PHOTOS: Who...wants...SUSHI? (results of photo shoot #2 at new client, a local Japanese Restaurant)

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Still a semi-guerilla photo shoot, but the owner did show up today, and there is improvement. A few technical flaws that are obvious, so I won;t elaborate. Let's just EAT.

:-)

[Tripper11]

1. Very good looking food...

I just ate, but now have a hankering for some sushi. Maybe tomorrow night.
Nice pics!

[AwakeAtLast]

2. It's not fair to post pics for people in Central IN to see!

The closest I get to sushi is searching for a minnow in the river nearby.... x(

I'm just giving you a hard time - your pictures (and the food) are AMAZING!

[Amerigo Vespucci]

13. My mantra for every ONE of my clients...

...Why YOU?

With ALL of the choices people have, WHY are they going to choose YOU?

I'm a photographer, and a Web designer, but if I handed you my business card, you'd see "Strategic Marketing Solutions."

Perfect example: I showed the photos from THIS restaurant to my latest client...a Mexican restaurant / taqueria...and they BECAME my client on the strength of those photos.

I said "You don't want to make noise about the fact that you serve burritos, rice and beans. You want to TELL people about that, but you want to MAKE NOISE about your grilled tilapia, which is MOUTH-WATERING"...(photos coming to DU very soon).

To the credit of the owner of this Japanese restaurant, I told her "People can't walk ten feet in Silicon Valley without tripping over a California Roll. Unless you have the BEST California Roll on the planet, we don;t need photos of your California Roll."

She GOT it. She had the Chef prepare THEIR signature dishes, the things you can't get "just anywhere" in this valley.

I have the best job on Earth. I work hard...I earn the right to hold that job...but I am blessed. SO blessed.

:toast:

[Capn Sunshine]

3. EXCELLENT pics

did you use a food stylist?

[Amerigo Vespucci]

5. I'm basically the food stylist, coaching the chef & restaurant owner

I have my own instincts, as well as the feedback I've received from photoshoots I've posted on DU...MUCH appreciated.

This particular restaurant owner KNOWS about DU, and is also thankful for the feedback. Everyone reading this TRANSCENDS AWESOME.

:toast:

[Capn Sunshine]

14. are you allowed to reveal the name of the place?

because it looks fucking great. I'm in Bay Area on political business all the time.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

18. If you'd like, I'd be happy to PM you,,,

...but part of my compensation on every Website I build is the brand / link to my company. Posting the name of the restaurant would reveal more to DU at large than I think I'd like to reveal. Not that I have anything to hide...I'd just have to change my name from "Amerigo Vespucci" to "My_Real_Name." and I'm not prepared to do that.

If you want a PM, just let me know and I'll give you the full lowdown.

:toast:

[AsahinaKimi]

4. Mecha mecha suigoiiiiiiiiii ne!

Oishiiii! Onaka ga suita! Nihonshoku ga daisuki de mainichi tabetai desuyo!

[Amerigo Vespucci]

7. Arigato gozaimasu...

...if you ever plan to be in San Jose, please let me know...it would be my honor to treat you to lunch at this restaurant.

:toast:

[AsahinaKimi]

16. dou itashimashite

I don't leave the city much, but I heard there is a tiny Japantown center there in San Jose. Some day, I would like to see it.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

17. The "Jatbar" (Jason & Terry's Bay Area Review) website has Japantown reviews...

http://www.jatbar.com/

"Gombei" is in San Jose's Japantown, but they also opened a new location in Santa Clara.

One of the BEST Japanese restaurants I've been to...filled with JAPANESE customers...is "Tomisushi"...

http://www.jatbar.com/reviews/San_Jose/Tomisushi.asp

Their California Rolls are BEAUTIFUL...REAL crab, topped with beautiful orange tobiko, and BIG.

:toast:

[greenbriar]

6. send me some. That looks wonderful

YUMMY>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


do you get to sample them?

[Amerigo Vespucci]

8. No, but...

...there was a very friendly, nice "30-something" couple at the table in front of me, to the right. They joked to the owner "We'd like to sit OVER THERE, please..."

"Over there" meaning the table holding all of the dishes waiting to be photographed.

The owner took one of the rolls in the photos here (forget which one) to them and said "on the house."

Later, I said "Would you like for me to put in a good word with the owner for anything else on the table?" The man I addressed the question to laughed out loud and said "No, thank you, we have more than enough here."

:rofl:

[greenbriar]

9. I would tell them that I needed to sample the menu

to help

journalistic integrity and all :)

[david13]

10. Fabulous. Beautiful. Makes me hungry. dc

[Starry Messenger]

11. I want some right now!

Beautiful pictures. That's like sushi pron. :9

[mopinko]

12. looks great. a little crop, and little clone,

it will be all good.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

15. Exactly.

I told the owner "pick the FOOD shot you like and I will FIX it if necessary, but I'm not fixing them all just for the sake of fixing them."

A big part of this is educating my clients in the things they need to do to support MY ability to deliver THEM my best work.

THIS client gets it. I'll be doing more photos next week, and will post them here, and I'm confident you'll see the improvement.

:toast:

[nolabear]

19. What the heck IS that under those cherries and ice cream?

YUM, by the way. Lovely work. I'm starving.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

21. Fried bananas & ice cream

"Tempura-battered bananas served with a scoop of toasted black sesame ice cream and green tea ice cream, topped with whipped cream, chocolate sauce and cherries."

Sort of a Japanese banana split, I guess...

:toast:

[hibbing]

20. Great shots!

Hi,
I envy you doing this. Those are wonderful shots. I am such a weenie I have never had sushi, but living in the middle of the country makes me a little leery and I am just not sure. I suppose I could try some non-fish stuff, but is that even still considered sushi? The only thing I missed in these from an earlier post was the titling of what each item is. Please keep posting these, I absolutely love your photographs. Now I have to find a snack.

Peace

[Amerigo Vespucci]

22. Thank you!

At some point I want to return to posting titles as well, but the pace of these shoots is so frantic that "dish is set down, I take the shot, dish is removed, next dish is set down..." over the course of an hour and a half. I know from the menu what some of the items are, others I have to guess just like anyone else taking the photos.

On the finished Website, I will have captions, because the owner will provide them after she decides the final cut from the three photoshoots.

I have one more photoshoot at this place next week (I'll post those here as well), and the next customer I have in the final negotiation stages is a very cool taqueria...hope everyone here likes authentic Mexican food!

:toast: