Some Foodie shots. Gourmet Greek/Italian cooking at Trattoria Athena

[o hey tyler]

Tonight was my first night as an everyman in the kitchen. I did a little bit of everything, plating, prep, dishes, and even was able to help out a front of house lady print something from their Macbook. As part of the hiring process they noted on my resume that I've done a LOT of photography, and asked if I'd be willing to get some shots of their beautiful and delicious food. How could I say no? A place where I could sample and prepare gourmet Mediterranean dishes, AND take photos? Sounds like a win/win to me.

This evening consisted of a VERY fast paced plating/expediting scenario. It was a special event where all the plates needed to go out at the same time. This made me really have to rush through the photos, but I am satisfied with what I got. I'll have to work and move around the kitchen a bit more (which is quite small) to see what angles work the best. Thinking of compositions on the fly as people move and plate food around you is quite difficult and nerve racking to say the least.

It's also very refreshing to work at a place where your fellow employees are appreciative of someone who can take nice images of their artfully crafted food. It's very rewarding to work at a place that uses ingredients that are all locally sourced, and everything is made from scratch. Truly a group of artisans in the kitchen that work the idea of "rustic cooking" into everything they create.

First off, are some cheese sample plate. Like I said, everything is natural and rustic.

In these photos, I used a 5DMK1 + 35/1.4L combo. The EXIF should be intact. A few were shot with available light, others were shot with my TTL Triggers + 430EXII combo.

C&C welcome.

 

[rexbobcat]

Nice. I love the fourth one. It has a very intimate feel to it, like you're there IN the moment instead of just some third party photographing food. You have no idea how much that photo makes me want to buy one of those pasta dishes right now...at a quarter past 12....at night...

The only complaint I have is that in several of them you can see the reflection of the overheard (I'm guessing flourescent?) lights. They appear to be those long ones that are used in schools.

But seeing as how this was pretty quickly put together on the fly, I think you did a good job.

 

[o hey tyler]

Nice. I love the fourth one. It has a very intimate feel to it, like you're there IN the moment instead of just some third party photographing food. You have no idea how much that photo makes me want to buy one of those pasta dishes right now...at a quarter past 12....at night...

The only complaint I have is that in several of them you can see the reflection of the overheard (I'm guessing flourescent?) lights. They appear to be those long ones that are used in schools.

But seeing as how this was pretty quickly put together on the fly, I think you did a good job.

Thanks Dave! Yes, I need to get a better handle on how to manage the reflections from the lights. A lot of people have said that they like #4 as well, so in the future I will shoot for similar scenes.

The pasta dish had Broccoli Raab, freshly made pasta and a spicy arrabiata sauce with lamb on top of it. I had a small portion of it for dinner and it was incredible to put it briefly.

Your input is greatly appreciated, thanks bud.

 

[KenC]

The pasta dish had Broccoli Raab, freshly made pasta and a spicy arrabiata sauce with lamb on top of it.

Sounds perfect if you substitute cannellini for the lamb. Traditional peasant Italian food used very little meat.

The first three really suffer from lack of DOF (probably hand-held?), but the last two are quite good. They make me hungry, which I suppose is the point.

 

[jwbryson1]

I really like these. I'm a foodie at heart so these have a special place for me. I like the lighting and the use of wide open f/stop to spot focus. I think you did a good job of not oversaturating the colors.

Well done.

 

[shortpants]

Food is tough! I've been trying to practice a little at home. I agree about some of the reflections but you did well working with that kind of lighting and having to move fast. 4 is nice, I like those sort of actions shots.

 

[o hey tyler]

The pasta dish had Broccoli Raab, freshly made pasta and a spicy arrabiata sauce with lamb on top of it.

Sounds perfect if you substitute cannellini for the lamb. Traditional peasant Italian food used very little meat.

The first three really suffer from lack of DOF (probably hand-held?), but the last two are quite good. They make me hungry, which I suppose is the point.

I'm not sure what exactly the definition of "very little" is... If you mean that there wasn't meat in most dishes, or the portions of meat were small when it was present in traditional Italian. There definitely was just a hint of lamb in there, definitely not a lot. But then again, I am not terribly familiar with traditional Italian food at this point, so what do I know?

And yes, they were handheld. I used a speedlight for some of them off camera that I just threw somewhere that there was an open spot on the counter. I was going for a shallow DoF (shooting around f/2), but I can definitely understand how it is not a look that everyone appreciates. I'll try and shoot with a steeper DoF for some of the shots next time.

Thanks, Ken.

I really like these. I'm a foodie at heart so these have a special place for me. I like the lighting and the use of wide open f/stop to spot focus. I think you did a good job of not oversaturating the colors.

Well done.

Thank you JW. Getting the proper WB was tough because I didn't want to cool the image too much and do away with the vibrant reds in the sauce, but I didn't want to make the plates orange either. It was a very fine line to walk. I am glad you enjoyed the photos.

Food is tough! I've been trying to practice a little at home. I agree about some of the reflections but you did well working with that kind of lighting and having to move fast. 4 is nice, I like those sort of actions shots.

Thank you shortpants. Yes, hopefully I can find a way to work with the lighting in there. It will be a learning process, but I think it can be done!

 

[o hey tyler]

Dinnertime bumps

 

[invisible]

Considering the conditions you shot in (on the fly, people moving around, mostly available light that you couldn't really control, dishes that were there for a moment before they were served, etc.), you did an incredible job. Images 2, 3 and 4 stand out for me. Thumbs up.

 

[Kazooie]

They are all pretty good, but the watermark is disrtracting.

 

[o hey tyler]

They are all pretty good, but the watermark is disrtracting.

I appreciate your input about my watermark. However, out of the 30+ images I've posted here with that very same watermark, you are the first person to even mention it. So, it's staying. Especially since I've run into a few instances so far where people will use my images and not give me any sort of credit. I tend to think my watermark is far less distracting than most, and it was professionally designed.

If you have any actual comments to add about my work, feel free to add them.

Thanks though!

 

[o hey tyler]

Considering the conditions you shot in (on the fly, people moving around, mostly available light that you couldn't really control, dishes that were there for a moment before they were served, etc.), you did an incredible job. Images 2, 3 and 4 stand out for me. Thumbs up.

Thank you Federico! Much appreciated.

 

[jwbryson1]

It just struck me what these photos remind me of. I get a cooking catalog in the mail from a well known retailer and these images look remarkably like those in this catalog. Cool.

 

[o hey tyler]

It just struck me what these photos remind me of. I get a cooking catalog in the mail from a well known retailer and these images look remarkably like those in this catalog. Cool.

That's also very nice for me to hear. Thank you. What cooking catalog was it that you got?

 

[jwbryson1]

NapaStyle (Michael Chiarallo). http://www.napastyle.com/home.jsp



They also remind me of the Pottery Barn catalogs I get.