The “How To” of Restaurant Photography

Photography is a key facet of attracting patrons who almost always “check out” a restaurant before walking through the door. In my experience, restaurant photography is a sophisticated blend of multiple photographic disciplines, making it complex to master. Fundamentally, a successful restaurant shoot requires expertise in three key areas:

• Architectural Photography – Capturing the restaurant’s interior and exterior to showcase its design and atmosphere.

• Food Photography – Presenting dishes in an appetizing and visually compelling way.

• Lifestyle & People Photography – Portraying patrons, chefs, and staff in a way that enhances the dining experience.

Bringing these elements together is essential to convey the true essence of a restaurant. Let’s explore how you can create an engaging visual story by skillfully balancing these three components.

Architecture

Dining out is more than just a meal—it’s an experience. Restaurant owners carefully design their spaces to evoke a specific mood and ambiance, reinforcing the culinary journey they offer. Too often, I see a plethora of food shots but little about the architecture or people, which leaves the viewer questioning the ambiance.

For instance, a large established urban restaurant may want to evoke a grand dining experience featuring signature architecture, and refined décor, whereas a casual restaurant may focus on a younger crowd looking for a place to grab a burger while kicking back and relaxing with friends. Each has its place in the market, and each needs to be photographed differently.

Food

Photographing food involves a bit of artistry and solid skills with staging. Proper lighting, plating, and staging are essential to highlight textures, colors, and presentation. While some dishes photograph well in their natural table setting, others benefit from curated backdrops, or a more stylized approach. The goal is to have the viewer taste with their eyes.

Here we see food with a hint of atmosphere via the table, silverware, and lighting.

This focuses completely on the food

This is another way to photography food using a highly stylized approach that may signify trendy, sophisticated, or unique.

People

People are critical to a good shot, but capturing them effectively requires careful planning. How many times have you seen poorly executed shots where you are looking at the backs of heads, seeing awkward expressions, mid-bite moments, or unflattering angles—all of which detract from the inviting nature of a restaurant? In my experience, if their photography or marketing materials look amateurish people assume the food is likewise.

The trick is capturing natural interactions that make for a compelling photo.  People must be presentable, engaged, and representative of the restaurant’s clientele. Sometimes this involves working with models for stylized table shots but more often it involves capturing organic yet flattering moments in a live dining environment.

This shot gives you the vibe of an urban restaurant and its clientele

This approach opts for more drama where people, lighting, and architecture combine to create a mood.

Sometimes it is appropriate to show a restaurant with and without people as we have done here. The arial view provides a sense of drama and space - helping to define the atmosphere and people.

Technology

Great restaurant photography is more than just a collection of images—it’s a visual narrative that conveys a unique ambiance. By using the latest equipment, taking advantage of advances in technology, and utilizing Artificial Intelligence, I have low-light capabilities that allow crisp images in dimly lit settings, preserving the warmth and energy of a restaurant’s atmosphere without the blur or graininess that you often see in low light photos. Whether capturing the glow of candlelight, movement of a busy kitchen, or the activity of an outdoor cafe in the evening, the latest camera and post-production technology ensures an engaging visual story.

If your restaurant needs photography for a new website or marketing campaign, I would enjoy working with you. Whether you are a new restaurant just starting up or an established one needing a marketing refresh please give me a call and let’s get you on the schedule.

Focus Forward: Welcome to the New ShupeStudios Website

In the world of architecture, every structure tells a unique story, from its intricate details and forms to the people that inhabit it. My career has been spent capturing those stories, and I chronicle a small portion of them on my website.

This winter, I began the process of updating my site. Like many projects, what started small quickly ballooned to become a complete overhaul from top to bottom. This month, I completed and relaunched the site to make it more than just a repository of my work. Rather, I hope it will serve as inspiration for architects, designers, business owners, and photography enthusiasts.

One of the most striking features of the revamped site is the abundance of fresh content. Over 75% of the images are brand new, showcasing my commitment to ongoing evolution and innovation in my photography. More than simply dropping in new images, I redrew the site to focus on the direction my work has taken over the past several years. I often state that I don’t “take” photographs but “make” them - by offering a glimpse into the soul of the structures, landscapes, products, and people that sit in front of my lens.

In addition to my new site, each month, I attempt to produce thought-provoking blog posts, offering insights into the creative process, the stories behind the lens, and the drama inherent in the world surrounding us. From these posts you will see that the goal of my work is not just about capturing images; it’s about capturing beauty, emotions, narratives, and the essence of human experience. I encourage you to read it.

I invite you to view my new website. If it has been a while, come back again and take a look. I hope you enjoy viewing it as much as I did putting it together.

If something inspires you, please call me, as summer seems to be upon us, and it is the season to shoot outdoors.

Leveraging Winter Aesthetics into Architectural Photography

Building owners, architects, and property managers often consider winter a dead time when photography comes to a standstill. In fact, winter presents a compelling opportunity for architectural photography along several dimensions. For exteriors, the time of year post-autumn but before snow arrives offers an exceptional window for photographers to capture the essence of urban landscapes with greater clarity and focus than they sometimes achieve at other times of the year. Winter is an excellent time of year for interior shots due to lighting and scheduling. Lastly, winter shots can be effectively employed using teaser campaigns to build anticipation for the spring and summer months. Along many dimensions, as we discuss below, winter can be leveraged for exceptional photography and engaging marketing opportunities.

