Photography by Jerry, LLC

I love the Jersey Shore…especially eating at the Jersey Shore. So many great restaurants. So, I had an idea. I am thinking of doing a contest for Jersey Shore restaurants. The first prize will be a free food photo session – up to four dishes. Second prize will be $250. off a food photo shoot and third prize will be $100. off a food photo shoot. To participate in the contest you have to tell me in a few sentences how good food photography will help your business.

Right now I’m in the planning stage and I am interested in your thoughts. Please post a comment if you have any ideas or thoughts on this. I would be most interested in hearing when you would need the photos done by to get ready for next season. Summer 2011 is going to be a GREAT season in New Jersey!

It’s been months. A local restaurant has been renovating. They’ve remodeled the inside and now just finished remodeling the outside. It looks fabulous.

Imagine going out with the family or that special someone on a special occasion to a place that is all new and filled with great expectation. Perhaps its Sunday breakfast and you are dreaming of a delicious stack of pancakes, dripping with butter and syrup. The waitress approaches in a new uniform and hands you the menu. But,  its the same old menu with the faded photos of unappetizing food and your heart sinks and the great expectation dies.

The first sense of eating is sight. That is why presentation is given so much weight in fine restaurants. The food has to look good before it is tasted. This first impression most certainly counts and looking at the menu is certainly your first impression.

Photos on websites, ads, flyers and menus must convince the customer of the freshness, high quality and great taste just by looking. When you taste with your eyes, it better taste good.

Times are rough and restaurants are fighting for every customer. Customers want that great experience from when they walk in until when they walk out. They want to look at a menu and know what their meal is going to taste like.

Photographs of your food should represent the best of what you have to offer. Stock photos or photos taken with a “point and shoot” camera just don’t work. Food has to be properly prepared for the camera. Food has to be properly lit to make it look fresh, juicy, and tantalizing. This is where a local professional food photographer comes in. Working with a professional food stylist, and using the best studio lighting and camera equipment, your meals are going to jump off the page.

So, the next time you look at your menu, website or advertisement, use your eyes and imagine what you will be tasting.

You can see more of my work at http://www.photography-by-jerry.com. I Provide professional food photography services for New Jersey at a reasonable rate.

Can you taste it?

This is my first post. It feels a little strange writing it since I have refused to partake in social media for all these years. It’s not that I was afraid of it, I do have a computer technology background. It’s just that I didn’t see the relevance to me. But, now I have a new career and I have to keep up with the times.

I am now a” food and product photographer.” Food photography has been my passion since the early 1980s. At that time, I was a science teacher and wedding photographer. Having the summers off, I worked as an assistant in New York City (heretofore to be know as “the city”). For two summers I worked for Stu Peltz, a commercial still life photographer who told me that I would never become a photographer because I had a wife and a mortgage – not because I lacked talent. I couldn’t afford to become a photographer because in commercial photography, there was no such thing as a part-time or weekend photographer. Stu was a great photographer, a great mentor and he was right. I put off my dream until I retired from 31 years of teaching science. (I taught at Daniel Carter Beard Junior High School 189Q for 8 years and Edward R. Murrow High School for 23 years.)

Well, retirement finally came around in June 2009 and the first thing I did was buy a digital SLR. (Canon EOS 5D Mark II) started studying, practicing and building a portfolio. As retirement approached, I took some online classes and found them to be very helpful in getting me back into shape. I would higly recommend both BetterPhoto.com and PPSOP.com.

So, now I am a working commercial still life photographer. Stu was absolutely right, I don’t make enough money to support myself but, the pension helps. I am doing photography now just because I love to do it. It is truly a passion. You can see my work at my website www.photography-by-jerry.com.

An apple for the "former" teacher.