Name: Mark Gilvey Creative, LLC
Price range: $$$

Who loves looking at photos of food?

High quality food photographs are essential if you run your own restaurant. Have you ever seen bad photos of food on a restaurant chain’s website, or in their marketing material? No, not ever! That’s because they know food photography is what gets people in the door.

Let’s say you are hungry for a thick juicy steak, crunchy vegetables, or steaming hot crusty bread. Each of those phrases made a picture in your mind, didn’t it? Now, as you do a search on the web, you’re going to want to see photos that match your thoughts, don’t you think? This is why quality food photography is so important. This guide explains the difference between the types of photographer you could choose.

What is a commercial photographer?

A commercial photographer primarily works business-to-business. If you have a business with a product or a service you want to sell, advertise, or market, “commercial photographer” or “commercial photographer near me” are the keyword phrases you want to search for. If that doesn’t give you a refined list, add the name of the nearest town or city to your queery.

Why is commercial photography important?

Commercial photography is designed to make you a profit. You go to a commercial photographer because you want to make your product or service appeal to your ideal customer. It also means you should expect professional results and a higher rate. If you are looking for something because it seems easy, you should try doing it yourself, or have the neighbor kid with a good camera photograph it and see what you get. It’s a great way to start because it’s budget-friendly, but that’s not what you go to a pro for.

Commercial product photography demands that your products are captured with detail front to back, they are color accurate, and six months down the road when you bring more products; they will look like they were photographed the same day as the first batch. Your staff is photographed in their environment doing what they love, and your services are shown in their best light. Your brick-and-mortar or facility will look impressive because a commercial photographer knows that details count.

Don’t confuse “commercial photography” with any other type of photography—it’s a very different thing.

You wouldn’t hire a commercial photographer to shoot a wedding even though her/she may photograph corporate events. Most likely, the business doesn’t have the infrastructure set up to offer all of the services that go with photographing a wedding—there are a lot of things that go into that kind of photography; respect! Vice-versa, if you’re going to be an excellent wedding photographer, you’re going to be too busy to be bothered with photographing products. Commercial product photographers are used to the technical challenges that products and services demand.

TIP: When reviewing a photographers website, make sure the photographer has a lot of the type of photography you need in their portfolio. If they don’t have that much, there is a good chance they don’t do it that often. That could translate into more expense for you because they may not be familliar with what you want or need.

WHY NOT DIY

Most everyone photographs their meals these days—or so it seems. The great thing about patrons posting photos of your food to social media is it gives you more exposure. The bad thing about patrons posting photos is they post their pictures to social media. How often have you seen a meal that looks dark, blurry, or too bright? Don’t get me wrong. I love seeing where people go to eat. That said, phone camera photos can do more harm to culinary artistry than anything else. It’s a little like a painter seeing pictures of their work on exhibition. It’s great for the recognition, but look at what the exposure did to the artwork—yikes!

Taking food photos yourself is more budget-friendly and you can use them in your marketing. Everyone has a pretty decent camera built into their phone, and it can produce some good images. But what if your customer photos look better than yours do—and they are using the same camera as you? You could ask them if you could use their photo in your marketing, but you’ll pay them something for the usage.

What if you get yourself a good camera? You will get a boost in image quality. But until you learn how to use your camera well, your phone is a simpler alternative. Until you know how to “photograph” you’ll be taking glorified phone photos.

CONSULT A RESTAURANT-FOOD PHOTOGRAPHER

A well-sculpted meal will look stunning. Your house drinks will glow with color and texture. You also get someone who knows how to make the interior of your restaurant look inviting. Talk to a professional restaurant photographer.

A professional photographer understands more than how to use a camera. They understand the most important element of food photography—how to light. They know how to bring out the texture, and the color of your cuisine. That makes me hungry!

CLOSING

You can do it yourself with your phone or a good camera. Sooner or later, you will begin to wonder why yours’ doesn’t look as good as other restaurants photos. Partnering with a professional food photographer (or restaurant photographer) is to your advantage. They are take mouth-watering photos that will make you, a profit.

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Find out how commercial photography by Mark Gilvey Creative can help your business.

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