This was shot for clients who initially needed to be convinced about the value of food pro photography. Nonetheless, they gave my Stylist and I their full trust - I was pleasantly surprised when we suggested a low key shoot to stand out against their competitors, who were all using light & bright high key images.
It paid off. Very shortly after their new website launched with new suite of marketing images, their online bookings grew 40-fold and their business is now in the position that they wanted to get to; turning a profit with healthy numbers and ready for sale so they can retire! Feels great, as they were really nice people... :-)

The client's brief called for a summery, share feel to this shot. It required more spacing than I would usually have placed between objects, as the client asked that the table layout be allowed to 'breathe' a little.
Client was happy, which is all that matters! :-)

I love the graphic simplicity of this shot and the muted colour palette that keeps the attention on the hero.
I'm particularly happy with the amount of texture that I managed to capture when lighting a humble, flat soup dish!
* Lit with 2x Bowens 500W strobes. ;-)

This exquisite dish was created by Chef James Fiske, on Australia's Gold Coast.
His plating is as masterful and considered as his flavours. Though possibly what I like most about Jim is his inability to throw away food (unlike many chefs). He will literally stand-over you and ensure that you eat his dishes once you've shot them. A huge bonus for a skinny photographer!
For this shot, I wanted to include a nod to the fabric divider curtains that are a prominent feature of the restaurant. This anchors the shot with ownable art direction for the establishment and meshes beautifully with the colour palette of the dish.
LIGHTING GEAR USED: 2x 500W Bowens Esprit studio lights with softboxes, plus bounce-card.

The client's brief for this job was to create a scene that attracts customers to the hotel's winter high tea/coffee offering.
While most of the shots were more high-key and high-brow, we found a cosy corner of the restaurant to shoot this more rustic, somehow earthy image.
To me, this is a great image to market a winter season offering. The condensation on the Chemex that eludes to warmth, the scatter of beans that illustrates unprocessed freshness, the subtly-lit chair that invites an occupant and the steam drifting lazily out of the far mug just says to me "Cancel my plans for the next hour and take my money, waitress"! :-)
LIGHTING INSIGHTS: Lit with 1x 500W Bowens studio flash (+ bounce card). Focus spot with snoot attachment cast the faux bay window shadow across the table.

I crafted the light in this shot to mimmick shafts of sunlight penetrating the ocean.
This was a hero shot for a well-established seafood restaurant, which was in desperate need of refreshing their marketing content.
We settled on a low-key art direction, to really make them stand-out from their competitors in the seafood space.
The result? A 40-fold increase in their online bookings within 4 weeks!

This award-winning Australian Wagyu beef burger was actually shot in-studio.
The light was created to replicate outdoor sunlight shining through a gumtree canopy.
This effect was achieved by custom-making an intricate flag to fire my 500-watt key light through.
The result is a uniquely Australian quality of light - and one very happy client!

Cover shot for a food distributor's catalog (hence, the negative space for the masthead in the top left corner).
My client wanted a nicely balanced shot that said 'rustic charm meets fresh Australian summertime food'.
I think the shot meets the brief very nicely and the client was very happy.
Photography: Paul Williams
Food Styling: Peter May
Location: Brisbane

You'd be forgiven for thinking that this plating is the work of a fine dining restaurant, yet my client was actually a surf club!
They have worked hard to break the surf club mould for 'standard food fare' and wanted to showcase their beautiful contemporary dishes with what was a very large and enjoyable shoot.
Photography & styling: Paul Williams
Location: Gold Coast, Australia.

Catalogue hero shot for mediterranean-inspired eating.
Loving that 'shared meal-feel' with blue tabletop bathed in subtly mottled light (created in-studio to mimmick branches overhead at a shady al-fresco lunch spot).
Photography: Paul Williams
Food Styling: Peter May
Location: Brisbane, Australia.