Costa Mesa Food Photographer
From SoCo and The LAB to 17th Street and South Coast Plaza — menus, delivery-app photos and reels for Costa Mesa restaurants and food brands.
Orange County is home. I’ve been shooting food here for twenty years, for kitchens that range from a Disneyland dining room to a falafel counter — and none of them want the same light. I bring the lighting, work around live service, and shoot stills and vertical video in the same visit, so your menu, your website and your social all come out of one shoot.
Need a food stylist in Orange County? For restaurant shoots that don’t need a full stylist, I offer touch-up food styling at a reduced rate, with shot design, propping, surfaces and basic props from my own styling kit. When a dish needs to be built or cooked from a recipe, I bring in experienced food stylists I’ve worked with for over 10 years. See food styling →
From the blog: 20 years of food photography in Orange County.
Orange County food photography.
Restaurants, menus and reels.
Food photography and restaurant video for restaurants, cafes and food brands in Orange County. Flat rates from $495 with unlimited images, delivered in three business days.
Orange County is home
Twenty years of shooting food here.
On location in Orange County. I bring a full lighting setup to your restaurant, so there is nothing for you to move and no studio to book.
Photos and video, one visit. Still photos for menus and websites plus short vertical reels, captured on the same shoot day.
Unlimited images. Flat rates from $495 include every usable image from the shoot, delivered in three business days.
Hungry for better photos?
Tell me how many dishes and when you need them. I will come back with a straight number within one business day.
Food photography in Costa Mesa
Costa Mesa has one of the densest independent restaurant scenes in Orange County, from the SoCo Collection and The OC Mix to The LAB, The CAMP, 17th Street, Westside and the dining around South Coast Plaza. I shoot on location in all of it, with a mobile lighting setup that fits a counter-service spot as easily as a chef-driven dining room, and I cover menu, delivery-app, website and social formats in one visit.
What I shoot in Costa Mesa
Restaurant and menu photography, delivery-app photos for DoorDash and Uber Eats, lifestyle and dining-room photography, chef and owner portraits, cocktails and beverages, pastry and dessert, product and packaging, and restaurant video and reels. Orange County work includes Stag Bar in Newport Beach, Mizu Sushi, Tommy’s Burgers, Daphne’s, Slater’s 50/50, Hidden House Coffee, Milk and Cookies and Chef Cody Storts at Grits in Fullerton, plus national campaigns for Chipotle, Subway, Disney, Coca-Cola and Tyson Foods.
Areas I cover around Costa Mesa
SoCo Collection and The OC Mix, The LAB and The CAMP, 17th Street, Eastside and Westside Costa Mesa, South Coast Metro, Mesa Verde, Triangle Square and neighboring Newport Beach, Irvine, Santa Ana and Huntington Beach.
Rates, turnaround and booking
Flat rates start at $495 and include unlimited images with full commercial use. Photos are edited and delivered within three business days; video edits usually take about a week depending on the footage. Tell me how many dishes, where in Costa Mesa you are and roughly when you need them, and I will come back with a straight number within one business day.
Costa Mesa food photography questions
How much does a food photographer cost in Costa Mesa?
My flat rates start at $495 and are the same in Costa Mesa as everywhere else I shoot in Southern California, with no travel fee. Every rate includes unlimited images with full commercial use, delivered within three business days. Half-day and full-day rates cover a whole menu; hourly is available for smaller jobs. See food photography pricing.
Do you come to my restaurant in Costa Mesa?
Yes. I shoot on location at your restaurant, bar, bakery or kitchen with a full mobile lighting setup, so there is nothing to move and no studio to book. Shooting in your space is included in every rate and means the photos show your real plates, surfaces and dining room.
Which areas of Costa Mesa do you cover?
SoCo Collection and The OC Mix, The LAB and The CAMP, 17th Street, Eastside and Westside Costa Mesa, South Coast Metro, Mesa Verde, Triangle Square and neighboring Newport Beach, Irvine, Santa Ana and Huntington Beach. All at the same rate with no travel fee.
Do we have to close the restaurant for the shoot?
No. Most Costa Mesa shoots happen between lunch and dinner service or on a slow morning, working from a corner table or the bar with a compact lighting footprint. If you would rather shoot when the room is empty, that works too.
Can I use the images on DoorDash, Uber Eats and my website?
Yes. Every image includes full commercial use with no licensing tiers, so the same set works on DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub, your website, printed menus, Google Business Profile and social media. I shoot delivery-app framing on the same visit. See menu photography.
Do you shoot restaurant video and reels in Costa Mesa?
Yes. Restaurant video and vertical reels for Instagram and TikTok are shot across Costa Mesa and the rest of Orange County, usually on the same day as photography for one discounted rate. See restaurant video production.
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