Product Shot

Sport Cycling Sunglasses Bicycle Bike Eyewear Glasses

The Graphic Plate

I've compiled a series of food shots that reflect my graphic design background. I like the dramatic color contrast or the shapes that define the image.

The Hamburger

The Hamburger

Recently had a chance to shoot two different hamburgers and then my own creation. Shoot all three from the classic 15º angle yielded the best results. The first one was from King’s Corner in Jenkintown, PA their Plain Ole Burger, topped with Lettuce Tomato and Onions. Additionally, Kings makes some nice platters including a tender, slow roasted Beef Brisket, served over Mashed Potatoes topped with Gravy and Fried Onion Strings.

The second one is from a Laundromat in Upper Darby, PA of all places. Bright Pizzeria featuring their Bacon Cheeseburger with Lettuce, Tomato and Onions on a sesame seed bun with fries. They also make a huge breakfast platter they call their Bright Breakfast Special featuring two eggs, home fries 2 pancakes breakfast meat and a coffee or soda.

And finally after shooting those two burgers I wanted to make my own so I prepared a Cheese Burger with Grilled Onions, Mushrooms basted in a Teriyaki reduction over White Cheddar Cheese with a lettuce, Tomato on a Brioche bun and served with curly fries.

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All About Food

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Some recent food shots

I've added a few shot from various restaurants and a a few personal food I've shot at recently.

A Hamburger Steak I made after being inspired by a friend in Hawaii who made a similar dish a few days ago which brought back some childhood memories, the gravy with mushrooms and onions make the dish

I also had a craving for corn chowder and my local market had fresh picked corn on sale which I had to take advantage of. 

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Below are a few shots from Mizu Sushi and Hibatchi, in Warrington PA. A nice little Japanese restaurant off the beaten path served up some mighty scrumptious dishes.

Pepper Tuna Tataki sushi

Hot Night, kani (crab meat), spicy roll sushi

I met and worked with a up and coming young chef, Lakisha  at La'ville Cuisines and she prepared some lovely dishes.

Seafood Alfredo

Surf and Turf

In South Philly, I worked with chef Alberto at his restaurant El Sabor Poblano and he presented his beautiful dishes for me to shoot.

Tres Tacos Pastor

Shrimp Ceviche

Photoshop Editing

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Raw vs Photoshop Edited

Sometimes a photo might be good, but it needs a little help. In fact 9 times out of ten, your photo could use a Photoshop attention, even it's just to sharpen it a tad for clarity or slight color shift. n this case a recent photo was brought to life with the use of Photoshop in numerous ways.


The image was a bit dark all around and needed the levels to be raised. The hue, vibrance and saturation was also increased to bring out the color. And the dark background color was also brought up.

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White on White

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White on White

Shooting a translucent cologne bottle on a white background poses some challenging issues. While keeping the background a pristine white and keeping the bottle distinguishable. This image back lit with two black flags angle inward flank each side of the bottle.

Backlighting

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Back lighting vs top lighting

I did a test shoot to see how to get the appropriate lighting for a dark subject matter on a dark background. In the first test I shot the subject matter (blueberries in a black bowl with a single softbox set up behind and above the subject matter, bouncing a little light back into the foreground with a what card.

In second second test, I placed the softbox directly over the subject matter and flagged the background with a black card. Both shots were made with a Nikkor 55mm micro, f11, 1/160, ISO 200.

I think the back lit version is more subtle and appealing, next time I'd try to get a little more light on the surface of the bowl and blueberries in the foreground.

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Blue Moon Beer

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Photography of Blue Moon Beer

Shooting liquid beverages, especially beer can be particularly challenging, not only technically, but also aesthetically to the extent that you're able to make your photograph stand out from the rest of all the beer photography out there. This could be made easier or harder by the vision of an art director who sees the image in specific terms. Easier because you're jt becomes one of execution and figuring our how to capture the intended outcome, and harder because it requires an expected outcome. Here I have a fairly straight forward, head on shot with dramatically lit background to highlight the beer in the bottle and the glass of beer behind it.

And then there are things that can be done later in the post shoot environment, in applications like Adobe Photoshop to enhance it even completely modify the original photograph. But before we get there we still have to define the set light the subject. In this case I used a a small sheet of clear glass laid on top of a dark, brown colored tile to give it a glossy wet look.

In this shot I only used two lights, one softbox off to camera right which was partially blocked by a black flag towards the back to maintain a dark background behind the bottle and glass. The second light was set up below the the table and bounced off of a black card to created the glow and a deep yellow gel over the light to create the color.

A certain amount of work was done off camera in Photoshop, to enhance the image and even change the. background. 

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Provenance

Finding great props for your shoot.

Setting the stage for your shoot can start with finding the right background and props. Finding the right props can be a challenge and a mission on it's own. It can also be a expedition to places unknown and exploring a world of possibilities. 

I recently discovered two great and distinctively different places full of wonderful treasures and possibilities for photographic props, backgrounds and even subject matter.

One such place in Philadelphia is Provenance, a wonderland of salvaged and in many cases restored vintage objects of art, architectural elements, every day items, windows doors, instruments and antique wood. All within one large clean well organized warehouse.

Another place is Philadelphia Salvage, another large warehouse brimming with stuff, amazing stuff. Unlike Provenance, here you have explore your way around the dimly lit warehouse to find the perfect jewel of whatever it is you're looking for.

From gum ball machines to bicycles and motorcycles the place is stacked high full of goodies. You might even find an irresistible old typewriter you must have.

In any event it's always a joy to find great resources that can enrich your photographs and delight the sense. If you're in the area, you might want to include these places on your list of props and backgrounds for your next shoot.