Family business group portraits
Dom's Creamery
Three people with coffee, branded ice cream cups and a food platter at an Avon creamery.
Explore the projectRestaurant atmosphere and portrait photography
Effies: restaurant atmosphere and environmental portrait photography
Restaurant photography that brings together the dining-room atmosphere and the people who give the space its character, from a wide table scene to a portrait of the owner.
Photographed for The West Hartford Book.
The assignment
Effies was part of our photography for the West Hartford Book. A restaurant is hard to capture in a single image, because its appeal is partly the room and partly the people in it. The two photographs here answer both: a dining scene that carries the atmosphere, and a portrait of the owner.
Orchestrating the table
We set up the table scene ourselves, then chose a wide lens so that more people, and more of the room, could fit in the frame. A wide lens takes in more of the surroundings, which is how one photograph can hold a server, several people at a table and the wall behind them.
What we wanted was not a stiff group looking at the camera. We encouraged everyone to act organically, to talk and react as they would at a meal, and we watched for good moments instead of asking for a pose. Along the way we gave small directions to keep the composition working without stopping the conversation. Light-touch direction like that keeps a scene feeling natural while still giving the picture a shape.
Sunlight from behind
We also used the sun as a natural backlight source for the Effies photographs. Light coming from behind a subject can outline people, set them apart from what is behind them and give a scene a sense of depth.
A tighter lens for the owner
For the portrait, the goal changed. A table scene benefits from a wide view; a portrait of the owner needs to flatter him. So we switched to a tighter lens. A tighter lens gives a narrower view with less of the surroundings, which allowed a more flattering portrait that puts the emphasis on the owner.
He stands in front of a wall of framed photographs, and the wall stays behind him as character rather than competition. The setting tells a viewer something about the place while he holds the attention.
The finished photographs
Together the pair shows two sides of the same restaurant. The wide dining scene carries the energy of the room, with people caught in natural moments around the table. The owner portrait is calmer and more personal, a face to go with the space. One photograph tells a viewer what the place feels like; the other tells them who is behind it.
Related services
- Restaurant and food photography
Photography of dining rooms, people and plates.
- Photography services
Every kind of photography Legend offers in Connecticut.
- Legend's work for The West Hartford Book
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Need photographs of your restaurant?
Tell us about the space and the people in it, and where the pictures will appear. We will talk through the plan with you.