PHOTOS: Today's shoot @ new client, a very cool Taqueria. MEXICAN, anyone???

[Amerigo Vespucci]

First shoot. Spoke with the owner about the quesadillas shot, saying that if it were opened up a bit to show the filling it would be more effective, but since it was being served to a customer standing directly behind me, that wasn't an option. It was a kid, with his mom...she said "You're having a celebrity lunch!"

Food is EXCELLENT, owners are wonderful and hard-working people. Yelp reviews are overwhelmingly positive, and well deserved.

:toast:

1). Quesadillas:



2). Menudo (with toppings on the side, served weekends only):



3). Menudo, with toppings:



4). Enchiladas (this was one of the CLEANEST plates of food I've ever seen...absolutely mouth-watering):



5). California Burrito (one of their most popular items...French Fries, onion, cilantro, salsa, guacamole, sour cream, cheese, diced tomatoes, lettuce, and choice of meat):



6). California Burrito:



7). Barbacoa (weekends only):



8). Camarones Rancheros (Prawns sauteed with onions, bell peppers, mushrooms, fresh tomatoes, in a light garlic and butter sauce):



9). Camarones Rancheros:



10). Camarones Rancheros:

[Capn Sunshine]

1. your food porn is kick- ass.

agree re: quesadilla. Do NOT take no for an answer on that one. It's worth burning one up ( doing it free) to get the shot. :thumbsup:

[Amerigo Vespucci]

2. I'm going to be back there on Monday...

...they do a beautiful tilapia fillet, and I told her it's got to be on the Website. I'll get the re-take of the quesadilla then as well.

Thanks for the kind words.

:toast:

[MicaelS]

3. Fabulous, those look like REAL food

That an average person would get in a restaurant. So what type of camera / lighting were you using?

[Amerigo Vespucci]

5. Natural light, Olympus Digital Camera

I have a very specific style of food photography, one I developed a while back when I learned that the best light (for what I like) is natural light.

My first restaurant Website had food photos, but they were taken with a flash, which washed out the colors and warmth.

You're right, the photos look exactly like the food I photographed. That is always my objective. I want people to see the quality, see the portions, get as close as they can to sitting at the table and having that dish served to them.

That's how you get new customers into a restaurant. People can spot "staged" photos a mile away. I coach the owner on presentation...for example, she and I spent about ten minutes wiping the rim of the menudo and barbacoa bowls so that there weren't stray specks of broth. It's a little detail, but the feedback I've gotten from DU repeatedly when I post these kinds of photos is that presentation...clean presentation...is critical. So we take the time, and the shot is the reward.

:toast:

[Iggo]

4. Um num num num.

That's it. I'm outa here.

Headed to Puffy taco.

[soleiri]

6. Nice pictures

the Camarones Rancheros are beautifully done.

but as a Californian of Mexican descent,
The California burrito... just no.

I'm sure it's popular, but no.
if they cut up some potatoes and cooked them with chorizo, it'd be twice as popular.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

7. I hear ya...

...the locals love it, though. It's one of the most popular items on the menu.

They have a "Breakfast Burrito" with rice, refried beans, cheese and scrambled egg. You can get it with chorizo, ham, or potato...cut-up potato, not French Fries...and I'm sure you could order it with chorizo AND potato.

So the "California Burrito" plays outside of the "authentic Mexican food" base, and yeah...I felt the same way when another of my clients introduced a distinctly non-Italian item on its authentic Italian menu. That item also sells like CRAZY.

It's the "customer is always right" conundrum...you want to run an authentic place, but you also want to have an item or two for people who don't care if it's authentic or not. And the owner specifically requested a photo of that item because of its popularity.

:toast:

[Initech]

8. Man all that looks pretty amazing but I've had way too much Mexican food lately.

[Taverner]

9. REAL MENUDO!!!!

Nothing beats a hangover, gets you in the mood for a date, or enhances your stock picks like Fresh, Authentic Menudo!

Sabor!

[david13]

10. Squirrel. Oh, I mean menudo? No thanks. And you can hold the

frijoles as well. Just all arroz for me, thanks.
But that is some fine photography, as usual.
Presents the dishes in an excellent light.
There is one place here that has especiales, I don't know what kind, oh, maybe carne asada, or something, and they throw some french fries on the side. Seems to work quite well for me. But my burritos favorite is all, and nothing else, carne asada.
Seems only available at El Tarasco, in Manhattan Beach, just the one on Rosecrans.
dc