Outbuilding Bar Supper Club, Loughborough — Event & Supper Club Photography
Before the bar had its own home
Outbuilding Bar is a Loughborough bar run by my friend Mel; a genuinely lovely independent that's built a real following in the area. This supper club happened before Outbuilding had its permanent space; Mel hired a venue elsewhere in Loughborough, brought the people, created the atmosphere, and Rory came in to do what he does best.
I was there to photograph it.
A collaboration, not a brief
This one was different to most of the work on this site because it wasn't a straightforward client shoot. It was a collaboration between people who all cared about the same thing; a room full of good food, good wine and people who were genuinely happy to be there.
Mel brought the hospitality and the room. Rory brought the food; considered, seasonal, the kind of cooking that makes a supper club feel worth dressing up for. I brought a camera and stayed out of the way as much as possible.
Supper club photography is atmospheric by nature; it's not about clean hero shots of individual dishes, it's about capturing the feeling of being in the room. The candlelight, the conversation, the moment a plate lands in front of someone and they lean in to look at it properly. That's the content that makes someone see a supper club on Instagram and immediately want to find out when the next one is.
The shoot
Shot entirely in the available light of the venue; warm, intimate, nothing clinical. A mix of food shots as dishes went out, atmospheric wider shots of the room and the people in it, and the kind of candid moments that you can't plan for but are always the ones worth keeping.
Supper club and event photography in Leicestershire and the Midlands
If you're running a supper club, pop-up dinner or food event in Loughborough, Leicester or anywhere across the Midlands; get in touch →.
This kind of shoot is one of my favourites; there's an energy in a room where people have come specifically to eat well that's completely different to a standard restaurant shoot and it comes through in the images.
And if you haven't already come across Outbuilding Bar in Leicestershire; go and find her. Mel has built something really worth supporting.
See pricing → — supper club and event photography is covered under the standard packages; most events work well as a two hour or half day shoot depending on the length of the evening.