Over the last couple of years I’ve stepped into over 200 Brisbane venues to shoot food, interiors and beverages for The Urban List. Now, I’m sure as you can all imagine I’ve also hit so many roadblocks along the way from visiting venues blind with no knowledge of the environment I’m about to work with. What has that taught me? You can always make something from nothing and that’s what I encourage you all to do!

In writing this little G Journal piece for you all, I’ve tried to cover a range of things that I think about and prioritise when shooting on the fly. When you’ve only got an hour to normally get what you need it’s super important to hone in on the hot spots of your brief and the venue and products you need to capture.

What do I look for when shooting cafes, food and beverages?

When I walk into a venue or a cafe I always look at the overall light, If there’s a fair amount of natural light bouncing around I’ll happily shoot everything as I see it. If It’s a bit dark for interior snaps I just bump my ISO up. I tend to shoot slightly overexposed as a starting base. Very rarely do I shoot with a tripod, I like the natural freedom of being able to move about quickly to capture what I need without restriction.
Once I’ve looked at the space I hone in on looking at everything available to me for shooting food and beverages on. Let me tell you haha nothing goes unnoticed and sometimes the most randomest furniture and nooks can be used for the best backdrop and lighting. At the end of the day, you want to capture the product in front of you in their best light - quite literally. My theory is, there’s no point shooting a plate of food on a table in crappy lighting just so people feel like it gives some sort of a hospitality vibe, your interior snaps should be doing this. I think that the dish should be made to look more appetizing, plus give a point of difference to your imagery. In saying that, my all time favourite thing to shoot on is the floor.
Everytime I shoot somewhere it still shocks people that I’m putting plates on the floor. But … it works. I’ve shot indoors and outdoors on concrete pathways and pebbled floors. Being a large surface, it opens up more opportunity to access better light simply by stepping outside or using a spot near a well lit window or wall.
Walls! Now these bad boys are great for a range of background textures and for being able to execute movement shots or to bring a human element into your imagery with dishes and drinks being handheld. When products can be handheld you can move around more, creating more dynamic and better lit photos.
When shooting interiors, I love beautiful open landscapes. But I always love to photograph the little abstract details, don’t ever forget about the importance of those!

Do you try to get even light or a hard shadow?

I’m a lover of beautiful soft bright even lighting and always try to replicate it with my imagery, it’s definitely a regular style I like to stick to. In saying that! I also have an appreciation for all the different forms lighting can take! For example the image below for ‘Rogue Bistro,’ I love the harshness of the light and dark shadows and find sometimes getting creative in these sorts of pockets of light can be really rewarding and pay off.

I’m fairly open about the fact that I’ve never thought of myself as a strong technical photographer, I’ve always found the complex technicalities of artificial lighting intimidating and have always forced myself to get comfortable with the best source of light we have...the sun.

Some of my most favoured imagery is created and lit by tapping into the direct sunlight. I’m not afraid of slightly blowing things out when I shoot and as mentioned tend to shoot a smidge overexposed - even in the sun! I know it sounds weird but it’s what I’ve always done.

Curtains or spots just out of direct sunlight are great for beautiful, diffused light to shoot in, so keep an eye out for these.

My advice to you, don't be afraid of the sun! It’s your strongest source.

Sample snaps from ‘Rogue Bistro’.

Do you use reflectors or artificial light?

The only time I use reflectors is if I’m generally shooting people or for campaign imagery and portraits. I’ve never used reflectors for hospitality shoots, I tend to move things around to work for me rather than getting stuck in a spot and really trying to force it to work. In saying that - if somethings not working, cut your losses and move onto trying something else so you're not wasting time. I’ve gotten really confident in not getting stuck in trying to make a setup work and just moving on really quickly, give yourself the opportunity in your next shoot to do the same.

As for artificial light - I definitely use it when I’m shooting in a studio but I don’t artificially light any of my food and beverage shoots.

How do you light subjects when a cafe is a bit darker?

If a cafe is a bit darker, I move my subjects towards a better spot that is potentially brighter. If it’s extremely dark, I come up with an outdoor option. Don’t forget that if clients are open to it, MDF painted backdrops when organised in advance are perfect for shooting food outside. If you’re wanting to shoot inside, a tripod is handy to let some extra light in, or if the cafe branding and vibe is a bit moody/dark you could embrace this and work it to your advantage.

When I shoot at ‘Rogue Bistro’ we really tap into this and sometimes, I actually shoot everything a few stops underexposed. So really, stepping back and evaluating what the finished product and business brand and feel needs is one of the first things I’d advise before you begin shooting at all.

Thanks for dropping by!

If you have any thoughts, things you’d like to hear or further questions - I’d love to hear from you below!

Cheers,

G x

Shooting in Venues - Finding Luminous Light