Food photography by someone who's actually worked in a kitchen.
Food and restaurant photographer — Derby & the Midlands
I cover Derby, Birmingham and the wider Midlands, though obviously if you want me elsewhere, I'll go further than that!
Before I was behind a camera I was behind a pass. I read Kitchen Confidential at seventeen and it's basically the reason I ended up in hospitality in the first place; from roles including commis chef, front of house, bar and busy deli/café management.
I went into photography in my early twenties but never really left the industry behind. In 2020 I joined my chef partner in running a long-established Michelin-recommended, 2 AA Rosette restaurant, and alongside that I designed and opened a second site from the ground up; a more relaxed brunch and cocktails place (with a portrait of Bourdain graffitied on the wall), all operations, interiors and staff from scratch.
Since stepping back from the restaurants I've missed that world more than I expected. Food and hospitality photography is my way back into it. Which means when I turn up to shoot your food, I'm not a stranger who needs the whole operation explaining. I know what a busy service looks like from the inside. I know which dishes need to be shot in fifteen seconds and which ones can breathe a little. I know your sauce is going to split if we faff around too long and I know your team have got actual things to do that aren't watching me adjust a reflector.
I come in, I work around you, I get what we need, and I leave. Without making your day harder. That's genuinely the whole pitch.
I'm Claudia. I'm a food and hospitality photographer based in Derbyshire
What I shoot
Food photography isn't just hero shots of dishes on plates (though I do plenty of those). It's the full picture of what makes your place worth visiting, ordering from, or coming back to.
Your dishes, looking the way they actually look when they go out. I shoot food as it's served, the way your chef plates it, the way a real customer receives it. I'm not going to spend forty minutes rearranging it with tweezers or asking for the same dish three times so I can get a cleaner angle. Real food, shot quickly, looking incredible.
Menu photography
The pass during service, a chef's hands finishing a plate, the organised chaos of a kitchen that works well together. This is the content that performs best on social media right now and it's also the content that most restaurants never get around to capturing because they're too busy actually running a service. That's where I come in.
kitchen & BTS
The light through your windows at the right time of day. The tables laid before service. The quiet corner that always looks beautiful. The details that make your space feel like somewhere worth being. Interiors and atmosphere shots are what turn a website visit into a reservation.
ATMOSPHERE & INTERIORS
The people behind the food. Shot naturally, candidly where possible, in a way that feels like your team rather than a corporate headshot session nobody (especially chefs) wanted to do.
Team Portraits
If you're on Deliveroo, Uber Eats or Just Eat, your listing photography is doing more work than almost anything else in your marketing. That tiny thumbnail is often the only thing standing between a customer ordering from you or scrolling to the next place. I shoot delivery app content specifically, clean and clear on light backgrounds so your food stands out on a small phone screen at 8pm on a Friday.
Delivery app and menu listings
and lastly…
Short video content!
Reels, TikToks, delivery app clips, social content. I shoot video alongside stills on every package, it's not an extra, it's just part of how I work. A one second pour of a sauce or a ten second clip of a dish being plated can outperform a gallery of stills on Instagram on a Tuesday night. I know this because I've watched it happen.
HOSPITALITY CLIENTS INCLUDE:
STARBOARD hotels (HOLIDAY INN)
plan burrito
la casa loco mexican restaurant
backhaus coffee shop
THE DONUT CLUB
how it works:
We have a chat first
A quick call or a few messages back and forth, whatever suits you. No lengthy briefing documents, no formal proposals unless you need one. Just tell me what you've got and what you need and I'll tell you honestly what I think makes sense, including if that means talking you out of a bigger package than you actually need.
I come to you
I work on location, in your kitchen, in your space. There's no studio to book, no carting your food across town, no setting up a shot that looks nothing like where it's actually going to be eaten. I arrive, I get set up quickly, and I work around your operation rather than the other way around.
Most places are surprised by how fast it goes. I've done full menu shoots in under two hours. If your kitchen is quick and we're organised going in, you'll have everything you need without it feeling like a production.
You get your content
Edited images and video clips, delivered digitally, ready to drop straight into your website, menus, social media, and delivery app listings. No licensing fees on top… ever. What you pay for the shoot is what you pay. The content is yours to use however you need, for as long as you need it.
“Can't rate Claudia enough, I am a fast paced person and rarely have time for a 4 hour shoot - i set up what i wanted, she arrived, took incredible photos in 1 hour, and then went home and edited and sent over. Amazing service and incredible products. 100% recommend, and will shout about her from the rooftops for all small business owners to see!”
— Sam, Smalls Kitchen, Derby
From the journal
I write about food photography, hospitality, and the bits in between, mostly because there's not much practical advice out there aimed at independent restaurants and food businesses rather than professional photographers!
