How I photograph Chef Florent and Amelia Marneau's French restaurant in Newport Beach for AAA Westways and the restaurant's own menu, website and social channels.
Who they are
Marché Moderne is Chef Florent Marneau and Amelia Marneau's modern French restaurant in Newport Beach, one of the most respected kitchens in Orange County. I have photographed the restaurant for AAA Westways magazine and for the restaurant's own use, and it is the kind of client that shows what a long-running photography relationship looks like: the same lighting language carried across magazine features, menu updates and social posts, so the brand reads consistently wherever a guest sees it.
What we shot
French plating rewards restraint. The food at Marché Moderne is composed and precise, so the photography has to be too: clean light, true color on sauces and reductions, and enough depth to show the layers in a terrine or a tart without turning it into a product shot. On a typical visit we cover a run of current dishes for the menu and website, a few wider lifestyle frames of the dining room and bar, and tighter editorial frames when a magazine has asked for a feature on a specific dish or on the chefs.
How a shoot like this runs
Everything is shot on location in the restaurant, usually in the quiet window between lunch and dinner service. I bring a mobile lighting setup, surfaces and a small styling kit, and I work in the order the kitchen can plate. A dish comes out, I style and light it on the spot, and the chef sees the frame before we move on. A half day covers roughly 12 to 20 dishes and drinks. Edited photos are delivered within three business days, and the restaurant owns unlimited use of the images with no per-image fees.
Why it matters for other Newport Beach restaurants
The same approach works for any restaurant in Newport Beach, Corona del Mar or Balboa Island that needs menu, website, delivery-app and social images from one visit. If you want to see more of the restaurants I have photographed in the area, the Newport Beach food photographer page lists them, and the brands and publications page covers the magazines this work has appeared in.
Questions about this kind of shoot
How much does a restaurant shoot in Newport Beach cost?
Flat rates start at $495 and include unlimited images from the shoot. Most Newport Beach menu shoots run a half day; hourly is available for a handful of dishes, and video and reels start at $695.
Do you photograph in the restaurant or in a studio?
On location, in the restaurant. The dining room, the bar and the natural light of the space are part of the story, and the kitchen can plate at its own pace.
Can the same photos be used for magazines, menus and Instagram?
Yes. I shoot with print, web and vertical social crops in mind during the same session, so one shoot day covers the magazine feature, the menu, the website and the reels.
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