Photographing restaurants is kinda my thing – everything from the smallest details to sweeping panoramic interiors, pouring fancy cocktails to elegantly styled dishes. The Sea by Alexander’s Steakhouse in Palo Alto needed some new photos showing off their banquet / private dining space, so we ended up shooting that and a lot more! Here’s a few of my faves…
This was a quick headshot for one person in Santa Cruz, California. We met up near Crow’s Nest at Twin Lakes beach on a weekday morning, and our goal was to get a few different backdrops that felt natural without distracting from the subject. The first shot is with the ocean in the background, the wood shot is the side of the restaurant in a breezeway, and the last shot I positioned my subject in the shade, with some nice, sunlit green foliage in the background. All in about 15 minutes, easy!
I found an out of the way spot in the office space for this company to set up and shoot some new headshots for 26 people in about 4 hours. I was shooting tethered to a laptop so each person could review the shots as we went, and reshoot as necessary. I love doing it this way because I know I’m getting at least a few shots for each person that they will be satisfied with.
If you love BBQ and tasty drinks and find yourself on the south side of Maui in the lovely little town of Kihei, then you absolutely must check out Fat Daddy's Smokehouse for dinner. Your family will love getting their hands dirty on these scrumptious, finger-friendly dishes (I highly recommend the "burnt tips"). The location is small, but packs big taste and a friendly, clean atmosphere. Nestled in the heart of the restaurant is a fully-stocked bar that is known for its selection of top-shelf whisky options. Eat up, drink up! Here's a few photos from my photo shoot there:
I shot some pasta dishes at five restaurants around the Bay Area in one day – needless to say my family and I ate well for a few days... I love the unique presentation at each location. Food photography is challenging, but highly rewarding (and tasty!). Enjoy a few of my faves from my "pasta shoot day" below:
On-site professional portraits for a luxury real estate group in Menlo Park, California. I set up a white backdrop and lighting in the office and we had a blast getting a variety of poses, from full body to waist up and tighter headshots.
A few mouth-watering photos at Gochi Japanese restaurant in Cupertino. Is it dinnertime yet?
The Executive Chef in the about-to-open Hotel Nia restaurant in Menlo Park is truly a visionary. I only photographed a few of the middle-eastern-inspired dishes, but the color, texture and overall presentation is truly impressive. I hope to return soon to photograph more of his edible artwork! Here's a few of my faves:
There's a new hotel in town – and it's a stunningly beautiful creation named Hotel Nia. I arrived a week before opening, so of course between the final construction, incoming decor and staff training, it was a bit of a chaotic environment to shoot in. Plus the weather was sunny one minute, and pouring rain the next – guaranteeing a variety of settings and a true challenge for the photographer (me). This shoot was dual-purpose – first, to get some food and drink photos for the restaurant, and second to capture some good portraits of various staff for press releases and the website.
A magazine contacted me recently to photograph this local doctor for a story they are writing about him. The only qualifications were to get some portrait and landscape orientation shots, and to make sure the subject brought his bike along to use as a prop. Since he's also a surfer, we met at Pleasure Point in Santa Cruz to get a unique setting/backdrop for the shots. Here's a couple of my faves from the session:
