The battle for London's best Christmas sandwich: B Bagel's Christmas Bagels

Come December, we're all looking for a great Christmas sandwich. B Bagel, with its casual and playful atmosphere, has introduces a festive treat to their menu. Served with stuffing and cranberry sauce, you have the option of turkey or brie as your filling. Whatever you choose, this is a Christmas sando to remember!

Brie and Cranberry Bagel — *A taste of festive cheer: B Bagel's Christmas bagel*

A neighbourhood gem: The Christmas menu at The Pear Tree in Greenland Place

Nestled in the heart of Greenland Place, The Pear Tree invites you in for cosy meals with your nearest and dearest. From the 30th November to the 24th December, they are running a festive menu alongside their regular one, offering two courses for £29 and three courses for £36.50.

You can start your meal with pumpkin soup with roasted chestnuts and truffle, or the duck rillette, before indulging in a mushroom & truffle wellington or a roasted partridge with a confit leg croquette. End your meal with a decadent dessert like the Christmas pudding with blueberries and almonds, or the rice pudding with boozy prunes and coconut flakes.

Let the festive feasting begin!

Christmas Menu Photography — *The two and three course Christmas menu at The Pear Tree*

Christmas Set Menu — *The two and three course Christmas menu at The Pear Tree*

Behind the scenes

The three photoshoots took place between August and October 2023. If you fancy seeing more festive content, including Christmas cocktails, keep an eye on my Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok as I have two more Christmas shoots scheduled in the next weeks.

To delve deeper into previous food and restaurant shoots, have a look at TOKii, Taste of London, Benares Mayfair, Bonfire, SlowBurn, Chuku’s and The Haberdashery. If you're into cocktails, check out the festive cocktails at Bōkan Bar, Lanique Spirit of Rose and Sabine Rooftop Bar.

Or drop me a line - I'd love to hear from you!

Published by Naf Castanas in Food and Drinks, Food Photography, London guides, London Restaurant Photography, Restaurant & Brand Photography

December 28, 2021 — Comments are off for this post.

Christmas Food Photography – The Festive Burger at Bonfire

Bonfire Restaurant at the Barbican specialises in burgers, beers, and fiery fried chicken. This Christmas, they went all out with their incredible festive burger: a turkey burger with bacon and cranberry sauce, topped with pigs in blankets. It's Christmas on a plate!

A Christmas photoshoot: Shooting the festive burger at Bonfire

Bonfire at the Barbican is an industrial-chic casual restaurant, with quirky art and a spacious summer terrace.

This Christmas, they had a winter makeover. The restaurant featured beautiful seasonal decorations, complete with a stunning wreath by the talented Yan Skates. By popular demand, they brought back their delicious festive turkey burger.

The aim of this shoot was to capture the Christmas specials and team, in order to populate their social media, as well as some of the items they were low on photography for. These included one of their veggie burger, some sides, and Freedom beer.

The photography brief

The focus of the shoot was:

The festive turkey burger
The Christmas wreath
The halloumi burger
The burgers with the Christmas decorations
Some sides, beers, and the festive dessert
The team with the wreath

The festive burger

The Bonfire festive burger features a turkey patty, rashers of streaky bacon, cranberry sauce, and is topped by three pigs in blankets. The client requested photos of the entire burger, as well as photos of the pigs in blanket.

Festive Burger Photography — *The festive turkey burger*

The Christmas wreath

While there were lots of Christmas decorations, the wreath steals the show. I shot it both in its entirety and zoomed into some of its features. I also used the wreath as a backdrop for lots of the photos, to create a cohesive look on social media.

Restaurant Photographer Portfolio UK — *Yan Skates' stunning wreath*

The halloumi burger

While Bonfire's menu is short and sweet, there are several vegetarian and vegan options. During my photography session, I shot the halloumi burger - both on its own and with veggie sides. I also photographed the burger with the wreath, to be used during the festive season.

Vegetarian Burger Photography London — *The halloumi burger*

Sides, desserts and Freedom beer

The last part of the food brief consisted of sides, shot with and without the Christmas background, the Christmas special dessert, and bottles of Freedom beer.

