Private Italian Cooking Class at Red Inside in Greenwich Village, Manhattan
Not every travel experience needs to involve a tour bus.
This shoot was for a small group of women visiting New York together who had booked a private Italian cooking class at Red Inside Culinary in Greenwich Village. Rather than documenting the class for the cooking school itself, I was hired by the travel professional who organized the experience as part of the group's NYC itinerary. The goal was to capture not just the food, but the experience of the afternoon as a whole.
Red Inside is a hands-on cooking school tucked away on MacDougal Street that specializes in small-group culinary experiences and private events. The class was led by Chef Francesco Amenta, an Italian chef from Modena whose background includes fine dining, private chef work, and large-scale event catering throughout Europe and the United States. Over the course of two hours, the group learned a variety of Italian cooking techniques, prepared multiple dishes together, and spent plenty of time laughing, tasting, and comparing notes along the way.
One of the things I enjoy about photographing experiences like this is that people quickly stop thinking about the camera. Once everyone is focused on making pasta, learning a new technique, or trying not to overcook something, the photos become much more natural. By the end of the class, the group sat down together with Chef Francesco to enjoy the meal they had prepared, along with wine and conversation. If you're a travel planner, retreat organizer, or experience-based business looking for photography that goes beyond standard event coverage, these are exactly the kinds of assignments I love taking on.
Here are some of my favorite images from this shoot (click/tap to view full size and un-cropped):
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All images in this blog post were shot on a Nikon D850 using a variety of lenses, 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!