The Restaurant

Marcus Geezer

Marcus Geezer

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Marcus
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Asked to take some promo shots for a very soon to open restaurant, but on arrival the place is still just in the final finishing stage of building and prep, with all the chairs and tables stacked up, nothing properly cleaned up yet, cutlery and plates in boxes etc. So an hour and a half later after moving furniture around, cleaning, setting up, getting the owner to go and shower/change/shave etc, and here we are. Who said photography was just about taking pictures!

Subject lit with 580EXII in a brolly box and a 430Ex in a brolly for fill. Back illuminated with a naked 430EX on the floor with some blue gels. Canon 5D classic with Canon 24-70 F2.8L. Fired using RF602 triggers.

C&C very welcome.

1.

Grill 1 by Marcus Charter, on Flickr

2.

Grill 2 by Marcus Charter, on Flickr

3.

Grill 3 by Marcus Charter, on Flickr

4.

Grill 4 by Marcus Charter, on Flickr
 
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I like these as promo shots for the owner but not necessarily for the restaurant.

Exposure and colours look great.
 
Thanks Tom. Believe me when I say there wasnt anything else to take. The intent was to take shots of cooked plates of food, the owner, the staff, the interior, etc, but with no gas, no staff, minimal complete decor and the only branding being the dummy menu's this was the best we could do. Please see the areas prepared for these as an area of calm in what was otherwise mess and chaos, typical I think of a restaurant 5 days before opening?

There are a few more in the set which I hope is enough for all the images to be used for advertising in a local paper to promote the opening, and the plan now is to go back for a second session when he is actually open to get a full set.
 
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lovely feel to these, so sharp and the colours are great.
really like them, I don't know a lot about lighting, but to me they look great.
Favourites would be either number 3 or 4.
 
i like number 3 but the menu's are not quite right for me ? also tell the boy to put a belt on :)
 
ding76uk said:
The cheap looking flooring in the first shot doesn't give off the luxury feel that they are trying to convey with a restaurant. Like the rest though and sounds like a bit of a nightmare. Be good to see the second shoot when you have done it to compare.
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Trust me, this flooring won't be cheap.
 
Thanks everyone for your comments.

tomkbucks said:
i like number 3 but the menu's are not quite right for me ? also tell the boy to put a belt on :)
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Tell him yourself on Monday when he opens. He's up in town near the old Alan Ponds Roundabout. :)
 
Great images.

Agree that they're great promotion for the owner, but not quite so much for the restaurant. You can't really see it well enough! Sounds like you did a great job with what you had available though.
 
Scrimja said:
Great images.

Agree that they're great promotion for the owner, but not quite so much for the restaurant. You can't really see it well enough! Sounds like you did a great job with what you had available though.
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Thanks and I agree, but you make the best out of what you have. Everyone involved on the day has commented they can't believe what was produced considering the state of the place, however if I'm trying to sell myself as a photographer then I would consider this par for the course I guess.
 
Thanks Dean.

Confession Time: On 3 and 4 I had the white balance set on 'shade' rather than 'flash' but after a check on CS5 decided it looked fine so wasnt concerned. I was waiting for someone to tell me the colour was off, as sometimes happens on here but hey no-one else noticed so all good. Schoolboy error!
 
Right - time for a good bashing (by invitation) ;)

Firstly, I think you've done really well given the circumstances. I think as Tom said, they images are good portraits of the owner.


I'm not sure I'm qualified to C&C - it's quite possible that you've done everything that could have been done, but here's my thoughts -



1. Like the lighting. Like the use of the background gel flash. Only thing I will say is that (although there's no exif), it looks as if you were at 24mm here, and therefore the image looks a little distorted. Of course you may have been pushed for space.

2. Prefer to as it fixes 1 :) Only feedback - the shot's not taken 100% head on, but very close to. So I would prefer a more pronounced angle or none at all (minor)

3. Cooking on gas - my fav. Lovely capture. Possibly a levels tweak to brighten up face a tad?

4. Almost a winner. Only thing that spoils it is that he looks a little bit stooped.

As always, happy for you to ignore my input.

