London events
Restaurant opening photography in London
The room before service, then the opening night itself.
London events
The room before service, then the opening night itself.
The room before service, then the opening night itself.
| Restaurant opening photography | |
|---|---|
| How long | The empty room is photographed first, in the hour before guests arrive, because that is the set the restaurant will use all year. |
| Delivered | Interiors, food and drink, and the coverage of the night, delivered separately. |
| Price | Quoted per brief. Interiors and event coverage are often booked together. |
| Where | Soho, Shoreditch, Covent Garden |
The empty room is photographed first, in the hour before guests arrive, because that is the set the restaurant will use all year. The party is covered afterwards.
Interiors, food and drink, and the coverage of the night, delivered separately.
Quoted per brief. Interiors and event coverage are often booked together. The full list of services and published starting prices is on the services page.
Three locations that suit this kind of shoot, each with its own permission rules:
The full list is on London photoshoot locations, with the authority for each one.
Mariya's verdict. Book the location before the guests. Changing a date is easy, changing a permit is not.
The set a restaurant uses all year is the one shot before anybody sits down.
That hour is the most valuable of the booking, and it has to be protected from the florist, the sound check and the first guests.
Food is photographed as it leaves the pass, not after it has waited for the camera.
| When | What is photographed | Why it is placed there |
|---|---|---|
| Empty room | Interiors, tables laid, bar, details | The set used all year |
| Food and drink | As it leaves the pass | Not after it has waited for the camera |
| Team | Chef, front of house, portraits | Ten minutes, before service |
| Opening night | Guests, room full, atmosphere | Available light |
| Late | The bar, the detail, the quiet corner | Slower, looser frames |
The order matters more than the length. A shoot that starts in the wrong place never catches up.
An hour of the empty room, protected from the florist and the sound check.
A dish list with timings from the kitchen.
Who from the team should be photographed.
Where the images will run: menus, website, press or social.
Guests arriving during the interiors hour.
Food photographed after it has sat under a light.
No plan for the team portraits, which then never happen.
Dim lighting set for atmosphere before the interiors are shot.
Interiors, food and event coverage delivered as separate sets.
Crops for menus, website and press.
Usage rights agreed in the quote.
Next step
Send the date and the venue and I will quote it.
Send the date, location and what you need photographed.