Food and Interior Photography for Glowbird at The W Nashville

A few months back the Jose Andres Group and Aura Communications reached out to me needing a photoshoot for their new concept Glow Bird at the W Hotel in Nashville, Tn. I was stoked to have this opportunity. They needed a mix of food photography as well as some photos of the restaurant itself. They needed a vibrant and sun soaked vibe to go along with the rooftop pool and bar atmosphere. So that is exactly what we set out to do.

Sun soaked poolside lounge vibes.

The W staged the restaurant and pool area for us and that is where we started and finished the day. We capture various angles of the bar, pool, and deck areas. The goal was to create a vibe with the photos. Warm tones really make these photos fit the vibe.

A beautiful view of the Glowbird Bar with Nashville in the background.

The Glowbird logo features prominently.

I loved the way the sun and shadows played on this tile mosaic.

We moved to photographing food next. The Jose Andres Group brought in several of their team members from the D.C. area to cook and style the food for the shoot. We used all real food that was actually edible for this shoot. It is always great when we can use the real thing cooked by real chefs. We allowed the chefs vision to shine though. We used a hard light source to keep the sunny vibes going. We moved around the restaurant with the food so that we could capture the right vibes.

We then photographed cocktails at the bar and poolside. The main goal was creating the feeling of having a cocktail at the rooftop pool.

The longer I’m in commercial photography the more I realize that commercial photography is not just about creating solid images. It is about creating a vibe. Setting a mood. Creating emotion. It’s about more than just pretty pictures. The emotion is what sells the concept. The vibe and the feeling are what keep people coming back.

If you have a hospitality property and need amazing food photography use the contact form to reach out. I would love to chat about your photoshoot needs.

Red Land Cotton — From Field to Fabric

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of Red Land Cotton, I was invited to photograph something rare — not just the product, but the entire journey behind it.

Field. Gin. Mill. Cut and sew. Family.

I drove to Moulton, Alabama the day before the shoot. We walked the cotton field at sunset, toured the mill, and stepped carefully through the cut and sew floor. The conversation wasn’t just about lighting or lenses — it was about intention. About how to visually tell a story that began in soil and ended in sheets.

At 4:30am the next morning, we carried a fully dressed bed into the middle of a cotton field.

Under a dark Alabama sky — helped by coffee and a shared sense of purpose — the team positioned the bed between rows of white cotton ready for harvest. As the sun rose, the field slowly revealed itself. The texture. The air. The quiet.

It was one of those moments where everything feels aligned.

I shot the morning on my Mamiya RB67 Pro SD loaded with Kodak Portra 160, Portra 400, and Ektar 100. Film forces patience. The RB67 is deliberate and heavy. You focus through the glass. You slow down. You commit to each frame. It felt right for a project rooted in legacy and craft.

Alongside it, the Nikon Z9 handled the movement and the shifting light. Film for intention. Digital for agility.

From the field, we moved to the cotton gin — where raw fiber separates and begins its transformation. Finally, onto the cut and sew floor, where the material takes its final shape.

What struck me most was the continuity.

The same family.

The same land.

The same belief in making something the right way.

Later that evening, we returned to the field for harvest at sunset. Machines moved through rows that had looked still and untouched at dawn. In a single day, I watched the entire lifecycle unfold.

I’ve always wanted to photograph a cotton field at harvest. But this was more than that. It was the privilege of documenting a vertically integrated American company — from soil to finished product.

There’s something powerful about seeing the origin of what we use every day.

It makes the final product mean more.

Hotel Food Photography for Evelyn's Nashville

Evelyns Hutton Hotel Food and Beverage Program

Since 2016 I have wanted to photograph the food and beverage program for a hotel. I had put out a ton of bids, but it just never happened. So when Evelyn’s at the Hutton Hotel reached out to me early this year I was stoked to say the least, but also had a nagging feeling it might not happen. This time was different. My friend Carly who I had previously worked with at another restaurant was the new GM. Since we had worked together before it made the process simple. The hotel industry is difficult to break into. I am thankful for this opportunity and I think we came up with some excellent imagery. This meant that I was going to bring the A team with me.

Evelyns needed a few photos for their updated menu featuring some seasonal items. They had a rock start chef and they also wanted to add a food stylist to the shoot to make sure the presentation of each dish was top notch. In fine dining it is essential to not just plate the dish, but ensure that it meets the chef’s vision. We enlisted Callie Blount as our food stylist. Callie is the perfect fit because of her willingness to work hard and to learn. Not to mention her amazing food styling skills and her eye for details.

