New Breakfast Photos!

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Don Draper

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Ok gang, let 'er rip! We are finished with the primary photography today and I would love to hear your feedback. If anyone has any questions as to how the process went please don't hesitate to ask.
Our "theme" at our inn is simple and hearty country cooking....sort of like we'll never make you eat something you can't pronounce. We get a lot of first timers and many are nervous about what to expect for breakfast so we wanted to make it very clear. These photos are strictly for the food, we have a different photographer who does great room photos and we show the overall dining space in different photos.
My very favorite part of the entire process? All of us sitting down to eat the props when we were finished! I was prepared with hairspray, glycerin, etc. but these foods were not altered at ALL...we prepared several sample breakfasts just like we would for our guests, and the photographer used lighting to heighten different aspects...it was really amazing to watch him work. We got to help a lot with the "staging" and I enjoyed that, it was just a matter of using what we had on hand. It was a long day but well worth the effort. Thanks for your feedback.
 
WELL DONE!!! Regular hearty and delicious breakfasts - makes my mouth water.
 
Beautiful pictures. Great job.
My one recommendation is to skip the picture of the frying bacon. It'll raise a few eyebrows of the health conscious and some may even find it off-putting. It stands out too much from the other gorgeous pictures of the finished product.
 
EGGGGcellent! That one of the french toast with the syrup pouring is fantastic! How many takes?
The first one looks yummy, but I am not sure what I am looking at on the right. I assume..eggs?
All in all they are very artistic and make me hungry, and I don't even like breakfast that much.
 
EGGGGcellent! That one of the french toast with the syrup pouring is fantastic! How many takes?
The first one looks yummy, but I am not sure what I am looking at on the right. I assume..eggs?
All in all they are very artistic and make me hungry, and I don't even like breakfast that much..
aieechihuahua said:
The first one looks yummy, but I am not sure what I am looking at on the right. I assume..eggs?
Yes, Southern Living's sausage, egg and cheese casserole. I am going to label each photo so it'll be clear.
Oh, and the syrup pour shot...one take! We did it last, I made my hubs do the pouring because I was too nervous. He practiced the "height" of the pitcher a few times, he wanted to get a good thick pour. The photog did a setting that took 3 pics/second...it was hilarious to scroll through them on the laptop, it looked like one of those books you flip through to watch a sequence of events...it was even funnier in reverse!
 
Beautiful pictures. Great job.
My one recommendation is to skip the picture of the frying bacon. It'll raise a few eyebrows of the health conscious and some may even find it off-putting. It stands out too much from the other gorgeous pictures of the finished product..
TLE041 said:
My one recommendation is to skip the picture of the frying bacon. It'll raise a few eyebrows of the health conscious and some may even find it off-putting. It stands out too much from the other gorgeous pictures of the finished product.
Thanks for your feedback. I agree it looks a lot different from the other pics. It was done in a cast iron frying pan which I wanted to emphasize, but we might have just not gotten a wide enough angle to have enough color contrast.
I am not worried about off-putting anyone though, that was kind of my point in changing the whole breakfast page. These are the foods we cook and serve for breakfast, they are the foods our area is famous for, and what you can expect to eat when you are here. I want to be clear that we are not a restaurant and can not cater to special needs with our hot breakfast (we do have cereal and oatmeal available for anyone who'd like them). I know it will seem "unhospitable" to some here, but this is the reality of our b&b and what we can do and I want it to be clear to all potential guests.
 
I like the first one & the French Toast with the syrup. Yum, yum, yum.....
I like your fruit garnish on the plates, too.
 
EGGGGcellent! That one of the french toast with the syrup pouring is fantastic! How many takes?
The first one looks yummy, but I am not sure what I am looking at on the right. I assume..eggs?
All in all they are very artistic and make me hungry, and I don't even like breakfast that much..
aieechihuahua said:
The first one looks yummy, but I am not sure what I am looking at on the right. I assume..eggs?
Yes, Southern Living's sausage, egg and cheese casserole. I am going to label each photo so it'll be clear.
Oh, and the syrup pour shot...one take! We did it last, I made my hubs do the pouring because I was too nervous. He practiced the "height" of the pitcher a few times, he wanted to get a good thick pour. The photog did a setting that took 3 pics/second...it was hilarious to scroll through them on the laptop, it looked like one of those books you flip through to watch a sequence of events...it was even funnier in reverse!
.
I worked in an ad agency. The hardest thing we ever did was photography of food. You did a superb job.
 
