As a wedding photographer and a food photographer I just love it when a venue serves good looking food. Often at a wedding the cuisine served at a wedding looks boring. However, some South Florida wedding venues go way out of their way to serve cuisine that looks as good a the wedding decor or the hotel decor. Wedding venues such as the Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne, or the Ritz-Carlton Fort Lauderdale or the Eau Palm Beach and many other high-end luxury venues will serve food that looks amazing. Then there are venues that serve food that may not look that god but sure tastes great. In this case I try to use lighting that brings out the tasty element of the food. This is not so easy when you are running around at a wedding reception. Unless I have been hired to specifically shoot the food I make it a point to spend as little time shooting the food as possible. Taking great food shots during a wedding is something that needs to be done quickly because taking too long could very well mean interfering with the wait staff or other wedding events. During the food service the hotel staff is very busy running around doing their best to get the cuisine on the tables while it's still hot. This means that I may only get a few seconds to get a couple nice shots.
I guess it depends on who you ask. I know that some South Florida luxury weddings include a special food tasting meeting which takes place during the planning sessions. Given that venues, and event planners and brides care so much about the food I would think that getting a good food shot has some meaning. In the case with my wedding when looking at the pictures I'm glad that I have a photo showing what was served.
Whenever I get hired to photograph food for a restaurant or a wedding venue I get to spend lots of time working with the food. In addition I often get to work with a food stylist who makes sure the food looks awesome and fresh. However, shooting food in the middle of a wedding is a completely different story. The art of making food look good requires a unique type of lighting. The lighting for food needs to both soft and sharp at the same time. This means the food needs to be entirely lit evenly with highlights in specific places. This is a real challenge when working fast in a wedding situation.
Location: 3030 Holiday Dr, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316.
