Most of my work these days relates to food and wine and I love both so I was doubly delighted to be asked by Terlato Wines to shoot celebrity chef Fabio Viviani in his Los Angeles restaurant for a full page ad in Bon Appetit, GQ, Details and Vanity Fair.  I have always been a location photographer but I still get butterflies jumping into the unknown.  What will the location look like, will there be any natural light, will the subject be difficult to work with?  At the end of the day I’m expected to have produced a photograph that captures the message the client wishes to send and is good enough to appear in multiple, high-end, glossy national magazines.  It’s enough to supress the heartiest appetite.

I love natural light and at the front of the restaurant was a window that, with a silk over it, provided just the soft, warm light I always look for.  A touch of fill light on the other side gave a perfect balance.  Set up a table, style the props, add one chef and there you have it.  Fabio Viviani was a delight to work with, living up to his TV image as a Top Chef favorite.  I knew I had the shot within minutes but shot a few variations “just in case”.  The rest of the day we spent shooting videos of Fabio making gourmet popcorn.  Not haute cuisine but, damn, it tasted good.