Food Photographer in New York City

I photograph dishes and drinks for restaurants, cafes and food brands across New York, and I style every plate on set together with the chef. My clients report the photographed dishes selling 63 to 78 percent better and the average check rising by 27 to 36 percent.

Tim's Kitchen, Hong Kong
Whole dorada with citrus
Yan Toh Heen, Hong Kong

Recent work

Tomahawk steak on a grill over glowing coals
Rustic bread loaves on a wooden board
Flour falling onto a pastry board in low light
Hands shaping tortellini with flour and eggs, top view
Brushing glaze onto pastries in a baking tray
Pizza with dough, tomatoes and flour on a dark table
Soups and bread on a dark table, top view
Mussels in a pan with lime and spices
Tempura roll for a delivery menu
Chef slicing tuna on a wooden board
Three nigiri on a black slate
Tuna nigiri on a stone plate
Chef preparing fish at a wooden counter
Sea urchin in a black bowl
Tim's Kitchen, Hong Kong
Foie gras with cherry
Burrata with mussels and tomatoes
Whole dorada with citrus
Octopus salad with potatoes on a white plate
Pork belly with walnuts, plated for a restaurant menu
Yan Toh Heen, Hong Kong
Chef in a white jacket at a table with a glass of wine
Dessert with blueberries and meringue on a dark plate
Guest eating an oyster at a set table

What a photograph does to a restaurant's numbers

63–78%

more sales of the photographed dish

27–36%

higher average check once photographs are in the menu

12%

growth of the business as a whole

As reported by clients, from their own sales reports.

What two restaurants reported after the shoot

+27%

You requested analytics about dishes with photos you took. Last month, we sold out 27% more than before. Thank you for a good job, Alex!

Pino Lavarra
Chef, Tosca, Hong Kong
70 / 30

Alex, thank you so much for your work. If we compare the reports from our last shoot with the same period the previous year, the sales of the dishes we photographed increased. The percentage ratio is 70/30

Natali Diordienko
Director, Top Cafe, Odesa

Each use needs its own kind of photograph

How I work with your kitchen

Food styling is part of the shoot

I choose the props and backgrounds myself and correct each plate together with your chef while the light is still set. Your chef knows what the dish should be, and I know what the camera does to it, so the plate on the page stays true to the one on the pass.

Shot where the food is cooked

Food carried across town to a studio wilts and changes on the way, so I bring the lighting, backgrounds and props to you, whether you are in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Jersey City or Hoboken. Before each dish comes out I set the light on an empty plate from the same set, then swap it for the full one and shoot straight away. The food reaches the camera in seconds and looks the way a guest receives it.

Only dishes your kitchen can repeat

A photograph your line cannot reproduce on a busy Friday turns into a complaint at table nine. I shoot the dish your kitchen actually sends out, at its best, and I will tell you when a plate looks better on the pass than it ever will on the page.

A concept comes before the camera

Before the shoot I read your Instagram and your Google reviews, and when I can I spend an hour in the room watching who your guests are. The visual concept follows from that, so the same salad is photographed one way for a neighborhood bistro and another way for a tasting menu.

Real food, and AI only around it

We photograph real food. AI never draws your dishes. AI only helps around the shoot, with moodboards before it and extra formats or background variations after it.

How a shoot runs

  1. 01

    The call

    We talk about your room, your guests and your menu, by phone or in the restaurant. I tell you honestly which dishes will photograph well and which are better left as text.

  2. 02

    The plan

    You receive a written plan with the dishes, the cooking order, the props and the number of shoot days. You approve it before anyone lights a stove.

  3. 03

    Shoot day

    We work before service in a corner of about ten by ten feet, with your chef cooking and me styling and shooting.

  4. 04

    Approval on set

    Each frame goes onto the screen while the dish is still on the table, and we change it there until you approve it. In twenty years no client has asked me for a reshoot.

  5. 05

    Delivery

    Retouched files arrive within two weeks, in versions for print, the website, delivery apps and social media, named so your designer finds what they need.

Kitchens and brands I have photographed for

Michelin-starred kitchens
Yuu, Brooklyn Sushi Amane, New York Icca, New York ABaC, Barcelona Horváth, Berlin Nobelhart & Schmutzig, Berlin Hisop, Barcelona Caelis, Barcelona Trussardi alla Scala, Milan Le Bateau Ivre, Bordeaux Filetstück, Berlin 8½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana, Hong Kong Sushi Shikon, Hong Kong Bo Innovation, Hong Kong Tosca, Hong Kong
Food and drink brands
Jack Daniel's The Singleton Ardbeg Jameson Big Green Egg Broil King BergHoff Readdle Ukraine International Airlines Shabo Cococubes

Tell me about your menu

Send the number of dishes, the kind of room and the date you need the photographs. I quote by the shoot day and send a written estimate within 24 hours.

How much does food photography cost in NYC?
It depends on how many dishes, how many locations and where the photographs will run, and I price it by the full or half shoot day. I would rather give you a real number than a range, so tell me the size of your menu below.
How many dishes can you shoot in a day?
That depends on the plating and on your kitchen, so we count shoot days from the number of dishes on your menu. With the light set before the plates arrive, a kitchen and I once photographed 106 dishes in one day.
Do I need to hire a food stylist as well?
There is no need for a separate stylist, because I style on set myself together with your chef, and you pay for one person instead of two.
Do you photograph packaged food and drinks for brands?
Yes, from packshots and packaging mockups to sell sheets and campaign images, planned around where each image has to sell. The details are on the product photography page.
Can the photos go on Uber Eats, DoorDash and Google Maps?
Each platform gets its own crop from the same shoot. The restaurant photography page explains how those sets are planned.
How can we use the photographs?
The usage license is a separate line in the estimate, next to the shoot day: which channels, for how long and in which territory. I keep the right to show the work in my portfolio, and if your dishes are confidential we agree on that in writing beforehand.
Do you shoot video as well?
Short vertical clips of pouring, cutting and plating are filmed on the same set during the photo shoot, with no extra preparation for your kitchen.
or message me directly