Client Snapshot: Tortello Pasta

Welcome to a look behind-the-scenes of a menu photo shoot for a restaurant! This photo shoot, for Tortello, was the first time I worked with this amazing restaurant. They are a family-run operation with a deep passion for and commitment to Italian food. The goal of this menu shoot was to produce images for Tortello to use on their website and on their online point of sale system.

About Menu Photography

For menu photography that will be featured on a site like Toast or Resy, it’s important to keep things consistent and focused on the food. Jill, the owner, is a very experienced marketing professional and knows the food better than almost anyone. We played around for a few minutes to make sure we got the best lighting, angle, and set-up to make the pasta shine, and then we were off!

What I Bring to a Menu Shoot

For this shoot, I wasn’t sure what lighting we would be working towards, so I brought all of the options. I was glad I did because we ended up playing around with a few different options. First, we used my Godox strobe without any diffusers to create a sunny, bright set. Then, for the menu photos for the POS, we added my large diffuser to create an even lighting set-up.

Of course, I shot on my Canon 6D Mark II with my 24-105mm lens as always. I also used a bounce board to get some light reflected bak on that beautiful pasta. The space itself is extremely well-lit, too, which helped a lot!

Shoot Concept

Though Tortello is full of incredible character, including a Vespa that is suspended via cables from the ceiling, the goal of this shoot was not to emulate that character. Instead, we wanted to provide bright, clear shots of the menu items so that customers could see a representation of the food as they might order it.

I couldn’t have been happier with the way the photos turned out for Tortello. I love restaurant menu shoots, especially with food this beautiful! It makes me remember why I love doing what I do: capturing on the page what is so beautiful on the plate!