Chefs, bartenders, bakers, owners and whole teams — photographed in their own kitchens and dining rooms across Orange County, Los Angeles and San Diego.
Portrait Photography
People behind the food.
Show them who’s making their taste buds go crazy.
Chefs, bartenders, bakers, owners and whole teams, photographed in their own kitchens and dining rooms. Portraits that tell guests who is cooking for them.
Portraits
The people make the place.
Shot on location. I bring the lights to your kitchen, bar or dining room, so portraits feel real and connected to your space.
Relaxed, not stiff. Most chefs would rather be cooking. I keep shoots quick and easy, so personality comes through naturally.
For press and your website. Headshots, team photos and environmental portraits ready for your About page, press kits and social media.
Meet the chef.
Guests love knowing who is behind the food. A great portrait builds trust before anyone takes a bite.
Chef and team portraits
I'm Alan De Herrera. Alongside the food I photograph the people who make it — chefs, bartenders, bakers, owners, and the front and back of house together — for restaurants and food brands across Orange County, Los Angeles, San Diego and Riverside.
A portrait is the one image on your website that is not about the food. It is what makes a room feel like somebody’s room rather than a menu with tables.
How I shoot them
In your room, not in a studio
Almost nobody who cooks for a living enjoys being photographed, so I keep it short and I keep it in a place they know. Your pass, your bar, your dining room at four in the afternoon. I light it so the room still looks like itself, and most people are done in ten or fifteen minutes.
I shoot a clean, straight headshot that works for press and for a bio line, and then some looser frames of people actually working — plating, pouring, expediting — because those are the ones that end up on the website.
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If we are already shooting your menu that day, portraits slot into the gaps, usually while a dish is being re-fired. That is the cheapest way to get them, because the lighting is already up.
For a full team I work through people in small groups so nobody is standing around, and I shoot both a vertical crop for social and a horizontal crop for your website header from the same setup.
What it costs
Usually part of a shoot day
Portraits are most often added to a food shoot rather than booked on their own, and flat rates start at $495. Every usable frame is yours with no per-image fees and no licensing tiers, edited and delivered within three business days.
Standalone portrait sessions are fine too — a chef announcement, a new GM, a press request, a cookbook author photo.
Chef and team portrait questions
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Flat rates start at $495 and include unlimited images, editing and delivery within three business days. Portraits added to a food shoot you have already booked cost less, because the lighting is already up and it is usually an extra twenty minutes rather than an extra day.
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Yes, nearly always. Your kitchen, your pass and your dining room give a portrait somewhere real to live, and people are far more relaxed in a room they know. I bring all the lighting, so a dark back corner is not a problem.
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Ten to fifteen minutes per person once the light is set. A full front and back of house team usually takes an hour or two, worked through in small groups so nobody is standing around waiting.
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Yes. I shoot a consistent, straight headshot for everyone so the set looks like it belongs together on one page, plus looser working shots of the people whose roles suit them.
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Yes. Every portrait is delivered in a vertical crop for social and press and a horizontal crop for website headers, from the same frame.
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Clean whites or your normal uniform. Real work clothes photograph better than something bought for the day, and a fresh apron does more than any amount of retouching.
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Yes, and often I would rather. Real service gives real expressions. It is slower than a quiet room, so I plan for that and stay out of the way of the pass.
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Standard editing includes color, contrast and the obvious distractions. I do not reshape faces. If you need heavier retouching for a press or book use, say so and I will handle it.
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Orange County, Los Angeles, San Diego, Riverside, Corona, San Bernardino and Palm Springs, and I travel beyond Southern California for brand work.
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