Capturing commercial coffee and cake creations

Commercial Food Photography is it important? According to the Coffee Society, high street café culture has continued to boom, with 80% of people who visit coffee shops doing so at least once a week, whilst 16% of us visit daily. In the UK, we are drinking 95 million cups of coffee each day.

New coffee shops open almost every day, and that means constant competition. Business owners need to think smart to attract and retain their customers. And it is often the extra’s, such as offering unique and tasty blends of coffee, creating the right atmosphere, and a good selection of cakes and bakes, that can really help boost sales and make a business thrive.

Photography can determine whether the client will want to try the dish or not.  And it is crucial that customers are able to identify which dish appeals to them through strong, professional photography to enable them to make a choice.

One coffee vendor who has refined their offering as a complete coffee lover experience is Suffolk based independent speciality coffee shop and brunch spot Honey and Harvey.

Established in 2011 H+H has prided itself in serving fantastic locally sourced produce, homemade bakes alongside lovingly crafted specialty coffee.  I have had the pleasure of working with them on more than one occasion as their business has gone from strength to strength.

They are a multiple award-winning company with a huge passion for great local ingredients bringing great flavours to the people of Suffolk – and I am delighted that my images can play a part in their future. I am also delighted that these shoots have been an opportunity to indulge my love for interiors, commercial branding, and food shoots all in one – Simply perfect!

Visual identity:

Honey and Harvey currently have two coffee shops (Woodbridge and Melton), and with their distinctive black and gold signage and beautiful ‘boutique’ style interiors, they make a fantastic backdrop for photographs.

The colour themes and inspiring logo are a key part of their brand, and it is important that this is frequently reinforced through their photographs to support their visual identity.

This visual identity lets customers know that it is Honey and Harvey immediately, and is one of the key benefits of using Simply C for your professional photography.  I understand how to reference your brand using subtle cues – ensuring the brain recalls the images and brand.

Commercial images:

Commercial images need to work hard. They have a job to do, customers to attract, a product to sell and a brand to convey (phew! What a lot to ask of a photograph!)

The visual appeal of food especially is undeniable. First impressions last and professional food photography brings a lot to the table…. expertise, the artistic eye, and a creative force.

 Take this shot for example….

In this image you can see that the food is something special. It’s obviously fresh, and a little different to the usual coffee shop menu; the perfectly presented coffee, not your usual white plates, even the rustic wood of the table is telling you that this is a unique eaterie – and you thought this was just a photo of breakfast….

Great photos are full of these visual cues, your brain has analysed the contents of this image without you even realising. Photographs trigger an emotional response, and gastronomic photography is no different.  Their function should be to draw the customers’ attention, whet their appetite, and trigger visual hunger.

A great photograph is never a fluke.  Details like composition, lighting, and styling, is why the final image is more effective than words.  A photo is universal, it doesn’t need a caption or description for it to speak volumes.

Value for money – and more brand re-enforcement….

A professional photo shoot should leave you with images that you can use again and again in several places, your website, your printed literature, or your social media.

Being able to use your images in more than one scenario you are reinforcing your brand and reminding customers about who you are and what you can do for them, repeatedly.

Honey + Harvey is opening a third shop in Ipswich soon and I am delighted to have been invited to capture some more tasty images for this next part of their story…

If your business deserves to be at the forefront of people’s minds, I would Simply love to make this happen….