In summary, I think you did a good job there Marcus.

OOOOOO - one last question - could you have got some shots in the kitchen?

Cheers.

Dav
 
FlyTVR said:
Right - time for a good bashing (by invitation) ;)

Firstly, I think you've done really well given the circumstances. I think as Tom said, they images are good portraits of the owner.


I'm not sure I'm qualified to C&C - it's quite possible that you've done everything that could have been done, but here's my thoughts -



1. Like the lighting. Like the use of the background gel flash. Only thing I will say is that (although there's no exif), it looks as if you were at 24mm here, and therefore the image looks a little distorted. Of course you may have been pushed for space.

2. Prefer to as it fixes 1 :) Only feedback - the shot's not taken 100% head on, but very close to. So I would prefer a more pronounced angle or none at all (minor)

3. Cooking on gas - my fav. Lovely capture. Possibly a levels tweak to brighten up face a tad?

4. Almost a winner. Only thing that spoils it is that he looks a little bit stooped.

As always, happy for you to ignore my input.

In summary, I think you did a good job there Marcus.

OOOOOO - one last question - could you have got some shots in the kitchen?

Cheers.

Dav
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Dav thanks for your input and I think your spot on with every one. Good critique fella. Kitchen? Oh, you mean the room with no gas or water yet with cooking type appliances randomly placed and in most still in the wrapping? :D
 
Marcus Geezer said:
Dav thanks for your input and I think your spot on with every one. Good critique fella. Kitchen? Oh, you mean the room with no gas or water yet with cooking type appliances randomly placed and in most still in the wrapping? :D
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In which case you did REALLY well ;)

Dav.
 
Marcus Geezer said:
Asked to take some promo shots for a very soon to open restaurant, but on arrival the place is still just in the final finishing stage of building and prep, with all the chairs and tables stacked up, nothing properly cleaned up yet, cutlery and plates in boxes etc. So an hour and a half later after moving furniture around, cleaning, setting up, getting the owner to go and shower/change/shave etc, and here we are. Who said photography was just about taking pictures!

Subject lit with 580EXII in a brolly box and a 430Ex in a brolly for fill. Back illuminated with a naked 430EX on the floor with some blue gels. Canon 5D classic with Canon 24-70 F2.8L. Fired using RF602 triggers.

C&C very welcome.

1.

Grill 1 by Marcus Charter, on Flickr

2.

Grill 2 by Marcus Charter, on Flickr

3.

Grill 3 by Marcus Charter, on Flickr

4.

Grill 4 by Marcus Charter, on Flickr
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Hi,
There are some lovely pics in this set. Lighting, focus and sharpness is there to see. Thanks for sharing your work
 
looks like you really have polished a turd here. If they are going in the local press, then it definitely conveys a warm welcome in contemporary surroundings (of what you can see). I know it's minor, but the lack of a belt in #3 does spoil it.

It'd be worth while going back to get some room shots when it's ready for open day (y)
 
Marcus fella, They look a treat. Photography? nothing to crit looks lovely.

Only crit is...Posing.. When youhave hands to lean on they must never be in front of the face for any reason. All ways to the side or under and set back from chin. No pressure from head wheight either as you can distort facial features.

And as Dav said the subject is stooped. He should be sitting up more. Slouching looks lazy.

This dude is the boss man and should show more confidence in the shot.

Technically looks the biz fella.
 
Daryl said:
Marcus fella, They look a treat. Photography? nothing to crit looks lovely.

Only crit is...Posing.. When youhave hands to lean on they must never be in front of the face for any reason. All ways to the side or under and set back from chin. No pressure from head wheight either as you can distort facial features.

And as Dav said the subject is stooped. He should be sitting up more. Slouching looks lazy.

This dude is the boss man and should show more confidence in the shot.

Technically looks the biz fella.
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Thanks Daryl. Will remember those pointers and use them to improve for next time.

We still need to get together for that pint at some point.
 
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