Exterior Photography

In the absence of a leafy canopy,  winter offers a unique perspective for photographers, allowing them to showcase architecture and architectural elements that may be obscured during other seasons. The time of year after the leaves have dropped but before snow arrives is sometimes referred to as stick season by photographers. During stick season, tree-lined streets, which often restrict the view of buildings at ground level, are now open and allow a much better view of building architecture.

During summer the first two stories of this building are almost completely obstructed

Likewise, these suburban buildings are substantially hidden during summer

Stick season can be particularly advantageous in urban and suburban areas, where the stark contrast between buildings and the clear winter sky can create a captivating visual narrative. This may be done during the day with a clear blue sky, at night, or at magic hour (just after sunset) as shown below.

Interior Photography

Another way to take advantage of the treeless winter scenery is to concentrate on interior shots. The absence of foliage outside and lower sun angles allow more natural light to permeate indoor spaces, illuminating architectural details and creating a warm, inviting atmosphere. This can be especially effective in highlighting the coziness of cafes, the grandeur of historical buildings, or the sleek design of modern interiors.

Photographers can also play into seasonality by  juxtaposing the cold, wintry exterior against the interior's warmth and vibrancy, which adds depth to visual storytelling. This sense of coziness is particularly effective in residential buildings.

Teaser campaigns

Winter shots can be strategically employed in teaser campaigns, offering a unique opportunity to generate anticipation for spring and summer events or openings. Done correctly, the teaser campaign creates a tension between what is happening now and the promise of completion or a resurgence as spring arrives. Three approaches can work well depending on the objectives and the building architecture.

Contrast and Transition: Create a visual narrative emphasizing the contrast between winter and the promise of spring/summer. Incorporate elements like closed umbrellas, snow-covered outdoor furniture, or frosted windows to symbolize the temporary pause before a spring resurgence.

Gradual Reveal: Release teaser images gradually, building anticipation over time. Begin with winter shots that evoke a sense of calm or stillness and progressively reveal more hints of the impending seasonal transformation. Set up as a progression; this gradual reveal can effectively engage your audience throughout the winter months leading up to spring. You may want to incorporate subtle elements that hint at the upcoming change, such as budding flowers, outdoor seating preparations, or glimpses of vibrant spring colors.

Emotional Connection: Tap into the emotions associated with winter, such as coziness, introspection, or the beauty and stillness of a winter landscape. Then, seamlessly transition these emotions into the excitement and joy of spring and summer. Create a narrative that resonates emotionally with your audience, building anticipation for the upcoming season.

Winter is far from being a dead time for architectural photography. It offers excellent opportunities for exteriors and interiors and to set up teaser campaigns. By strategically using winter shots in urban and suburban photography, photographers and marketers can harness the unique aesthetic qualities of the season to tell compelling stories and build anticipation for what lies ahead.

If you have a project that is underway, have architecture blocked by foliage in the summer, need interior shots, or would like help with a teaser campaign, please let me know, and we will get you on the schedule.

The Art of Shadows - Photography's Hidden Magic

Shadows play a crucial role in professional photography. They are not simply byproducts of light but valuable elements that photographers use to enhance their images, create visual effects, and add depth and dimension. Professional photographers understand the power of shadows and skillfully incorporate them into their work to tell a story, evoke emotions, frame a subject, or create a mood.

One of the primary effects shadows can create is a sense of drama. For example, by manipulating the direction and intensity of light, I can create dramatic shadows that add mystery, intrigue, and intensity. In other cases, light may be manipulated to add depth or a focal point to an image.

In architectural photography, shadows can serve as powerful tools to accentuate a structure’s features. For example, the interplay between light and shadow can bring out the textures of building materials, such as the roughness of stone or the sleekness of glass facades. By carefully considering the angle and direction of light, I often create shadows that highlight architectural lines, curves, and shapes, making a building more visually striking.

Shadows also contribute to the storytelling aspect of architectural photography. By capturing shadows at different times of the day, I can convey the changing mood of a building. For instance, the long shadows cast during the afternoon or morning can evoke a sense of warmth and tranquility, while dramatic, angular shadows at dusk can create a sense of drama.

In landscapes, shadows play a role by adding depth and dimension to the scene. Shadows created by elements like trees, clouds, or adjacent structures can provide a sense of scale, creating a visual contrast between the illuminated and shaded regions. They can also be used to guide the viewer's focus. By strategically positioning shadows, I might try to lead the viewer's eye from one point of interest to another, enhancing the composition.

Sometimes naturally occurring shadows need a little help. With new software, I can compensate for shadowed areas by highlighting or "dodging" them with a selection tool and then reducing the weight of the shadow. Conversely, in the same manner, shadows can be enhanced to increase their weight and impact. We tend to think of shadows as black and white, but they have a lot of color in them. I often like to add warmth to compensate for the cold blue light typically found in shadows.

The shadows are too dark

I’ve lightened the shadows - a big improvement but look at the blue cast of the shadow on the sidewalk

I’m warmed up the shadows by removing the blue cast for a much more pleasing photo

Professional photographers understand the significance of shadows in capturing the beauty and essence of buildings and outdoor environments. I typically utilize them to emphasize architectural details, add depth and dimension, convey mood and atmosphere, and guide the viewer's gaze. By skillfully incorporating shadows into my work, I am able to create compelling images that not only showcase the unique characteristics of the subject but also tell a visual story that engages the viewer.

I love nothing more than creating a great picture. If you need marketing photography for residential structures, commercial buildings, or landscapes, please call me, and let's make it happen.