Well done! Everything looks fresh and delicious. My favorites are the muffins and eggs and the fresh fruit and the first one. Actually I like them all except for the bacon shot.
 
Forgot to share, another nifty trick. If you want steam coming out of a mug (when you pour coffee or tea it doesn't steam for very long and you might not get the pic in time), soak two cotton balls in water and put them in the bottom of the mug. Microwave for 1 minute and it will steam for a long time.
 
Beautiful pictures. Great job.
My one recommendation is to skip the picture of the frying bacon. It'll raise a few eyebrows of the health conscious and some may even find it off-putting. It stands out too much from the other gorgeous pictures of the finished product..
TLE041 said:
My one recommendation is to skip the picture of the frying bacon. It'll raise a few eyebrows of the health conscious and some may even find it off-putting. It stands out too much from the other gorgeous pictures of the finished product.
Thanks for your feedback. I agree it looks a lot different from the other pics. It was done in a cast iron frying pan which I wanted to emphasize, but we might have just not gotten a wide enough angle to have enough color contrast.
I am not worried about off-putting anyone though, that was kind of my point in changing the whole breakfast page. These are the foods we cook and serve for breakfast, they are the foods our area is famous for, and what you can expect to eat when you are here. I want to be clear that we are not a restaurant and can not cater to special needs with our hot breakfast (we do have cereal and oatmeal available for anyone who'd like them). I know it will seem "unhospitable" to some here, but this is the reality of our b&b and what we can do and I want it to be clear to all potential guests.
.
InnsiderInfo said:
I want to be clear that we are not a restaurant and can not cater to special needs with our hot breakfast (we do have cereal and oatmeal available for anyone who'd like them). I know it will seem "unhospitable" to some here, but this is the reality of our b&b and what we can do and I want it to be clear to all potential guests.
If you make your text on your breakfast page clear that you are not able to accommodate special diets, then there's nothing "unhospitable" about that. They can make the choice to go somewhere else.
cheers.gif

 
Beautiful pictures. Great job.
My one recommendation is to skip the picture of the frying bacon. It'll raise a few eyebrows of the health conscious and some may even find it off-putting. It stands out too much from the other gorgeous pictures of the finished product..
TLE041 said:
My one recommendation is to skip the picture of the frying bacon. It'll raise a few eyebrows of the health conscious and some may even find it off-putting. It stands out too much from the other gorgeous pictures of the finished product.
Thanks for your feedback. I agree it looks a lot different from the other pics. It was done in a cast iron frying pan which I wanted to emphasize, but we might have just not gotten a wide enough angle to have enough color contrast.
I am not worried about off-putting anyone though, that was kind of my point in changing the whole breakfast page. These are the foods we cook and serve for breakfast, they are the foods our area is famous for, and what you can expect to eat when you are here. I want to be clear that we are not a restaurant and can not cater to special needs with our hot breakfast (we do have cereal and oatmeal available for anyone who'd like them). I know it will seem "unhospitable" to some here, but this is the reality of our b&b and what we can do and I want it to be clear to all potential guests.
.
InnsiderInfo said:
I want to be clear that we are not a restaurant and can not cater to special needs with our hot breakfast (we do have cereal and oatmeal available for anyone who'd like them). I know it will seem "unhospitable" to some here, but this is the reality of our b&b and what we can do and I want it to be clear to all potential guests.
If you make your text on your breakfast page clear that you are not able to accommodate special diets, then there's nothing "unhospitable" about that. They can make the choice to go somewhere else.
cheers.gif

.
Breakfast Diva said:
If you make your text on your breakfast page clear that you are not able to accommodate special diets, then there's nothing "unhospitable" about that. They can make the choice to go somewhere else.
cheers.gif
Thanks! That is what I am really trying to do, be as clear as possible. It's not that I'm not willing/able to make modifications as necessary (veggie, gluten free, etc.) but it's become almost ridiculous with people, they seem to think they are sitting down at a diner, like "Where's the menu?". It'd be one thing if we only had a few people, but trying to serve 18 people all something different, it just stresses me out too much.
I really agree with the sentiment that if they don't think they like what we'll be serving they should either plan their own alternative or stay elsewhere. I'm hoping that by being clear we can also cut down on some of the waste...it's amazing that people think we go prepare their breakfast when they sit down...I'm trying to make them realize how much work is involved and how far in advance we plan.
 
