NYC Restaurant Photography
Diners decide from your photos. Gavin Doran photographs the food, the room and the people behind it for New York restaurants — 50–60 finished, fully licensed images, delivered in 72 hours.
Published in & trusted by
Selected Work
Why restaurants call
Most projects start from one of these. Each is planned differently — the shot list, the timing and the way the images get used.
Opening in the next 90 days
Press, listings and reservation platforms pull from the images you have when doors open. A pre-opening shoot means the room, the menu and the team are ready before the first write-up.
Plan an opening shoot
Menu or seasonal refresh
Holiday and winter imagery gets commissioned in September and October. A half-day or full-day update keeps the website, menus and social current with what’s actually on the plate.
Refresh the library
Groups & multi-venue
A library shot to a single standard travels — the same light, color and framing across venues, cities and concepts, so the brand reads the same on every page.
Scope a programWhat you get
Every engagement is planned around how your team will actually use the images — website, menus, social, press, reservation platforms and delivery apps.
Signature dishes shot during prep or service, styled lightly and true to plate.
Cocktails, wine service and the bar itself — the program that sells the second visit.
The space in its best light, with the energy of service where it helps.
Portraits the press can run and your story deserves.
Color-matched across the set, sized for web, print and social.
Clear usage across all your channels. No surprise fees later.
How it works
A short call, one production day on site, and a licensed library three days later. No closing, no chaos in the kitchen.
A 15-minute call to map dishes, spaces and people, and to decide how each image will be used — so nothing gets shot that you don’t need.
One production day on location, run around prep and service. Food comes off the line as it’s made; the room is shot in its best light.
Edited, retouched selects delivered in 72 hours with a full commercial license — website, menus, social, press, OpenTable, Resy, delivery apps.
Pricing
A menu refresh reads differently than an opening, a rebrand or a press push. The number below is the typical starting point for a full production day; the exact scope is settled on the call.
Projects typically start at
$4,500full production day
Included
No commitment on the call — it’s a scoping conversation.
About
Gavin Doran shoots editorial commissions and brand campaigns alongside restaurant work across New York — the same eye that runs in The New York Times, GQ and Forbes goes into your menu, your room and your team. The process is built for operators: a clear pre-shoot plan, fast production on site during prep or service, and licensed selects delivered in 72 hours.
Recent clients
Questions
No. Food is photographed during prep, the room in the quiet hours before service, and the energy of service where it helps. The day is planned on the call to fit your schedule, not interrupt it.
A full production day delivers 50–60 finished, retouched images across food, bar, room and people — color-matched as a set and exported for web, print and social. Larger libraries are scoped on the call.
Yes. Every project includes a full commercial license across your own channels: website, menus, social, press kits, reservation platforms and delivery apps. No per-channel or per-use fees.
Usually not. Dishes are styled lightly and shot true to plate, the way they leave the pass. If a menu calls for full styling, that’s planned and quoted on the call.
Often, yes. Pre-opening shoots are planned around the build-out and menu tastings, and selects arrive 72 hours after the shoot — so the images exist before the first review or listing goes live. Get in touch as early as you can.
Multi-venue libraries are scoped as a program: a single standard for light, color and framing across rooms, with a schedule that fits each venue’s service. The starting point and structure are set on the call.
We map what the images need to do — website, menus, press, an opening — and turn that into a shot list, a date and a scope. There is no commitment on the call.
Get in touch
A few details are enough — what you need photographed, roughly when, and how the images will be used. I reply personally within one business day.
Pick a 15-minute slot. It’s a scoping conversation, not a pitch.
Book a 15-minute call