When looking to harness your photography hobby as a means of earning money, consider starting out by offering your services to restaurant owners. Now more than ever, entrepreneurs in the food and beverage sector are in need of professionally taken photographs but constrained to work on a tight budget.
Although many restaurant owners will consider engaging the services of startup restaurant photographers, because they tend to offer lower rates, it would help if you belong to a photography organization. Potential customers would likely receive advice about choosing photographers who have an affiliation. Hiring someone who knows and follows the standards and code of ethics can somehow lessen possible risks of a bad or poor engagement.
You also need to show samples of your work in your website and in your physical photography portfolio. Since you will be targeting players in the food and beverage field, make sure your website is full of photographs that will likely capture the interests of the audience you want to reach.
Suggestions on What to Present as Examples of Your Restaurant Photography Business
The hard part of being new to the business is in convincing potential customers that you can deliver what they have in mind for their food and beverage business. On the other hand, many would also take interest in seeing examples of your creativity, and ability to come up with out-of-the box ideas on how to make their food and place attractive to customers.
Have photos of food that people usually order in popular and specialty restaurants.However, since you have to present them in the best lighting conditions and settings, you could ask someone to prepare copycats of the dishes you intend to present. Research about food styling tips so you can capture food images in the most appetizing ways.
Have images of food often ordered as takeouts or for delivery. Keep in mind that nowadays, many prefer eating in the safety of their home. That is why restaurant owners would need photos of food they offer for delivery, to showcase in their website.
Take photos of happy diners, but be sure to ask their permission first. Although restaurants are public places, people dining-in tend to value their privacy and might not take well to being photographed by somebody they do not know. That being the case, it would be best for you to take pictures of your friends or your family, as they will gladly pose and smile for you.
However, you have to stay relevant now that there are certain dining-in restrictions and safety protocols that food businesses must observe. Every customer will be seated in tables spaced six feet apart, which makes the idea of group dine-ins impractical for most customers. Even so, customers who look satisfied dining onsite while alone are still excellent subjects for promotional restaurant photographs.
Stay as Unobtrusive as Possible When Shooting Sample Photos in Public Places
Photoseminars.com, the sponsor of this guest blog, would like to leave a reminder to readers that when shooting photographs at restaurants, stay as unobtrusive as possible. Moreover, it would be best to check first, if the restaurant does not allow unauthorized individuals to take photos of their business site, mainly for security purposes.
We also recommend considering the use of mirrorless cameras, since those are the no-fuss, no-complicated-mechanism type of cameras. It’s excellent for unobtrusive photo-shooting because instead of mirrors, they have electronic viewfinders that work like a mini-LCD screen. Contrary to what many think, mirrorless models are inexpensive and at the same efficient. When seeking for more information about mirrorless cameras, use search words top mirrorless cameras for $500 in the market.