Café photography in Alexandria: food, coffee and lifestyle photos for Brunch & Co

Name: La Lente Photographer
Address: Epping, NSW, 2121, AU
Telephone: 0414 442 440
Price range: $

Brunch & Co's phone photos weren't making anyone hungry. So we styled a table, invited a few friends and photographed the menu properly.

By Paul D’Ambra · March 2019

Home - Business - Café photography in Alexandria: food, coffee and lifestyle photos for Brunch & Co

Inside the café, with timber tables, flowers and staff at the counter under pendant lights

Server carrying two yellow plates of food past a chalkboard juice menu

Three friends sharing brunch at a table full of food and flowers

Full brunch spread from above, with eggs Benedict, smashed avo and fruit bowls

Smashed avo with egg, feta and tomato on a yellow plate

Hands holding a fruit bowl while a friend takes a photo of it

A taste of the shoot. More photos are in the full gallery further down the page. Click any photo to see it large.

Brunch & Co is a café in Alexandria, Sydney. The owners had been taking their own photos on a smartphone, but the quality, composition and styling weren't getting customers excited. Alexia from Brunch & Co booked me for a session of café food and lifestyle photography: real photos of the café, the coffee and the menu, to build an image library for the next few months.

This was the same shoot as my Deluca Coffee post, which covers the coffee product photography: beans, cups and the coffee itself. This post is the other half, the food, menu and lifestyle photos for the café's website and social media, with a slightly different creative brief.

The brief: real photos instead of stock

Alexia knew she could download images from the internet or buy stock photos. She didn't want that. She wanted photography that was real, and that showed off the café and the dishes on the menu.

The brief had four parts:

The café itself and the coffee it serves.
Latte art from the barista.
Some fun, quirky styled set-ups of food and coffee.
People enjoying their meals.

How the shoot ran

A couple of the owner's friends came in to be our models. My team set up and styled a table for them, with dishes from the menu, coffees, fresh juice, flowers and a few props like sunglasses and a phone. Then we let them enjoy brunch and photographed what happened.

Using friends rather than strangers helps a lot. People who know each other relax quickly, and relaxed people look like real customers having a good time, which is exactly what a café wants on its Instagram.

Two women eating brunch at a window table, one drinking coffee

Two women looking at a phone while their friend drinks coffee

I also photographed the counter and the staff, so the café had photos of the people customers actually meet when they walk in.

Smiling staff member at the counter under hanging lights

Smiling server in an apron talking with a customer at the counter

What I photographed for the café's menu and social media

Most of the shoot was the food. Brunch & Co's menu is bright and colourful, which makes it great to photograph: smashed avo with boiled egg and feta on yellow plates, eggs Benedict, fruit bowls served in coconut shells, fruit and granola parfaits, fresh juice in jars and cheesecake, with lattes alongside.

I photographed the dishes from above as flat lays, at the angle a customer sees them when they sit down, and up close for detail. A café needs all three. Flat lays suit Instagram grids, angled shots suit menus and websites, and close-ups make people hungry.

Smashed avo on a yellow plate with a latte and juice, seen from above

Eggs Benedict with a parfait, juice and coffee behind it

Close-up of smashed avo with boiled egg and feta

Fruit and granola parfait with a latte behind it

Where the photos were used

The photos became Brunch & Co's image library for their website, social media and local advertising. Alexia used them straight away, and they started getting great traction with customers because they gave the dishes some life and colour that the phone photos couldn't.

“Paul is eager to make sure the photos are just right, and that his customer is happy! He pays careful attention to the details and scope. Highly recommend!”
Alex Anderson, Brunch & Co (Facebook review)

A shot list for café photography in Sydney

If you run a brunch café, this is the shot list I'd start with. Plan it around where the photos will go: your website, your Instagram, your menu boards and any delivery app listings.

The front of the café and the signage, so people recognise you from the street.
The inside: the counter, the seating and the light, so people can picture sitting there.
Your best-selling dishes, each one from above, from the side and up close.
A full table flat lay with several dishes and drinks, for social media and banners.
Coffee and latte art, plus juices or anything else you're known for.
Your team at work: the barista, the kitchen and someone serving.
People enjoying a meal. Friends or regulars work well, with their permission.
Small details: flowers, cutlery, menu boards and anything that shows your style.

Shoot your hero dishes in both landscape and portrait, so you have one for a website banner and one for a phone screen or an Instagram story. And plate the food as you would for a customer, just a little neater.

Café food and lifestyle photography in Sydney

Business photography starts at $495 for up to an hour, with up to 10 edited photos and a commercial licence included, so you can use them on your website, socials and ads. See business photography in Sydney for what's included and how to book.

Shoot details

Client
Brunch & Co

Industry
Brunch café

Where
Alexandria, Sydney

Photographed
The café, the staff, styled food and coffee, and friends of the owner enjoying brunch

Used for
Website, social media and local advertising

Business photography in Sydney →

The full gallery

Brunch table from above, with smashed avo, fruit bowls, juice and coffee

Coconut bowl of fruit and edible flowers beside a jar of juice

Latte, sunglasses and flowers on a wooden table, with a plate of eggs in front

Fruit and granola parfait beside a latte, with flowers scattered on the table

Smiling woman sipping orange juice through a straw

Two women looking at a phone together over brunch

Two women laughing over a phone at a café table with flowers

Smiling staff member behind a sign for a new watermelon drink

Smashed avo with boiled egg on a yellow plate, seen from above with juice and a latte

Fruit bowl in a coconut shell on a stand, with juice, a latte and granola

Hand stirring a jar of juice beside a coconut fruit bowl

Woman texting beside a plate of smashed avo and a coffee

Two lattes, sunglasses and a marble phone case on a wooden table

Eggs Benedict with edible flowers beside sunglasses

Hands holding a fruit bowl while a friend photographs it on a phone

Plate of smashed avo with a glass of granola, and a woman behind it

Woman in a leather jacket holding a latte with latte art

Hands holding a coconut fruit bowl over a brunch table

Two friends adding sugar to their coffees, seen from above

Fruit parfait, coffee and sunglasses on a café table

Hand holding a plate of cheesecake beside lattes and a phone

Two friends with lattes at a wooden table, seen from above

Woman cutting into smashed avo beside a vase of flowers

Woman picking up a jar of juice beside smashed avo and a latte

Sunglasses, flowers and a latte on a wooden table, seen from above

Latte with latte art in a grey cup beside sunglasses and flowers

Hand holding a latte beside a second coffee and a marble phone case

Slice of cheesecake on a grey plate with sunglasses and a latte

Three friends laughing over coffee and brunch

Woman with a jar of juice and a coconut fruit bowl

Two friends with lattes and cheesecake, seen from above

Brunch table with coffees, smashed avo and a vase of flowers

Flat lay of smashed avo, fruit bowls and coffee with a phone in the corner

Spilled granola beside sunglasses and a marble phone case

Latte with latte art beside a vase of flowers

More photos from the Brunch & Co shoot. Click any photo to see it large.

Need photos of your café?

I can photograph your menu, your coffee, your team and your space in one session, anywhere in Sydney. Business photography starts at $495 for up to an hour, with a commercial licence included.

See business prices →

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