Poor House Bistro of San Jose, New Orleans style

Define crazy. If you have been following my blog, you woulda noticed that I have always recommended a food stylist for my food shoots, for more reasons than one. On the other hand, one should learn to be flexible when need be. I guess balance is one of my strength, being a Libra. Jay Meduri of Poor House Bistro is a strong believer of food photo should be food served philosophy. Now Jay, he's a real great guy. Great attitude, very personable and willing to lend a hand anytime during the shoot, may it be carrying a table around or sprinkling some spices on the food. He recently signed up with the new amazingly wonderful online take-out eCommerce site called, All Appetites and he needs just a few images for the menu on the site. So, there I was, selling my food styling ability (or lack, thereof) to compensate for a non-existence food stylist for this shoot.

As luck would have it, I have secretly learnt a trick or two from all the previous stylists I've worked with, from using tampons (don't ask) to using a cotton swap, I've picked up a few tricks along the way. By no means am I a substitute for a full blown stylist mind you; but I can still stand my ground when the need arises. Maybe.

I arrived a few minutes early, scouted a location for the shoot and setup right away. It wasn't easy, no photography assistants, no food stylist, no help whatsoever. On the bright side, I've been a mule on a lot of other non-commercial shoots I was in, so this isn't new to me. Being anal and a perfectionist doesn't help either. Last few assistants I hired inquired on why I even hire them since I like to carry the heaviest photography equipment and setup everything to my specifications. So, this is a head-scratching dilemma. Life is tough. I'll deal with it. ;-)

Gallery of images from the shoot.

- Michael Soo