*Fries, onion rings, Freedom beer, and mince pie tart*

The group shot

Once all the individual shots were done, I photographed a group scene with all the elements from the shoot.

The team

Lastly, I photographed the team in front the wreath, holding burgers. The photos were used on social media, as well as the restaurant's newsletter.

Restaurant Team Photographer — *The team at Bonfire*

The nitty gritty

This was a two-hour shoot in December 2021. I used a Sony a7iii, with a 24-70mm lens and a 50mm lens, and a Manfrotto tripod.. I only used natural light, and also shot short videos to create Instagram Reels. Alexa Harris assisted.

Bonfire is located on Level 1 of the Barbican Centre, EC2Y 8DS.

Like this? There's more!

Catch me on Instagram, Pinterest or TikTok.

You can also check my previous festive shoot at Sabine Rooftop Bar, and restaurant shoots at SlowBurn, Chuku's, The Haberdashery, and Pastore - or get tips on how to pick the right restaurant photographer for your business. You can also see some of my food styling gigs!

If you liked this post, please drop me a line - I'd love to hear from you!

Published by Naf Castanas in Food and Drinks, Food Photography, London Restaurant Photography, Restaurant & Brand Photography

Tags: East London, Festive Photography, Food Photography, London Food Photography, London Restaurant Photography

December 19, 2021 — Comments are off for this post.

Festive Bar Photography – Sabine Rooftop Bar

Sabine Rooftop Bar looking like a winter wonderland

Sabine Rooftop Bar is located a stone's throw away from one of London's prettiest landmarks. That and bomb cocktails explains the bar's popularity all year long. This season, they transformed the bar into an alpine winter garden, and I got to shoot the winter decorations and some of their drinks.

The winter decorations at Sabine Rooftop Bar

Sabine landed on the London bar scene last summer, and has since gone from strength to strength to become a bar one has to visit while in London. It seems that no one can resist sipping on a cocktail while being up close and personal with St Paul's Cathedral.

This winter, they boasted a brand new food and drinks menu, while the bar went through a winter makeover. With an alpine chalet, snowy trees and fairy lights, Sabine Rooftop Bar truly looks like a winter oasis in the heart of London.

The photography brief

To best highlight the winter transformation, the client brief included:

Winter decorations
Drinks in a winter setting
The bar's winter set up
Drinks with St Paul's Cathedral in the background
St Paul's Cathedral in winter

Winter accents

This season, Sabine ditched the summer get up for a new winter look. This included an alpine chalet that guests can take photos in, snowy trees around the bar, decorative skis, as well as garlands and fairy lights. Talk about a dreamy winterscape!

Winter Decorations at Sabine Rooftop Bar

A winter makeover

Wintery Drinks

The second part of the brief involved shooting some of the drinks in a winter set up. These were some of my favourite shots of the day.

Drinks Photography London — *Wintery drinks*

Drinks with a view

Of course, no photoshoot at Sabine would be complete without featuring the stunning view. The client specifically asked to emphasise the winter mood. I therefore included a blanket and the winter sky, to give these photos the right feel.

St Paul's

Last but not least, I shot St Paul's - both during daytime and at sunset.

The nitty gritty

This shoot lasted half a day. The images were shot with a Sony A7iii with a 35mm and a 24-70mm lens, using natural light and a Manfrotto tripod. Different members of staff assisted with hand modelling, while Francesco prepared the cocktails. During this shoot, I also shot short videos to create Instagram Reels.

Sabine Rooftop Bar is located on Godliman Street, across the street from St Paul's Cathedral.

Let's be social

Catch me on Instagram, Pinterest or TikTok.

You can also check my previous restaurant shoots at SlowBurn, Chuku's, The Haberdashery, and Pastore - or get tips on how to pick the right restaurant photographer for your business. You can also see some of my food styling gigs!

If you liked this post, please drop me a line - I'd love to hear from you!

Published by Naf Castanas in Food and Drinks, London Bar Photography, Restaurant & Brand Photography

Tags: Central London, Cocktail Photography, Drinks Photography, Festive Photography, Interior Photography, London Bar Photography, London Restaurant Photography