For this shoot we wanted to use the space and also have a bit moodier lighting. So we had a Daniel Williams as the photo assistant on set to help out with lighting and moving gear. We used a large light, on a rolling stand to make set changes efficient.

For hotel industry photography I want to make sure that we capture the right vibe. We don’t just need amazing looking food we need a sense of place. I wanted to make sure we know that this amazing food was also in a really great environment. From a photographic standpoint that meant photographing the scene from a bit further away and using a bit of a wider lens. This lens choice gave us a more natural view of the food and the restaurant. It helped to capture the sense of place that we were looking for.

Since this was an active restaurant space we needed to keep a light foot print, and also move relatively quickly. We did a half day shoot starting just after the breakfast rush and finished just before the true lunch rush. Having a food stylist helps us move faster for this type of shoot. The chef can plate each dish, but allow the food stylist to add the elements of the dish that will fall with gravity and time. The food stylist adds things like the micro greens, sauces, and stacks things that will fall down over time. This allows the chef to be in the kitchen and come back to help when needed.

One of the most common questions I get is how many dishes can we capture in a half day or a full day. In this instance we were able to capture 11 unique dishes. We did this in 4 unique settings. We had a total of 40 unique deliverable final images and we took close to 400 images during the shoot.

I was so glad that we had a successful shoot for Evelyn’s. We brought a great team and came away with some excellent photos for marketing and advertising the restaurant. I walked away more confident than I went into the shoot. My team and I proved that not only can we photograph fine dining for the hospitality industry we can do it well and with a high degree of excellence. If you have a hotel food and beverage program that is in need of fresh content please reach out.

Style To Set Episode #3 Featuring Nick Bumgardner

I was recently featured on my good friend and stylist’s Callie Blount’s podcast. It was a fantastic episode. I loved being able to be on the podcast and share about food photography and life.

Here is the show description.

Just do it, y’all. I know as people we can let fear of criticism stop us in our tracks (anyone else raising their hand in the air?!) In this episode, Nick Bumgardner- crazy good photographer, professor, and co-founder of Reactor Media, a large-scale food and photography business- shares how his impetus to just go for it and take risks put him in a position to create amazing things and excel. He teaches us to actually ask for criticism and welcome the response and act on it. Whether it was finding a mentor, landing big clients from Saks to O'Charley's to Reba McEntire, or taking criticism and using it to become better, Nick blazed a trail with grit and background research. 

We can all learn from Nick- he became a photographer before the internet was a thing. Instead of going to prom, he bought a camera. He’s shot literally thousands of food photos. He always wanted to get better, and you feel that quiet confidence when you are around him. He teaches with excellence and consistency. Aannnd- Mic-drop moment when Nick said “Art (only) shines when it’s shared with people.”

You can check it out at this link. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/style-to-set/id1826659910?i=1000719683496

Peg Leg Porker Bourbon and Sauces Shoot

Peg Leg Porker recently reached out for some fresh photographs of their new bourbons as well as a brand new sauce line and seasonings. I hopped at the opportunity to work with the Peg Leg Porker crew again. We always have a great time on set together talking about good bbq, good whiskey, and the state of the Nashville food industry. 

We started out with the hardest photos first the bourbon. These required a bit more tricky of a lighting set up to achieve. We wanted the dark background, but also needed so see some bottle glow. The key to good bourbon and beverage photography is to manage highlights and reflections. We don’t want to eliminate them completely because it will look fake and boring. They need to be reigned in to make a compelling photo. 

Consistency is the key to working with brands like this. Each bottle needs to look similar so that they look good grouped togeather

We then moved to some sauces. The magic sauce here was to keep a similar setup to the bourbon, but eliminate the backlight. The sauces are much more opaque so they don’t need a glow. The Peg Leg Porker white sauce is the best in the biz right now. I keep a bottle in my fridge all the time. We added in a few photos to so the color and consistency of the sauces.

We finished up with some photographs of the new seasoning line. We kept things simple here too. But we added some detail images.

This was a fast and furious half day of shooting. When we have a good team, that knows what they want to achieve we can get a lot of work done in just a half day of shooting. 

Nick is a commercial photographer based in Nashville, TN. He loves photographing BBQ, Food, Whiskey and Products. This shoot combined all the things. If you have a shoot coming up please reach out using the contact form.