Travel Food Photography Tip: Thailand Edition

First and foremost, I must say this: New York City spoils me. Being a food photographer, I get to eat a lot of amazing (and sometimes, but rarely, not so amazing) restaurants. And if I am not photographing a restaurant, I go to just to experience the atmosphere. I enjoy the ambiance of being at a restaurant. The decor, the lighting, the plating, the people – everything about it is why I love what I do. However, no matter where I go on the globe, I also come back to the realization that New York will probably have a restaurant that can compete.

Coffee culture in Northern Thailand is booming. Some of my favorite lattes!

New York spoils me in that way.

However, I travel to eat the culture. To experience all those ambiances in another place in the world. And while I am there, I might as well photograph the food I get to experience to share with everyone else. Instagram is handy that way. With the growing hobby of food photography and the incredible features of iPhone cameras and Instagram editing software, food porn is more popular than ever. I can’t stop people from trying to do what I do as a career with their iPhones. I can, however, help weed out the use of shooting tungsten lighting overhead of your food that creates unflattering shadows and in turn, help me scroll through a more inspirational Instagram at night.

Street food in Bangkok

So here is the first tip and most important tip for shooting travel food photography: USE NATURAL LIGHTING.

Avoid overhead lighting as much as possible. If need be, block it with a napkin and sit close to a window. Here are a couple of my favorite from outdoor and indoor locations.

Fruit Smoothie from Fern Forest Cafe in Chaing Mai, Thailand

Street food of Prawns in Northern Thailand

Seafood dish at Cafe de Nimman in Chaing Mai, Thailand.

Interior Photography

Following up with my last blog post, 2016 was a year of variety for me. I got assigned a job shooting interior photography for a real estate company in New Jersey. It involved 8 full days of interior and exterior photography of 13 different buildings. Here are some of my favorite shots.

50 Columbus

70 Columbus Kitchen

Gotham Terrace

Sovereign at The Shipyard

New York City Restaurant Photographer visits Pittsburgh!

Ever since I moved to New York City to expand my restaurant photography, my love for Pittsburgh has increased greatly. I find any excuse to throw my Pittsburgh pride into every conversation. When asked where I am from, I proudly say “Pittsburgh!” even if technically that isn’t true. So anytime I get a call to photograph a restaurant in Pittsburgh, I snatch it up in a heartbeat!

Back in September, I was asked to photograph 2 french restaurants, one is a bakery in Shadyside and the second is a small bistro in East Liberty. As a restaurant photographer for magazines and cookbooks, I am used to shooting a lot in a day. At Paris 66, I pushed my dish limit to the test with 19 dishes and 7 cocktails in one day! Now I won’t show every last one, because that is a lot of photos for one blog. However, I will show off some of my favorites from the shoot!

New York City restaurant photographer travels to Pittsburgh to photograph Paris 66

Restaurant photography of Pan Seared Scallops

Paris 66 dish of Pan Seared Scallops, tomato Provençal, & Linguini.

Photograph of Escargot Bourguinon at Paris 66.

Dessert at Paris 66

La Jardinière – Field Greens, Zucchini, Squash, Eggplant, Bell Peppers, & House Dressing

Cocktail at Paris 66

Restaurant photography shoot in New York City.

Here is a couple photographs from a recent restaurant photography job. The shoot was for a french restaurant, Millisime, located in the heart of the Flatiron. Millisime is known for its seafood brasserie and exceptional oyster bar.

Raw Oysters

I have photographed oysters on numerous occasions. And I must admit, they seem to be oddly difficult for me. But walking into the restaurant and seeing their beautiful white granite tables, I was really feeling the environment. It was perfect for these oysters and made for great photographs! Now, I can’t get enough and try to photograph oysters any chance I get!

restaurant dish photograph of Striped Sea Bass

Striped Sea Bass- Eggplant Terrine, Cous Cous, Apricots & Cilantro Chermoula

Millisime Chef Scott preparing Seafood “Bouillabaisse”

A small fun fact from this shoot. This was the last shot of the day at the restaurant and I made the chef pour it at a very very slow pace. I waited all day for it and it was worth it!

Restaurant photography of Nicoise Style Tuna

Nicoise Style Tuna- Chick pea Socca, Olives, Haricot Verts, & Lemon-Rosemary Viaigrette

Client: Millisime

Camera: Nikon d600

Lens: 50 mm f1.4

ISO 200, 1/200th second, f3

Lighting Equipment: 2 Nikon Speedlights, white foam core, 2 40″ Reflective Umbrella Softbox

Restaurant Photography in New York City