Beautiful pictures. Great job.
My one recommendation is to skip the picture of the frying bacon. It'll raise a few eyebrows of the health conscious and some may even find it off-putting. It stands out too much from the other gorgeous pictures of the finished product..
TLE041 said:
My one recommendation is to skip the picture of the frying bacon. It'll raise a few eyebrows of the health conscious and some may even find it off-putting. It stands out too much from the other gorgeous pictures of the finished product.
Thanks for your feedback. I agree it looks a lot different from the other pics. It was done in a cast iron frying pan which I wanted to emphasize, but we might have just not gotten a wide enough angle to have enough color contrast.
I am not worried about off-putting anyone though, that was kind of my point in changing the whole breakfast page. These are the foods we cook and serve for breakfast, they are the foods our area is famous for, and what you can expect to eat when you are here. I want to be clear that we are not a restaurant and can not cater to special needs with our hot breakfast (we do have cereal and oatmeal available for anyone who'd like them). I know it will seem "unhospitable" to some here, but this is the reality of our b&b and what we can do and I want it to be clear to all potential guests.
.
InnsiderInfo said:
I want to be clear that we are not a restaurant and can not cater to special needs with our hot breakfast (we do have cereal and oatmeal available for anyone who'd like them). I know it will seem "unhospitable" to some here, but this is the reality of our b&b and what we can do and I want it to be clear to all potential guests.
If you make your text on your breakfast page clear that you are not able to accommodate special diets, then there's nothing "unhospitable" about that. They can make the choice to go somewhere else.
cheers.gif

.
Breakfast Diva said:
If you make your text on your breakfast page clear that you are not able to accommodate special diets, then there's nothing "unhospitable" about that. They can make the choice to go somewhere else.
cheers.gif
Thanks! That is what I am really trying to do, be as clear as possible. It's not that I'm not willing/able to make modifications as necessary (veggie, gluten free, etc.) but it's become almost ridiculous with people, they seem to think they are sitting down at a diner, like "Where's the menu?". It'd be one thing if we only had a few people, but trying to serve 18 people all something different, it just stresses me out too much.
I really agree with the sentiment that if they don't think they like what we'll be serving they should either plan their own alternative or stay elsewhere. I'm hoping that by being clear we can also cut down on some of the waste...it's amazing that people think we go prepare their breakfast when they sit down...I'm trying to make them realize how much work is involved and how far in advance we plan.
.
Yes this is a tough one. Especially when you have 9 rooms!
I would make it clear on your web site by saying something like this:
"The the breakfast is the "COOKS CHOICE" and though we try our best to accomodate special dietary needs, if arrangements are made in advance with the reservation, we do not offer "made to order" breakfasts. If you are unable to eat our served breakfast, there is toast, dry cereal etc available for you."
People need to realize you are not a restaurant so make it very clear. I don't know why they expect us to bend over backwards for their breakfast..it is complimentary:) Would they complain to the hotel /motel serving them a free continental breakfast???? If they did, they would tell them..sorry this is what we serve..take it or leave it.
 
Wonderful pics...can I ask...what type of camera did he use? Did he have the special lighting things...whatever they call them???
 
Wonderful pics...can I ask...what type of camera did he use? Did he have the special lighting things...whatever they call them???.
catlady said:
Wonderful pics...can I ask...what type of camera did he use? Did he have the special lighting things...whatever they call them???
This is all mostly Greek to me, but I know the camera was digital, he said it was SLR and he did have a special lens and he was able to change settings as he needed to. He had really nice lights that used the new high efficiency flourescent bulbs so they did not get hot which was really beneficial, working with food. I think he said they were continuous versus strobe type lights.
When we were first shooting in the morning he was also using white boards to help deflect any glare from the natural sunlight. The lights (he had two) were each on their own stand which was height adjustable, and each light had 5 bulbs that turned on/off independently so you could control the amount of light.
For editing he did some minor cropping and color balancing and that was it, i was surprised by how quickly he gave me the finished product.
 
You might want to remove them from this website or add a watermark to them so noone borrows them. Just to be safe Innsider.
 
You might want to remove them from this website or add a watermark to them so noone borrows them. Just to be safe Innsider..
Joe Bloggs said:
You might want to remove them from this website or add a watermark to them so noone borrows them. Just to be safe Innsider.
Thanks Joe, I will probably just take them down.
Mike is the name of the photographer here, he is just starting to build his portfolio so if anyone on the east coast is looking for food pics send me an email and I can put you in touch with him. We were blessed to have this done gratis but I think as he is just starting out his prices would be reasonable.
 
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