Client Snapshot: Long Table Pancakes
Welcome to a look behind-the-scenes of a consumer packaged goods (CPG) product brand photo shoot! This photo shoot, for Long Table Pancakes, was the second time I worked with this amazing brand, which features alternative grains in their delicious, unusual pancake mixes. The first photo shoot was back in 2019, and since then, the brand has grown tremendously, expanding as a company, rebranding, and even pitching on Shark Tank! It was so fun to work with these lovely people again—it’s so fun to grow alongside clients.
About Food in Product Photography
In planning for this shoot, I had to give special consideration to the fact that the shot list incorporated a lot of prepared food. Whereas other shoots that I’ve done in the past, like this one for Unbothered Foods, don’t require a lot of food prep, clients with ready to cook products require extra time, preparation, and intention to make sure that their products are shown off both in packaging form and in use case form, like in the image below.
If you’re a company like Long Table who needs to have food prepped for your photo shoot, make sure that you either find a food photographer who can style on set or that you hire a food stylist to join the team on the day of the shoot. If your product requires preparation, you want to make sure that it is shown in its best light. Otherwise, you’ll end up with beautiful photos of less than beautiful food.
What I Use for a Food Product Shoot
This shoot was done at my in-house photography studio in Chicago. The client had prepared an amazingly detailed shot list that we reviewed together a few times ahead of the shoot, and they also opted to approve every prop that I pulled. I love that Long Table has such a clear vision of their company and the way they wanted the photos to look. As a photographer, that makes my job exciting and interesting! They had some props on hand that they wanted to use to create a similar look to the last shoot they did, and I pulled some props from my collection as well to create the look that we were going for.
Lighting-wise, I wanted to create the look of sun streaming through an early morning window. I used my Godox strobe and used bounce boards to fill shadows.
Of course, I shot on my Canon 6D Mark II with my 24-70mm lens.
Shoot Concept
The overall concept for this shoot was to mimic the feeling and light of a morning at a diner. Long Table is all about bringing people together over a plate of heirloom pancakes, so every photo was carefully designed to create a feeling of warmth, hospitality, and approachability.
Since the shoot, Long Table has used these photos on their website, social media, and paid ad campaigns. We’ve collaborated again for limited editions (which they call “short runs”), and I hope to work with them again soon. This is a great example of growing with clients and the value of working with local partners.