How years of photography for Selanne Steak Tavern in Laguna Beach produced menu and cocktail images, a Laguna Beach Magazine cover and a culinary documentary short.
Who they are
Selanne Steak Tavern is the Laguna Beach steakhouse co-owned by Teemu Selanne, with Chef Josh Severson running the kitchen. I have photographed the restaurant since it opened, and the work has ranged from menu and cocktail photography to a Laguna Beach Magazine cover and a short culinary documentary filmed in the kitchen.
Photographing a steakhouse
Steak is the hardest easy subject in food photography. A dark crust on a dark plate in a dark room disappears unless the light is shaped carefully, so I work with a hard key light to pick up the sear and a controlled fill to keep the room and the wood in the frame. Cocktails at the bar, the pastry program and the chef's seasonal dishes round out a typical visit, and the restaurant's dining rooms and patio give the lifestyle frames a sense of place that Laguna Beach guests expect.
From a menu shoot to a magazine cover
Because the same lighting approach carried across years of shoots, when Laguna Beach Magazine wanted a cover and feature on the restaurant the images were already consistent with everything the restaurant had been posting. The culinary documentary short came out of the same relationship, following Chef Severson through a service so the restaurant had a long-form piece for its website alongside the shorter reels for Instagram.
Laguna Beach restaurants
If you run a restaurant, bar or resort dining room in Laguna Beach, Dana Point or Laguna Niguel, the Laguna Beach food photographer page lists the other kitchens I have photographed on the coast, and the restaurant video page shows how the documentary and reel work is produced.
Questions about this kind of shoot
How do you photograph steak so the sear shows?
With a hard, directional key light raking across the crust and a soft fill from the opposite side. The angle of the light matters more than the camera, and I shoot the steak within a minute of it resting and slicing.
Can you produce a short documentary film for my restaurant as well as photos?
Yes. Documentary shorts, brand films and vertical reels are all produced in-house. A short film is usually shot over one service and delivered within a few weeks; reels are delivered with the photos.
How much does a steakhouse photo shoot cost?
Flat rates start at $495 and include unlimited images. A full steakhouse menu with bar and pastry usually runs a full day; video and reels start at $695, and photo plus video is quoted as one flat rate.
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