When the food company I work for assigns me restaurants here are the top three types that I dislike (shooting, not eating):
1. Mediterranean: Kabob dishes are tasty but uninteresting to look at and usually sided with not so good looking side dishes when viewed close up (couscous, rice, etc). Their steak stuff is usually pretty charred (dark) so when coupled with bright sides (veggies, etc) it’s hard to light well. Falafel balls always look like little turds. Enough said.
2. Cheap Italian: I’ve shot a dozen cheap pizza places and I still don’t think I take good photos of slices (deep dish especially). Most dishes with tomato sauce go overboard and everything just ends up looking greasy. Too much sauce of any kind or cheese or dressing just ends up messy and unappetizing.
3. Catering/Take-out only: These places usually don’t care about presentation and are usually super cheap and stingy. They usually don’t have any kind of table dressing (nice napkins, silverware) and real plates so I have to make do with paper/plastic. I could compile a list of some awful, awful stories I’ve had shooting some of these places in Chicago that would scare you into never eating at any again (pouring soup back into the pot after I’m done, throwing stuff back into the deep fryer after I’ve touched/shot it, selling entire dishes/platters to customers after I’m done with them, etc). Ugh.
I tend to like upscale chains because the owners aren’t usually there asking me for ridiculous demands. If your food looks crappy, there’s only so much me and my stylist can do to fix it up. I’m not a miracle worker!
Source: franklieu
