Food Photography | Waterstreet Oyster Bar Desserts
Ask almost anyone who has lived in or visited Corpus Christi over the past 30 years about Water Street and they are sure to ask if you’re talking about the restaurant. One of Corpus Christi’s great classic family owned restaurants, the Lomax tradition continues with Richard at the helm. Although the spaces have been changed throughout the years, one thing is for certain - the south Texas seafood tradition continues within Waterstreet Oyster Bar.
In an effort to create a marketing library of food photography, the marketing director for the restaurant was interested in scheduling a session where we could photograph the most popular menu items, from appetizers to drinks to entrees to desserts. For the main dishes we took over a table in the dining room between the lunch and dinner rush, but for the desserts, we decided on a little different look; a look that wasn’t as warm as the dishes we were photographing.
The oyster bar within the restaurant featured a very nice marble-like surface that we complemented with a warm wood background to help the details stand out. We also wanted the shots to let the desserts stand on their own with what I call “perfect chaos” styling - a method where I like for food to appear as it would to everyone who walks through the door. The setup was simple - a single key light with a 43” Reflective umbrella-softbox and a Godox AD200 with a rectangular speedlight head. Fill was provided by white foam core bounce. Everything was shot using my Canon 6Dii and my standard food photography lens, the Canon EF 100/2.8L Macro
Although the project was about capturing simple hero shots for each dessert, I can’t ever resist getting close - sometimes too close - to get all those delicious details and textures. Again, we’re creating content photography for social media posts and you never know when “National Vanilla Ice Cream Day” or “Strawberry Day” or “Chocolate Brownie Day” is coming up and you just have to make a post celebrating it.
By the way, National Vanilla Ice Cream Day is July 23rd, National Strawberry Day is February 27th, and National Chocolate Brownie Day is December 8th. Go find some more food holidays for your social media. When you’re ready to showcase your restaurant’s creations, I’d love to schedule some time to talk food photography with you. It’s more affordable than you think.