Private Chef Portraits and Food Shoot in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn
I’ve photographed plenty of chefs and restaurants, but this one was a little more personal: Isaiah Briggs of Cactus Calypso used to be my downstairs neighbor! We also both spent time living in Arizona at different points, although we didn’t actually know each other back then. Now he’s a professional chef in NYC looking to expand his offerings into personal chef work and catering, specializing in a unique blend of Caribbean and Sonoran food traditions.
We shot everything in his home, with most of the session focused on the food itself, along with portraits and behind-the-scenes photos of Isaiah cooking and working. The goal was to give him a library of images he can use to promote his services.. For chefs and food professionals building a business on the side, good photography can make the difference between “I cook professionally” and “I want you to hire me to cook for your event”. Let’s give your optics the professional advantage together!
Here are some of my favorite images from this shoot (click/tap to view full size and un-cropped):
To see more examples of this style of photography, visit my food and dining gallery >>
All images in this blog post were shot on a Nikon D850 using a 24-85mm zoom lens, and all individually post-processed in Adobe Lightroom using custom-built presets.
Jinnifer Douglass is a full-time freelance photographer based in NYC, shooting for both individuals and brands such as Google, Sotheby’s, Uber, Make Up For Ever, Squarespace, and more! Specializing in portraits, food, and special events, she works to make every piece of your social and website content ‘Insta-worthy’ with high resolution, full-frame DSLR photography and expert Lightroom editing. Interested in chatting? Leave a comment below, or send an email to info@jinyc-photo.com!